Mental Health in the Workplace - R U OK

Read on for encouragement on how to support a colleague you think may be struggling with mental health issues or thoughts of suicide.

Historically, the workplace hasn’t always been a place for personal matters, especially those as sensitive as mental health and suicide - but with New Zealand’s suicide rate increasing once again in the past year by an alarming 2.5% there’s no room to skirt around this topic.

It's time to start asking those around us;

Sometimes it feels difficult to know how to approach a colleague and remain sensitive to their privacy but if you can sense a colleague is struggling with life - it’s utterly worth saying something.

“Yes, it could feel awkward but unless we open up a dialogue, we will never know what’s going on in people’s minds” says Jane Kennelly, Business Relationship Director at Frog Recruitment and people2people, “but if you approach the topic with sensitivity and genuine compassion you really can help those who need support.”

Ways to approach a conversation:

This justifies their emotions and ensures they don’t feel trivialised. Avoid comments like “that’s not so bad’ or ‘you’ll get through it’ – as these be diminishing and undermining.

What services are available? Do they include free counselling sessions? Seeking guidance confidentially from a manager can help alleviate the pressure.

This will help people who might feel uncomfortable opening up and to understand it’s perfectly Ok to do so - rather than fear they may be ridiculed or ostracised.

“By being tuned-in observers of our colleagues, and asking them this simple question could be the difference between a work mate giving you a glimpse of why they are feeling the way they are - versus being closed down and possibly choosing to make a really serious mistake,” says Kennelly.

If you need to talk to or need advice; below are a list of organisations that offer all kinds of free support: