Mental Health Awareness Week

Spring brings fresh starts, new beginnings, and it also brings Mental Health Awareness Week. This week is observed in both Canada (May 2nd-8th) and the UK (May 9th-15th). No matter where you are in the world (and which season you’re in, really), now is a great time to initiate and implement actions to support mental health for yourself, your team, and your workplace.

So what are some best practices and ideas to support mental health now? 

Here are five tips to keep in mind:

1. Avoid a ‘one and done’ approach. Whatever you do for mental health week shouldn’t feel like it exists in a vacuum. Take steps that make sense for your workplace. If talking about mental health isn’t a regular practice, then consider what you will do to keep building on the conversation, the increased literacy, action plans, and resources after mental health week. 
2. Leverage the national campaigns. The 2022 campaign from the Canadian Mental Health Commission (CMHA) called #GetReal is all about empathy, which is both a contributor to and an outcome of higher resilience. The Mental Health Foundation campaign in the UK is focused on loneliness, which also has strong ties to resilience. These organizations typically offer tools that you can implement at your workplace to support your teams. Even if you’re not in those countries, there may be tools that you can leverage. 
3. Don’t forget that people in your workplace will be in different places along the mental health continuum at different points in time. Ensure your leaders are trained with knowledge of the resources that are available for employees who may realize that they need support. If you haven’t yet conducted mental health manager training or literacy training, consider doing so either before or in conjunction with your mental health week activities.
4. Bring in an expert, or experts to help. Hold a professionally-facilitated workshop, talk or training, or perhaps even a series of 2-3 sessions. Ensure that sessions give employees both education and tangible takeaways. Empowering employees with tools to support their own mental health and contribute to a mentally supportive workplace is a critical part of the process. An effective strategy will go broader and deeper with additional actions, but providing this expertise is a core component.
5. Keep it simple. Don’t try to run before you walk. Build your mental health approach in a sustainable way. Here’s one simple tip that you can implement right away at your workplace to help build resilience (1 min video).

Your MH Minute: a simple action you can do today

What is one action you can take to help your workplace acknowledge mental health this season? Whether it’s an activity like a workshop or simply starting a conversation with a colleague or leader in which you discuss resources, any step forward is progress.

Right now, take a minute to write down one step in your agenda or on your priority list so it stays on the top of your radar. Choose a date to have it completed so you can maintain forward momentum.

Marie-Helene Pelletier, PhD, MBA, is a workplace mental health strategist, registered psychologist and professional speaker who teaches at the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business.