The Evolution of Mental Health in the Corporate World: From Taboo to Priority
In the last few decades mental health in the workplace has changed dramatically. What was once a taboo subject is now top of the agenda for forward thinking organisations.
Research shows that companies that put the mental health of employees and managers first get better results and sustainable growth. This growing awareness has led to more investment in employee mental health initiatives.
As a HR professional I find myself asking deeper questions: Why do we invest in mental health? Why aren’t we born with mental health? Can collective mental health be a constant across generations? Why isn’t good mental health a standard for every employee? Is there a way to get to this?
I recently found a workshop that helped me get to the bottom of these questions. It explained the link between an individual’s mental health in early childhood and their mental health as a professional.
The Foundation of Mental Health: Starting with Children
In several primary schools including the “Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi” Municipal Primary School in Skopje, the “Parenting for Lifelong Health” program is being implemented. Conducted by the Alternative Institute in partnership with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, this program offers free workshops for adolescent students and their parents.
The program aims to establish the foundation of mental health in families and teach skills for preserving and improving it. Activities focus on building positive relationships, talking about emotions and sensitive topics, managing stress, setting rules and routines, resolving conflicts and mutual support.
As someone who cares about mental health, I love that this initiative starts with children. It starts where it matters most at the roots. All major changes in society must start with children, as they are the builders of our future and workforce of tomorrow.
The Connection Between Childhood and Professional Success
I really do believe there’s a deep connection between a child’s mental health and their ability to become a professional. Family is key to this.
When parents are actively involved in their children’s lives and psychological development they lay a solid foundation and instill values like empathy, respect, responsibility and resilience. Those values give children the tools to navigate life’s challenges.
Children who grow up in households where mental health is talked about openly become emotionally intelligent adults. They manage stress and change well, approach challenges creatively and have great communication skills.
Those people do well in teamwork, conflict management and building positive relationships, all the essential traits for employees with good mental health. They’re happier, more engaged and more motivated and create healthier work environments.
Building a Culture of Stability and Support
When these values are instilled from the start, the next generation will naturally pass on this culture of stability, support and inclusivity from their homes to their workplaces. These universal values and skills are relevant across all professions whether the children become doctors, leaders, programmers, teachers or politicians.
The interest from parents and children in the “Parenting for Lifelong Health” programme is great. It shows that this generation not only recognises the importance of mental health but is also willing to work hard to improve it.
Let’s use this forward thinking and make it be the spark for change.
A Call to Action for Companies
If a company truly wants to make a positive impact, supporting children’s mental health programs is one of the best ways to do it. Investing in these programs now helps ensure that today’s kids grow into emotionally healthy and resilient adults, ready to take on the future. After all, prevention is always better than cure!
This proactive approach will decrease the need for companies to spend a lot of resources on mental health in the future. Instead they can focus on innovation, professional development and initiatives that improve employees’ quality of life.
In the meantime these programmes will have another huge benefit: children can enjoy their childhood and adolescence with a positive and healthy mind. Over time this will lead to a society of mentally healthy and productive professionals.
These future generations will be the backbone of our workplaces and societal structures driving change for all.
Looking Ahead: Turning Vision into Reality
Ok this is crazy or even utopian but history shows us big changes start as impossible ideas. Decades ago someone said there would only be a market for a few computers in the world. History proved otherwise.
Big societal change requires big and collective action. We have to create a world where children’s mental health and wellbeing comes first. By acting now we can have a mentally healthy, successful and productive workforce.
Now. Let’s do it. Let’s invest in the next genеrations mental health and wellbeing.