At its forum on "Mental Health", psyGA discussed why providers and stakeholders on the healthcare market often fail to reach their target groups with their offerings – both companies and employees. INSITE took part in this lively discussion in Cologne.
As part of the psyGA project (Mental Health in the Workplace), the INQA (the German government's Initiative for New Quality in Work) has been addressing all the issues relating to the mental fitness of employees and their companies for several years.
On 18 January, they invited stakeholders to an open forum titled "Why our efforts are failing to reach target groups". The aim was to use this new format to bring experts to the table and start a discussion.
Role of managers
The forum began with a discussion of what obstacles or concerns exist. One important aspect that was mentioned was how the role of managers has changed – as a result of increasing digitisation, plus new expectations of managers. While it was previously considered inappropriate to talk to employees about stressful situations (especially if they related to personal issues), this is now implicitly expected. Managers are now supposed to go along with this change in their role, which is not obvious to everyone.
Stigmatisation
The world of work continues to move more and more towards a situation where increasing numbers of workers do mental, rather than manual labour. Now, if someone is suffering from stress or burnout and is mentally overworked, then in the eyes of many there is a risk of "organ failure" - meaning that the organ they use to earn their money is no longer fully functional. Additionally, talking about "mental load" is stigmatised. Burnout is the only phenomenon that is even vaguely socially acceptable. A great deal more education is required here so that sufferers can confront their issues and get help quicker and more easily. Lots of celebrities are already leading by example (see our blog post on Michael Phelps).
Performance and atmosphere
In addition to maintaining performance, it was also about having a lively atmosphere at work. An open atmosphere of trust in the workplace leads to engaged employees who are motivated to bring innovation to their organisations.
Live Visualisation / Graphic Recording: Christoph Illigens, www.illigens.biz
Learn more about psyGA and their wide range of services for companies, managers, specialist roles and employees at psyga.info and psyga.info/ueber-psyga/veranstaltungen/
