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World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10 every year with the objective to raise awareness of mental health issues and increase efforts supporting better mental health. The theme for 2017 is Mental health in the workplace, a central topic because a person’s work life can play a leading role in their state of mind and wellbeing.
Mental Health in the U.S. Statistics
- 20 percent of adults experience mental illness every year
- 1 percent of adults live with an anxiety disorder
- Only 41 percent of adults with a mental health condition receive help
- Only 36.9 percent of those with anxiety receive treatment
Source: World Health Organization (WHO)
In relation to this year’s theme, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests the following steps to create a healthy workplace:
- Awareness of the workplace environment and how it can be adapted to promote better mental health for different employees
- Not reinventing wheels by being aware of what other companies who have taken action have done
- Understanding the opportunities and needs of individual employees, in helping to develop better policies for workplace mental health
- Awareness of sources of support and where people can find help
A healthy, stable workplace can make all the difference in a person’s mental health. Positive, constructive companies contribute to their employees’ sense of feeling rewarded and contrastingly, toxic work environments will have respective negative effects on the lives of their workers.
It’s essential for companies to offer mental health resources, create healthy workplaces, and take the necessary steps to create the support they currently lack.