Amay Insights

Discover why mental health at work matters and how you can take care of your mental well-being to be more productive, satisfied and sustainably successful in your career.

Why it matters

Mental health is an essential component of your health and a foundation for your well-being and success in your personal and professional life. 1

It has an impact on your quality of life, productivity and job satisfaction and influences the quality of your work and career. 2

This means that if your mental health is good, your overall wellbeing, happiness and success at work increases, and if it is bad, it decreases.

That is why, it is relevant to learn more about how mental health has an impact on your work and what you can do to improve mental health at work for yourself and others.

Quality of Life

The first aspect of your work that your mental health has an impact on is your quality of life.

Quality of life describes your overall wellbeing and happiness with your life, including your work.

According to the American Psychological Association it can be defined as:

“The extent to which a person obtains satisfaction from life.” 3

If your mental health is good, your quality of life, motivation and work experience improve.

This makes sense, because as human beings we want to feel good and healthy and be happy with how we spend our life.

Productivity

Next, the second aspect that your mental health has an impact on is your productivity.

Productivity describes how effective and efficient you perform tasks at your work, reach your goals and achieve progress.

According to the American Psychological Association it can be defined as:

“The relationship between the quantity or quality of output (…) and the input (…) required to create it.” 4

If your mental health is good, your productivity and your ability to perform tasks and achieve progress improves.

This makes sense, because when you are less impacted by stress, anxiety or sadness, you can focus better and are more productive in the work that you do.

Job Satisfaction

Finally, the third aspect that your mental health has an impact on is your job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction describes how happy and satisfied you are with your job and how much you like the work that you are doing.

According to the American Psychological Association it can be defined as:

“The attitude of a worker toward their job, often expressed in a (…) response of liking or disliking the work itself.” 5

If your mental health is good, your job satisfaction and your overall happiness with your work improves.

This makes sense, because when you feel better at work and your mental well-being is good, you naturally are more satisfied with your work and feel better with your job.

How to stay mentally healthy at work

You now know why mental health at work matters, how it influences your quality of life, productivity and job satisfaction and why it is the foundation for a successful career.

But what can you actually do to improve mental health at work for yourself and your team? Here are three key steps:

Step 1: Take care of your mental well-being

First of all, take care of your own mental health at work.

This means that you should actively take time for mental well-being and learn how to protect yourself against early signs of burnout, anxiety and depression. You can use tools like the Amay App to assess, improve and monitor your mental health.

Step 2: Help your team and colleagues

Second, help others to stay mentally healthy at work.

If you see a colleague at work struggling with signs of stress, anxiety or sadness, respectfully reach out to them and offer them your support or recommend them to seek help from a mental health professional like a medical doctor or psychotherapist.

Step 3: Advocate for change

Finally, advocate for change to improve mental health in your organisation.

Start a conversation with your people manager or leadership about how you can create a more supportive work environment that takes care of the mental health of everyone.

The value of mental health at work

By taking care of your and others mental health at work you can not only improve your and others mental well-being, but also your and others quality of life, productivity and job satisfaction.

Thereby, you can be better at your work, reach your goals and build a happy and sustainably successful professional life.

Learn more

If you want to learn more about how to stay mentally healthy with Amay, check out Amay App and Medical Quality.

Sources

1. World Health Organization (2024). Mental Health. Accessed on December 7, 2024.
2. Greenwood, K., & Anas, J. (2021). It’s a new era for mental health at work. Harvard Business Review, 4. Accessed on December 11, 2024.
3. American Psychological Association (2024). Quality of Life. Accessed on December 11, 2024.
4. American Psychological Association (2024). Productivity. Accessed on December 11, 2024.
5. American Psychological Association (2024). Job Satisfaction. Accessed on December 11, 2024.