Happy World Mental Health Day!
Today, October 10th, is World Mental Health Day, and in commemoration of this year’s theme “Mental Health in the Workplace”, Mental Health First Aid USA provides some thought provoking statistics about how “good health is good for business, and good health includes mental health”.
According to the National Council for Behavioral Health, 1 in 5 American adults have a mental illness and 1 in 10 full time employees have an addiction. Even more concerning is that 35% of managers feel they receive no formal support or resources to help employees. This highly correlates with work performance as mental health in the workplace is known to impact productivity, engagement, and quality of work. High-performing teams also rely on inclusion, respect, and skillful communication which fall under the umbrella of good mental health.
A mentally healthy workplace allows workers to feel valued, supported, and respected. Individuals should feel supported in taking the time they need to care for their mental health as well as feel they have access to resources they need to be successful when they return back to work. Stigma, discrimination, and bias have no place in a mentally healthy workplace.
The Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) offers Mental Health First Aid USA’s Mental Health First Aid training and Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings to the community. Both trainings allow participants to learn how to help an individual who is experiencing a mental health or substance abuse challenge, identify risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, and utilize a 5-step action plan.
To learn more about how to sign up for Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings contact Natalie Andrade at nandrade@smcgov.org or (650) 372- 8548.
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