It has previously been acknowledged that there are extensive mental health risks associated with working in a competitive environment like the arts and entertainment industry, with creative people more prone to depression. Now a new campaign is encouraging organisations to make mental health a priority in the workplace.
The Heads Up campaign is a joint initiative by beyondblue and the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance which is putting mental health first.
At any given time, one in five Australian employees is likely to be living with a mental health condition. With 56% of arts organisations classified as small, that could make a high proportion of your team who need additional support in the workplace.
Without proper support, untreated depression and anxiety can be a huge expense to organisations, costing employers around $10.9 billion every year. With the uncertain future of arts funding, the cost of inaction in the form of absenteeism and reduced productivity can hit arts organisations especially hard.
On the flipside, when an organisation commits to creating a healthy workplace, the returns are positive, including increased productivity and profit. Analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that businesses will on average achieve a return on investment of $2.30 for every $1 spent on creating a mentally healthy workplace.
Despite the positive cultural and economic impact a commitment to mental health can have on an organisation, some organisations remain hesitant to implement a plan, with a lack of time and resources being the commonest excuses for not introducing such a policy.
For small to large arts organisations alike, there are simple actions you can take to create a mentally healthy workplace and support your employees.
1. Have a plan
For a healthy workplace, it’s important to have a plan that looks at mental health from all angles. If your organisation is committing to creating a more mentally healthy workplace, putting a poster in the staff kitchen or handing everyone a stress ball is not enough.
Think about the strategies, initiatives, events and resources your organisation will provide. Communicaiting the why and when to staff is key. Think beyond the short term and consider developing return to work or stay at work plans that are tailored for an employee’s needs.
You can find resources at beyondblue’s Perspectives: Returning to work online resources, and Employers’ return-to-work obligations.
2. Provide resources and training
To increase awareness of mental health for organisations with little time or resources, online materials and face-to-face training can be a great place to start. beyondblue offers a National Workplace Program: an awareness, early intervention and prevention program designed specifically for workplace settings. It aims to increase the knowledge and skills of staff and managers to address mental health conditions in the workplace offering senior executive briefings, strategies for HR professionals and organisational, manager and employees awareness presentations.
Online training programs and face-to-face solutions can also be found at Mindful Employer.
3. Facilitate open communication
Investing time into training is wasted if it is not backed up with a commitment to open communication in the workplace.
Regular communication about employees’ wellbeing can help reduce the stigma that surrounds mental health issues. It’s helpful to fostering a culture that if someone is struggling, someone checks in on them.
Open communication can encourage people to speak up at an early stage and seek guidance, rather than feeling forced to think they have to cope on their own, resulting in reduced productivity, sick leave and staff turnover.
Patrice O’Brien, Head of Workplace Engagement at Beyondblue told ArtsHub having someone such as an ambassador share their personal experience of a mental health condition and their recovery can facilitate this.
There are free resources that can help employees have a conversation if they’re worried about a colleague. The Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance recommends making these available on your intranet and displaying posters or other materials around the workplace.
4. Engage employees
Refresher training on health and safety, discrimination, privacy and taking care of your mental health can help staff get up to speed with their specific roles and responsibilities relating to mental health.
It also helps to get employees engaged and create an awareness around the organisation’s commitment to mental health. Focus should be made on the specific benefits for employees, business and the community, with progress communicated to the team.
5. Be conscious of taking breaks
When our mind and body is interlinked, one way to create a more mentally healthy workplace is to ensure employers are looking after their physical health.
Remaining sedentary for example, has been linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even death. Providing stand up desks, coordinating regular lunchtime exercises for staff such as yoga, simple stretches or even just a walk around the park, are all beneficial.
Championing an organisation-wide commitment to creative and professional development, Esther Anatolitis, Director, Regional Arts Victoria last year gave all staff members an hourglass to keep at their desk and serve as a reminder to work for no more than an hour without getting up. If your work is mostly performed standing, then the timer can serve as a reminder to take a break.
‘If we are desk bound in our roles, then we are sitting in the same desk and the same chair and looking at the same screen. We are doing lots of different things on our screen, but we still are the seated body, so I wanted to find something was low-fi and tangible that would allow us to think about the way that we work,’ she said.
Other ways to incorporate movement into your day is move the bin away from your desk, have a smaller water bottle that you have to fill up more regularly or set a timer to remind you to get up and stretch every hour.
6. Provide flexibility
Employees can help by being conscious of staff’s overreaching their workload. Heads Up recommends that if employees are regularly working long hours, taking work home or working through breaks, an organisation should address the issues directly and look at resourcing levels.
Flexibility in work hours can create a healthier, more creative and stimulating workplace. As an example, Regional Arts Victoria has given staff the option to work longer hours from Monday to Thursday, enabling them to take Fridays off to work on their creative practice. This has had ripple effect on an organisation, with staff becoming more engaged, creative and energised as they are able to explore new connections and apply them to their work within the organisation
7. Ensure a zero-tolerance approach to bulling
Bullying in the workplace can severely contribute to stress and mental health issues. Develop formal and confidential complaint-handling processes for employees to report inappropriate behaviour.
Creating an environment of open communication can help foster an environment of respect so that employees can share any concerning behaviours at an early stage. Make sure your workplace has processes and/ or policies in place to deal with any issues. Visit the Safe Work Australia Guide for information about preventing and responding to workplace bullying
8. Lift the mood
Simple things like having a fruit bowl in the office or regular team building exercises and check-ins can assist. Patrice O’Brien uses the example of an organisation that prioritised staff happiness and well-being because they recognised the positive returns.
‘Before getting straight into their sales meeting, they got all of their staff to send in photos from the weekend and quickly compiled them on Monday morning, so it was the first thing they saw in the meeting.’
O’Brien encourages organisations to be flexible and do all they can to make staff feel welcome and happy.
