4 minute read
Your Mental Health at The Workplace Matters
By Elysee Niyigena, Communications Officer / RSCE
It was a Monday morning as I walked into the office, I met my colleague Audrey* whom I haven’t seen in office for a while. I greeted her,
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Hey Audrey, how are you?
She responded “Hey, I am not bad thanks, and you?” she replied without her usual smile.
I am fine thanks, how are you holding on? I asked.
“Just trying,” she responded and stopped walking. “It has not been an easy journey though, but by the grace of God, all is well.”
After losing a loved one, things went bad and it affected Audrey’s mental health and at some point, it affected her performance at work during that period.
“It was a sad day for me like everyone, but it kept getting worse as days went by. One day I had shock and was admitted to a hospital. Medical personnel couldn’t identify what the problem was.”
Listening to her, I got curious, I needed to hear more of her experience and therefore I walked her to her office and sat down with her.
She went ahead to tell me that it was not easy for doctors to convince her that her sickness had anything to do with mental health. All she knew she was unwell and was weak in the entire body.
A day later, her doctors decided to bring her a psychiatrist/ therapist to speak to her about her loss and how she could cope with the pain of losing a loved one.
Audrey says that talking to the psychiatrist changed her mindset towards mental health. Whenever she feels that there is something not right in her life, she consults a therapist. She adds that from that day she understood that just like any other part of the body the brain also needs medical attention.
“There are people who don’t want to go to hospital due to stigma. they ask themselves ‘what will my colleagues think about me? Will my supervisor ever trust me with work? What if I lose my job?”
We all experience days, weeks or months where we feel resilient, strong and optimistic, regardless of events or situations. Often, that can be mixed with or shift to a very different set of thoughts, feelings and behaviours; or not feeling resilient and optimistic.
The UN puts emphasis on mental health to foster awareness, empathy, and resilience within teams and build a thriving workplace. Through the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the UN seeks to improve organizational capacities to prevent and protect mental health.
What is mental health?
Mental Health relates to our social and emotional wellbeing, our enjoyment of life, our ability to cope with stress and sadness, our resilience, the fulfilment of our goals and potential, and our sense of connection with others.
What is poor mental health?
Poor mental health is an inability to manage our feelings or certain ways of thinking, or to act adequately to the pressures of daily life. This can be caused by life experiences, genetics, the way we view ourselves, personality, and exposure to trauma or stress.
The UN Global Well-Being survey found an association between poor mental health and exposure to traumatizing events in the previous 12 months: both on-duty and off-duty, low job satisfaction, perceived incivility and conflict in the workplace, low levels of helpseeking or receiving any mental health services, internally and externally.
Now I know, then what can I do?
The World Health Organization gives 6 ways to take care of your mental health and well-being:
• Talk to someone you trust,
• Look after your physical health,
• Do activities that you enjoy,
• Steer away from harmful substances,
• Take two minutes to focus on the world around you.
“Let us all be part of a healthier workforce as we work for a better world for all.”UN Secretary-General António Guterres
*Name has been changed
