3 common myths about workplace mental health and wellness

MHA Admin

Mon, 03/06/2023 – 09:33

By Taylor Adams, Director of Workplace Mental Health

Workplace mental health and wellness have become a priority for employers in recent years thanks to the pandemic and shifting work environments. Yet, workers continue to struggle with stress, burnout, and mental health concerns, in addition to unhealthy habits and coping mechanisms in and out of the workplace. So we must ask: What gives? More employers want to support their workforce, but finding the right information and interventions can be challenging.

Fast fact: The U.S. corporate wellness market, valued at $18.4 billion, could sponsor almost 223 million therapy sessions (considering the U.S. average for a one-hour therapy session is $150).

Here are three myths – and mistakes to avoid – when addressing workplace mental health and wellness:

1. People should “leave their personal lives at the door” when at work.

This outdated and out-of-touch cliché sounds great in theory. However, the phrase fails to recognize workers as multidimensional, social, and emotional humans in practice. Of course, workers are expected to act professionally in a workplace setting, but this does not mean that workers aren’t also living with personal worries, life changes, and outside responsibilities while on the job. When work environments shifted during the pandemic, many employees re-evaluated their life priorities to make room for what mattered to them most. At least a few of the 4.4 million people who left their jobs in the pandemic’s “Great Resignation” realized their work and home lives weren’t meshing very well.

2. Addressing mental health in the workplace is the workers’ responsibility.

The number one mistake an employer can make is to ignore workplace mental health or assume it’s the workers’ sole responsibility. Research shows that a mentally healthy workplace requires investment, in other words – time, intention, and action – from all organizational levels, including leadership, management, and workers. Leaders can talk openly about their personal experiences with mental health and model healthy behaviors, like taking mental health days or practicing a healthy life-work balance. Next to peers, managers are often the first people a struggling worker might reach out to for support. Workers can serve as mental health advocates and affect change (and have a history of doing so) at the grassroots level.

3. An employee assistance program (EAP) will address and improve worker mental health concerns.

Yes and no. An EAP should supplement, not replace, an employer’s efforts to support worker mental health. Employers regularly report low EAP utilization rates. Some workers are unaware that their workplace offers an EAP, are unfamiliar with its services and how to access them, or do not want to use it for fear of professional retaliation or discrimination. Some workers find the assistance given unhelpful. That said, employers should consider not putting all their eggs in the EAP basket. Instead, consider improving workplace culture, integrating inclusion and equity efforts, offering high-quality and accessible health insurance, and providing additional benefits that holistically support workers and their families.

Employees, learn more about what you can do to improve your mental well-being in the workplace and answers to common questions about mental health in the workplace.

Employers, what are you doing to create a mentally healthy workplace? In 2019, MHA launched the Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health to recognize and support corporate leaders and advocates committed to worker mental health and well-being. Join hundreds of organizations, including Walgreens, Chevron, Union Bank & Trust, and more, who are leading the workplace mental health movement.

With three weeks left, there is still time to submit your organization’s Bell Seal application. The submission deadline is Friday, March 31, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Capital City Emergency “Level II” Trauma & Wellness Center will house a “state of the art” Outreach Community Resource Center, that will provide case management, mental health community advocacy, and oversight from the M.I. Mother’s Keeper mental health advocates. 
 
The Capital City Emergency “Level II” Trauma & Wellness Center will offer patrons access to immediate coverage by general surgeons as well as coverage by the specialties of orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology and critical care.
 
Our goal is to help people in the best way possible in an effort to preserve and to save more lives in the Nation’s Capital and beyond.

Follow Capital City Emergency Trauma & Wellness Center's success:

Sign up to receive updates

Add your signature by clicking each petition below.

