Work & Mental Health: knowledge and approaches Brussels / 17 March 2019

1. Work & Mental Health: knowledge and approaches Brussels / 17 March 2019 Dr Claudia Marinetti, MHE Director

2. WHO WE ARE • European non-governmental network organisation committed to: • the promotionof positive mental health, • the preventionof mental distress, • the improvement of care, advocacy for social inclusion and the protection of the rights of (ex)users of mental health services, persons with psychosocial disabilities, their families and carers, • The end of mental health stigma.

3. OUR WORK • We work closely with the European Institutions and international bodies • Together with our members, we formulate recommendations for policy makers to develop mental health friendly policies • MHE places users of mental services at the centre of its work

4. Work & Mental Health

5. Why work matters for mental health?

6. Why mental health matters for work?

7. Psychosocial risk factors

8. Understanding stress and its risks • Work-related stress: harmful physical and emotional response caused by an imbalance between the perceived demands and the perceived resources and abilities of individuals to cope with those demands. • Dynamic interaction between the individual and the environment • Stress is not achallenge • Not a disease, yet first sign of a problem • Psychosocial hazards/risks: those aspects of the design and management of work and its social and organizational contexts which have the potential for causing psychological or physical harm. Source: ILO report Workplace Stress – A collective challenge

9. Psychosocial risks, stress and health Negative outcomes Emotional Cognitive Behavioural Physical and mental ill-health Psychosocial risks poor work design, organisation and management, effort-reward imbalance, unfavourable social context of work Work-related Stress demands at work are beyond worker’s capacity to cope with them Non work-related factors major life events, serious illness, bereavement, etc.

10. What can be done?

11. How to support a mentally healthy workplace? • Create a culture of openness: mental health should not be a taboo subject at work, it should become a topic of conversation and a focus for shared activity • Make an organisational commitment to mental health, encourage senior executives to speak up and champion positive mental health • Find ways of measuring the mental health and wellbeing of workforces and report to top level management/decision makers • Training on mental health for employers, front line managers and workers • Consider reasonable adjustments for workers experiencing severe or longer term mental health problems

12. MHE infographic: How to support a mentally healthy workplace?

13. Words matter: why It’s not just words… The words we use can frame and reframe people’s experiences. They can be stigmatising or discriminatory. They can open or close conversations. They can give or take away hope. They can be at the heart of misconceptions.

14. Mental Health is not mental ill health

15. MHE infographic: words matter

16. Thankyou for your attention! www.mhe-sme.org claudia.marinetti@mhe-sme.org