What others say
In the Global Risks Report 2022 from the World Economic Forum, respondents to a survey on perceived societal risks (‘social-cohesion erosion’, ‘livelihood crises’ and ‘mental-health deterioration’) said that mental health had worsened the most since the pandemic began. The report listed ‘severe mental-health deterioration’ as one of the key risks over the next decade, namely the ‘pervasiveness of mental-health ailments and/or disorders globally and across multiple demographics, negatively impacting wellbeing, social cohesion and productivity’.
Other recent reports have also highlighted this topic. According to International SOS’s Risk Outlook 2022, organisations worldwide are set to increase investment in employee health. This because over a third of respondents to a survey expected mental health to cause a significant decrease in productivity in 2022. Another survey has revealed that two in five employees would stay if their employer demonstrated more care for their mental wellbeing.
What our guide says
Hence, mental health should be on every boardroom’s risk register and be a topic to address from the top, not just through HR departments. The route to tackling mental-health issues, ideally in advance of them occurring, is with a sound policy followed by practical measures that are embedded and applied throughout the organisation.
This is one of the conclusions of a guide for business and launched by Resilience First on 24 February 2022. The title of the guide is ‘Emotional Resilience – Lessons from the real world: A practical guide after crises and major incidents’.
The guide is another step in the continuing journey to advance understanding of the topic. While there is a general consensus amongst professional bodies and mental-health professionals around best practice for creating emotional resilience for major incidents and crises in the workplace, what is less well understood is how this translates to real-world action.
So, this new guide tries to answer the questions of what factors hinder or facilitate the implementation of guidance, and what is the extent of these factors. The current knowledge doesn’t reveal whether this is due to motivation (at various levels) to take action, challenges encountered during implementation, even problems with the guidance or something as yet unknown.
The report has been prepared by KRTS International Ltd, and is the second in a series on this topic. In compiling the report, information was gathered from a range of people and organisations through a series of interviews and compared with the available literature and clinical experience. By bringing together a range of perspectives, the report provides:
• An overview of the theory and best practice as agreed by professional bodies and clinicians around the world.
• What organisations feel are the key ingredients to successful implementation.
• The common pain points and pitfalls as experienced ‘on the ground’.
The report offers a model for crisis and trauma resilience built around three pillars – Resistance, Resilience and Recovery. It is crucial to acknowledge that each pillar impacts on the others and can strengthen or undermine an overall plan. The guide concludes with recommendations for overcoming challenges and maximising efficacy and efficiency.
In his Foreword to the guide, John Deverell CBE, CEO of The Prepared Mind, says that ‘if all employers take due note of the report’s advice, they will thus develop both their own and their subordinates’ leadership capabilities and, by helping their employees to become more resilient, will enable better and more successful business’.
Note: This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is from 9 to 15 May.
