|  Hear me Speak   |  Mental Health Onboarding
Hear me Speak, Leadership & HR
By

Mental Health Onboarding

We’re expecting miracles when only 21%* of companies have an on-boarding process that includes sessions on how to strengthen mental wellbeing. While many organisations now understand the need to consider mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, the responses from the 82 people who voted in our poll suggest that there is a gap between intention and reality.

 

It is not rocket science to think that managers want new hire to be able to look after themselves, to thrive and perform, recognising when they’re not ok, and knowing what to do about it. Yet this is not innate knowledge. We have a duty of care to empower people to understand their mental wellbeing and to know what to do to help themselves.  

 

Your intention and commitment might be right, but without a process to implement it, your impact on positive mental wellbeing will not be as effective. By formalising the provision you have in place from the outset, and linking that with increased knowledge and practical skills and strategies from a development programme, you set the right tone for new starters to thrive within your organisation. 

 

Getting mental health included in the induction process can: 

 

In our webinar this month, Anna and I explored what good mental wellbeing onboarding can look like. We advocate using an e-learning approach that is informative and interactive, broken down into bite-size chunks that support more effective learning. 

 

 

The course covers key aspects of good mental wellbeing, including: 

Module 1 – Setting the scene 
  • Mental health continuum 
  • Self awareness about where I am now​ 
  • How I want to feel​ 
  • Early warning signs and when to seek professional help​ 

​ 

Module 2 – foundations for thriving​ 
  • Self care; meeting our emotional needs​ 
  • Values 
  • Relationships​ 

​ 

Module 3 – the influence of thinking 
  • My inner voice 
  • Internal hijackers 
  • The connection between thoughts and emotions 
  • Where I choose to focus 

​​ 

Module 4 – practical actions​ 
  • Sleep​ 
  • Routine​  
  • Boundaries 
  • Mindfulness meditation​ 
  • Exercise 

​ 

Module 5 –​ A personalized plan 
  • Setting out my plan for aspects I want to continue to develop or change, depending on what sort of mental health improvements I would like to see. ​ 

 

 

A taster… 

This is just a snippet but it highlights the engaging visuals that will be accompanied by Anna and I on screen, explaining key concepts and asking questions to prompt reflection for participants to apply the ideas to themselves. 

 

 

Throughout the modules there are regular invitations to interact and prompts to check out additional resources or have a go at specific activities. There is no assessment. Instead, we recommend providing time for the employees to engage with the process and then share what they have taken away, tried, noticed and any additional ideas to build a wellbeing plan that works in practice. 

 

Are you ready to find out more? Are you interested in trialling a mental health onboarding process? Get in touch and we can have a conversation.
 

* LI survey November 2021: 82 respondents 

0