World Mental Health Day: Implement Mental Health into Your Workplace

Table Of Contents

Book Corporate Wellness Sessions For My Team

20+ Sessions To Choose From
Onsite & Virtual Options
Flat-Rate Pricing!

What is the Importance of Mental Health at Work?

October 10th is World Mental Health Day and the theme for 2024 is, “Make mental health for all a global priority.” The importance of this day is to raise awareness and reduce the stigma about mental health issues internationally and to raise efforts in support of mental health and wellness.

On this day, mental wellness providers, and those working on the topic of mental health issues, have the opportunity to speak about their work and give insight on what can be done to make mental health care a global reality.

An individual who works a typical 40-hour work week with 3 weeks of vacation, spends approximately 1,960 hours on the job in 12 months. That’s A LOT of time spent grinding in the workplace, so prioritizing mental health and incorporating corporate wellness classes in your business model can benefit employee satisfaction and your overall operation.

How Can You Show Your Commitment to Mental Wellness on International Mental Health Day 2024 in Your Workplace?

Mental illness is on the rise and has been steadily increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. If 1 in 4 people have a mental illness, what are the odds that one or more of your employees are struggling with a mental disorder right now? Pretty high.

Mental health problems influence workers’ morale, but did you know that they also directly impact employers and businesses? When unaddressed, mental health issues in the corporate workspace can result in increased absenteeism, which harms productivity and profits, subsequently increasing your costs to address such issues.

By embracing International Mental Health day on October 10th, you can improve mental health awareness by educating employees to help them better understand the gravity of different mental illnesses. Mental health awareness strategies can create a culture where warning signs of mental illness in the workplace are recognizable and employees can feel empowered to ask for help. Suppose you work to create a safe space for employees to express themselves, what can shift? In a safe environment, employees can gain the confidence to seek help and feel assured that they will receive the support they need. In that case, you can increase morale, employee retention, as well as motivation to complete or excel at designated tasks. Imagine building a workplace with kinder, empathetic individuals…pretty great, right?

When you promote help-seeking behaviors and emotional well-being practices such as prioritizing work-life balance, raising awareness, and integrating corporate wellness classes or practices regularly, you can greatly improve the mental health and morale of your employees. Simply having these conversations AND continuing these conversations around mental health can make it more acceptable for those suffering from mental illnesses to seek assistance, learn coping skills, and begin their recovery journey.

Due to the many misconceptions surrounding mental health, people often suffer in silence and their conditions go untreated. Because mental illnesses aren’t as concrete as physical illnesses, they often aren’t taken as seriously. Mental illness should be treated like physical diseases, however, often they aren’t despite the high mortality rates. Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide- 1 in every 100 deaths. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more people have died from suicide than deaths that resulted from HIV, malaria, breast cancer, OR war, and homicide.

Time and again, the stigma surrounding mental illness causes workers to hide or ignore risks to their mental health out of fear of losing their job or being treated differently by their colleagues, friends, as well as their employers. Your corporation can provide individual education and outreach events that might ultimately prevent suicide.

How Can Corporate Wellness be Implemented in Your Company’s Routine?

Work is the job- let’s be honest, it’s a pretty important factor in achieving success for your business, but if your employees are encouraged to put their work before themselves, they won’t perform well at their tasks. As employers, will you do anything to help? Integrating a mental health day at work to highlight awareness on World Mental Health Day this year is a great way to jumpstart change and make employee wellness a known priority in your workplace.

Now that we’ve established the importance of World Mental Health Day, what are some ways you can implement supportive strategies to improve mental health within your corporation?

Mark your calendars: October 10th is World Mental Health Day (it’s coming up fast), but the ENTIRE month of October is Mental Health Awareness Month. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders aren’t talked about often in the workplace, but mental illnesses affect millions of workers worldwide. Let the experts at Twello take the stress of bringing wellness into your company off your hands!

Twello is committed to providing virtual and onsite corporate wellness training to drive growth in your organization by promoting strategies that improve mental and physical well-being. Classes offered by Twello are designed to achieve optimal wellness for your employees, and, ultimately, your business and work culture. Support your entire team this month of October and on International Mental Health Day 2024 with mindfulness meditation, yoga, resilience, and stress management training.

Twello provides a unique assortment of corporate wellness classes ranging from 30-60 minutes as well as multi-pack recommendations from our Twello facilitators. You can also mix and match different classes to create your custom program that best suits your company’s individual goals.

30-Minute Activities

It doesn’t take a big change in routine to make major health improvements, but small, easily achievable changes that are maintainable create lasting habits. When you don’t know where to start, begin with a Mindfulness & Mindset-themed 30-minute class.

Our virtual (LIVE) classes cover a wide range of topics that can be an essential tool to support your employees on World Mental Health Day and improve the overall well-being of your business.

Twello’s variety of virtual and onsite 30-minute classes can be easily implemented in your typical work day. We offer lessons in key skills that will assist your employees in understanding the importance of mental wellness this month such as:

  • Breathwork Basics
  • Mindfulness for Improving Sleep
  • Resilience Training
  • The Science of Gratitude Journaling
  • Creating Psychological Safety
  • And more!

Again, due to the stigma surrounding mental health, because it is often not talked about, a lack of information and understanding only promotes the taboo further. When you’re short on time, showing your employees that their emotional well-being matters takes just a few moments each day.

