With what has been stated about how much mental health issues in the workforce is costing each year, it’s no wonder organisations are looking for ways to create and sustain a mentally healthy workplace environment.

There is an abundance of resources available from mental health providers that reassuringly all portray the same messages. If these resources explain what signs to look out for and give guidance on how to handle these delicate and sensitive situations with employees, and if organisations promote professional development to educate their employees about mental health, then it would be fair to say that we should start to see a reduction in overall costs relating to mental health in the workforce.

If only it was that simple!

Talking to organisations and their leadership teams, two things that stood out collectively from our conversations was the hardship in trying to keep up with workplace demands and to ensure their employees were okay and coping. The later always came a distant second. They disclosed that in general terms they have resources available but most of the time were not utilised. Some admitted to lacking the confidence or skills even after doing training to approach an employee who is showing behavioural signs of mental health issues in case they are wrong or make matters worse. They all admitted that they don’t have the time and man hours to do everything that is asked of them each day. This last admission I believe is a common workplace concern in most industries, if not all.

Unfortunately, time is the key factor in creating and sustaining a mentally healthy workforce. Organisations that are proactive internally with mental health prevention strategies, well done, however, caution needs to be highlighted to not put structures in place if the organisation cannot sustain them. The time and expertise needed to create change for a mentally healthy workplace, and then sustain the improvement of this change for an organisation can be overwhelming for all involved and adds to the already high workload employees encounter every day.

There is hope and fortunately, organisations who are engaging in external assistance to work with them to coordinate, and manage the creation and sustainability of a mentally healthy workplace, are realising that the favourable factors far outweigh the unfavourable factors. Bringing workforce mental health prevention specialists into the organisations working arena, is proving to be mentally healthy and is the way of the future. One of life's hardest attributes is asking for support, but when the brave finally ask, they wonder why they didn't ask earlier.