Psychological health is the state of an individual’s emotional and mental well-being, influencing their cognition, perception, and behavior. It determines how they handle stress, relationships, and decision-making. It’s a critical factor in maintaining productivity and creating healthy, safe work environments. As the workplace becomes increasingly demanding and stressful, a growing number of employees are seeking out psychological health resources. This guide, developed by MHCC and HealthCareCAN, will help you better understand what factors contribute to an employee’s psychological health and safety and provide information on how to create a more psychologically healthy workplace.
Having a psychological health condition can make it difficult to function in everyday life, stick to a schedule, stay social, maintain hygiene, and more. But with early and consistent treatment — often a combination of medication and psychotherapy — people with mental illness can overcome challenges, manage symptoms, and live a fulfilling life.
Health psychology is a discipline that explores how biology, psychology, and behaviour influence physical and mental health. It’s also known as behavioral medicine, psychosomatic medicine, and medical psychology. It’s a cross-disciplinary field that incorporates ideas from other disciplines, including medicine and public health, to examine the complex interplay between biological and social factors that impact health and disease (Cooper & Slater, 2010).
The study of psychological and sociocultural influences on health is also called critical health psychology. It’s a subfield of health psychology that addresses power dynamics and their impacts on individual and community-level determinants of health. It seeks to prioritize the universal right to health, especially for those who are marginalized. It also promotes social justice and advocates for the rights of individuals to access quality, affordable healthcare (Gross et al., 2014; Rekhi, 2021).
A lack of cultural competency among mental health professionals can limit a person’s access to care and reduce their comfort level with therapeutic settings. This can hinder therapeutic relationships, which require trust and understanding to thrive. Having more diverse representation in the mental health field can expand marginalized communities’ access to services and help them feel at ease in therapeutic settings (Mental Health America, 2018).
Whether it’s work-related or not, stress affects our mental health. A wide range of conditions, such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and addiction, can occur when we’re under pressure. However, many people don’t know what to do about it or feel they don’t have the time or money to seek help.
A wide range of health-related issues can cause workplace psychological health problems, including burnout and job dissatisfaction. These problems can lead to lower performance and increased absenteeism and turnover, and may even put your organization at risk for costly legal actions and poor morale. A healthy workforce is essential for any business, and addressing psychological health issues is one way to ensure it.