  1. Take a couple of minutes during the day to remind your staff that there are options for support and communicate the importance of psychological health and safety.
  2. Encourage peer-to-peer recognition and positive feedback. Sometimes showing gratitude or shouting out a recent achievement can boost morale, reduce stress, and just make someone’s day!
  3. Promote work-life balance and effectively manage workloads with clearly defined duties.
  4. Once in a while, let employees take a few extra minutes for an extended lunch for their mental health.
  5. Share mini appreciation or “self-care” gifts such as $5 gift cards for coffee.
  6. Allow opportunities for continuous learning and corporate wellness classes.

60-Minute Activities

60-minute activities are great to incorporate into your weekly routine! At least 60 minutes each week devoted to the wellness of your employees can make a huge, positive long-term impact on your team through bonding and by improving their mental and physical health.

Hour-long classes dedicated to the mind and body can be done virtually or on-site, in a group, or from an individual workspace or office (did somebody say, “CHAIR YOGA!?”).

Twello works with what works best for you! Select individual classes, specially designed multi-pack classes, or mix and match to create your own! Here are some classes that Twello offers to fill that hour dedicated to mental health awareness this month:

  • Building Boundaries between work and Life
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Mat Yoga
  • Chair Yoga
  • Meditation 101
  • Mindful Eating & Nutrition
  • Mindfulness 101
  • Mindfulness for boosting creativity
  • Mindfulness for boosting focus
  • Mindfulness for stress reduction

Has there been a wellness topic on your radar that you’ve wanted to dive into and share with your employees? Our CEO, Kayla, is an expert keynote speaker and can speak on any subject customized specifically for YOUR company.

Taking a mental break to decompress from work stress, or providing the opportunities to learn something new that can benefit overall wellness in the workplace can be a great way to gift 60 minutes to your employees during the hectic week.

Taking your team out to lunch or setting time aside devoted to team-building and developing strong relationships in the office not only shows your gratitude for your employees’ hard work, but building trust is essential to developing support, improving production, and increasing comfort in giving feedback, praise, and expressing goals.

Half-Day Events That Prioritize Employee Mental Health

Half-day events are an excellent way to show employees that their mental health is a top priority! Devote an afternoon to different team-building activities that are catered around boosting mental wellness.

  • Work out together, go on a hike, or coordinate a sports tournament (Volleyball, dodgeball, table tennis, etc.). Exercise has been known to decrease anxiety, depression, and negative moods, while also improving self-esteem and cognitive function.
  • Create a safe (or zen) space at work devoted to wellness practices such as yoga, meditation, journaling, or relaxing.
  • Coordinate a virtual or in-person art class with the team. Creating different forms of art such as painting, drawing, or pottery are great mood boosters. It is also an excellent way to strengthen team bonds and learn new skills.

If coordinating a large event isn’t something you can squeeze into your busy agenda, why not surprise your employees with an early day? Give them an extra 4 or five hours on World Mental Health Day, or a Friday this month devoted to Mental Health Awareness. Recommend taking this time to relax or be with family, get outside, and do something they love! Remind them that this day is devoted solely to their mental health and self-care.

Take note: mental health isn’t ALL about mental illnesses, but also about maintaining a positive state of well-being. Positive mental health encourages individuals to cope with the challenges, as well as the setbacks that occur in both their personal and professional lives.

How can you promote a positive state of well-being for your employees?

  1. Show your appreciation and acknowledge accomplishments.
  2. Encourage team-building and employee participation.
  3. Offer benefits like flexible schedules and work-from-home opportunities.
  4. Motivate your workers to the advantage of paid personal and vacation time to combat burnout. Remove the fear of “taking a mental health day from work to take care of themselves.” The fear of disappointing bosses or falling behind is very real. Many employees fear being taken out of the running for a promotion they’ve been working towards to someone else because they desperately needed a breather when in reality a break could boost production, creativity, and sharpen focus.

What Does a Mentally Healthy Workplace Look Like for Your Company?

If research shows that over 86% of employees who get treatment for depression display increased productivity, improved work performance, and decreased absenteeism, would you invest in mental health?

Investing in workplace mental health has shown increased employee retention, as well as decreased health care and disability costs. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, adults with serious mental illness develop cardiovascular and metabolic diseases at rates that are twice as high compared to those with no mental illness.

When you shed all the statistics, investing in the mental well-being of your employees increases job satisfaction. “Happy workers are productive workers.” Investing in different tools devoted to World Mental Health Day this year can increase awareness and understanding of crises many individuals face each year.

Don’t stop at World Mental Health day, highlight Mental Health Awareness month all October long! Devotion to mental well-being is, essentially, a lifestyle. As an employer, you can easily build momentum and maintain this awareness culture in your company by creating a daily, or weekly routine of small 30 or 60-minute breaks dedicated to self-care and mental health with the wide variety of corporate wellness classes with Twello. There are many different ways to show that you care but, ultimately, investing in your employees and their mental health may actually save lives.

Book a consultation with Twello’s wellness experts and visit our website for more information. Let our team assist you in creating a program or event for your employees this month as you improve mental health awareness in honour of International Mental Health Day 2024.

Questions about pricing, class recommendations, or availability? Thats what we’re here for!