Emergency

Code Red
Gunshot Victim
Life Threatening Wounds
Physical Assault Victim
Severely Injured Auto Accident Victim
Burn Victim
Epilepsy/Seizures
Cardiovascular
Choking & Breathing Obstructions
and more…

trauma

Child Sex Assault Victim
Domestic Violence Victim
Drug Overdose
Rape/Sex Crime Victim
Suicide Watch
Trafficking Victim
Nervous Breakdown
and more…

Mental Health

At Capital City Emergency Trauma & Wellness Center patrons with mental health emergencies that include life threatening situations in which an individual is imminently threatening harm to self or others, severely disoriented or out of touch with reality, has a severe inability to function or is otherwise distraught and out of control, will have access to quality and psychiatric emergency services and referrals.

Physical Health

Whether your life threatening medical emergency involves excessive or uncontrollable bleeding, head injury. difficulty with breathing, severe pain, heart attack, vision impairments, stroke, physically collapsing, or seizure related, rest assured that our professionals will properly assess and evaluate the level of response that will be most needed to help provide stabilized care solutions and minimize complications as well as reduce early mortality.

Holistic Healthcare

We offer healthcare solutions that will support the whole person which includes their physical, psychological, emotional, social, & spiritual wellbeing. Research supports that because your mental state can affect your overall health we support and offer the inclusion of complimentary and alternative medicine(CAM) practitioners and naturopathic doctor recommendations and referrals as a part of our Outreach Community Resource Center’s care regimen and support.

Rehabilitative

Emergency care can typically result in traumatic injuries for which rehabilitation becomes an essential component of care in trying to achieve the best long-term outcomes for the patient. In addition to speeding up recovery times and helping to prevent further complications, rehabilitative care also helps to support a patient’s self-managed recovery once discharged from our facility. Our Outreach Community Resource Center works closely with our trauma center’s discharge department to assure that patrons requiring these services are linked with qualified professionals who will be accountable to the standard of care required to help the patron be successful in their recovery.

Social Services

Our “state of the art” Outreach Community Resource Center intends to promote “expansive” beneficial community enriching services, programs, case management, & linkage to “approved” partner resources and supports in all of the following intended areas and more:

Social Services

  • Clothing
  • Food Pantry
  • Housing/Shelter
  • I.D. Credentials
  • Senior Wellness Check
  • Toiletries
  • Transportation
  • Etc.

Extended Family Services

  • Child Care
  • Credit Counseling
  • Family Court Services
  • Legal Aide

Career Training

  • Apprenticeship programs
  • Computer/Graphics Training
  • Culinary Program  
  • GED Courses
  • Hospitality Training
  • Job Etiquette & Grooming
  • Resume’ Prep
  • Sales Training
  • Software/Technology workshops
  • Small Business Training

Return Citizen
Program Partner
(Bridging the Gap)

  • Case Management
  • Temporary Boarding/Housing
  • Transitional Program Registration

Prevention/Intervention Outreach,
Workshops, & Programs

  • After-school Behavioral Health Program
  • Civic Engagement / Volunteer Sign-up
  • Fatherhood Rites of Passage
  • Gun Violence Town Hall Forum
  • Life Coaching & Coping Strategies
  • Marriage Counseling Workshops
  • Medicare Informational Workshops
  • Mentorship Training
  • Parental Classes
  • Support Groups
  • Town Hall Discussions
  • Violence De-Escalation Training
  • Voter Registration

Nutritional Outreach

  • Cooking Demonstrations
  • Dietary Programs
  • Exercise Classes
  • Recipe Sharing Workshops
  • Meal Prep

Community Outreach

The Healthy DC & Me Leadership Coalition is partnering with the M.I. Mother’s Keeper Mental Health advocacy organization to provide outreach services on the community level as an aid in reducing the existent health inequities that many District citizens are facing as a direct result of the presence of debilitating social determinants and the lack of culturally appropriate care choices and realities for community members residing in marginalized and lower-income communities.

It is the vision and intentions of the M.I. Mother’s Keeper Mental Health Advocates organization to help improve the quality of living for citizens living in our Nation’s Capital and beyond by overseeing the delicate linkage to services and by maintaining higher standards of care accountability for deserving citizens of the Nation’s Capital.

For more information or to enroll as one of our service providers, please email us at:
info@healthydcandme.org