University of Tasmania, Australia

Ms Narelle Butt

Graduate Research Candidate

Contact Details

Project title: Mental Health Promotion and the Workplace

Abstract
The study will investigate the organisational context, and its relevance to mental health promotion. In particular the study will explore the following;

• Develop/determine an appropriate tool for assessment of the mental health of an organisation/workplace
• Develop/determine an appropriate tool for assessment of mental health of employees of the organisation/workplace
• Develop/determine the components of an effective mental health promotion intervention for an organisation/workplace
• Assess the mental health of an organisation/workplace and assess the mental health of employees of the organisation/workplace.
• Implement a mental health promotion intervention in the organisation/workplace
• Assess the mental health of the organisation/workplace and the employees after the mental health promotion intervention. In particular assessing mental health gain (Tudor, 1996) of the organisation/workplace and employees after the mental health promotion intervention.

Research has suggested the mental health of both individuals and organisations can be assessed despite this the research has tended to focus on assessment of individual mental health with little regard for the assessment of organisational mental health (Tudor, 1996). It has been proposed that the predominant overall focus of contemporary western literature, in the area of mental health, is on individualistic, psychological constructs, not on social conditions, structures, contexts and processes in which individuals experiences are grounded (Tudor, 1996). It is proposed that the focus on social conditions, structures, contexts and processes of individual experience should include the workplace. In particular consideration of the social and cultural norms of the workplace should form part of organisational mental health assessment as social and cultural norms are said to affect mental health while social values are said to determine the response to mental health (Tudor, 1996).

Mental health gain in the workplace has been presented as a focus on addressing organisational issues as a priority as distinct from individualising issues (Tudor, 1996). There is a tendency for organisations to focus, particularly in cases of employee stress, on the individual and ultimately pathologise the individual resulting in mental health promotion activities aimed at managing the individual stress or pro-active plan of not employing individuals with mental health issues (Tudor, 1996).

Many models of mental health promotion have been proposed and generally focus on elements presented for development amongst individuals (Tudor, 1996 & Cattan & Tilford, 2006). However, little appears to have been done to develop models of mental health promotion which focus on the organisation as an entity.

Keywords
Mental health promotion, workplace, organisational context, social and cultural norms, mental health gain.