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Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace

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Well-Being in the Workplace: Governance and Sustainability Insights to Promote Workplace Health

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Abstract

This chapter explores empirical research that relates to employees’ perspectives on mental health and well-being in the workplace. This research is part of a broader research project that explored employees’ reactions to HRM practices, the quality of working life, leadership, and well-being in the workplace. Informants were asked five research questions: definition and understanding of mental health and mental ill-health; experiences of mental ill-health at work and support strategies to assist employees; leadership development to respond to mental health concerns; removing the stigma of mental ill-health at work; and enhancing mental health and well-being in the workplace. The methodological approach adopted was mixed qualitative and entailed thirty-six semi-structured interviews and two focus groups with employees, the union, managers, and executive directors, respectively. The findings reveal that informants defined mental health as cognitive and psychological stability and satisfaction. In contrast, mental ill-health was defined as mistreatment at work that results in depression, anxiety, and emotional instability. The findings from the other research questions relate to the material aspects of the employment relationship that will effectively govern and manage the twenty-first-century workforce for sustained mental health and well-being.

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  1. My Work & Well-Being Consulting Inc.,, Prince George, BC, Canada

    Nicole Cvenkel

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  1. Nicole Cvenkel
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Correspondence to Nicole Cvenkel .

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Cvenkel, N. (2020). Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace. In: Well-Being in the Workplace: Governance and Sustainability Insights to Promote Workplace Health . Approaches to Global Sustainability, Markets, and Governance. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3619-9_8

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