Mental wellbeing in SMEs

Studies highlight a growing incidence of work-related mental diseases together with increased absence from work and early retirement due to mental illness in most European countries (European Framework for Action on Mental Health and Well-being, 2016). This situation was exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19 who made workers, and especially those of SMEs, feeling overwhelmed by financial instability, anxiety, declined wellbeing and decreasing productivity. (Chowdhury, 2020)

The project responds to the specific needs of employees and managers/owners of SMEs by designing and making available tailor-made resources, tools and strategies to prevent and contrast work-related stress and negative mental health impact of working conditions.

Since project partners are all working directly with these target groups offering programmes and interventions to promote well-being, resilience and inclusion, the project will benefit partner organizations as well as it will be an opportunity for upskilling of staff as well as to learn and pilot new strategies and tools which - when proved successful and replicable - can be incorporated in the standard offer of the organizations themselves.

Activities

The expected tangible result of the project is a set of complementary resources to support SMEs owners, line managers and employees to prevent and tackle mental health issues in the workplace through information, education and implementation of practices. The tools correspond to the PRs:

1. PR1: a publicly available and multi-lingual data base that provides a searchable repository of practices, policies and lessons learned in relation to effective promotion of mental health in the workplace applied in the context of SMEs. Users will be able to filter by action areas, implementation activities, sectors and themes, language, and by regions and countries. The aim of this tool is to provide users (primarily: Human Resources Managers, SMEs associations, mental health practitioners, policy and decision makers) practical examples complemented with suitable tools that can be transferred in their context.
2. PR2: a self-directed e-learning course targeting employees and managers of SMEs and aimed to support the acquisition of skills which will improve their mental well-being in the workplace. This is an accessible tool for any interested company / employees to start a process to create a more positive and healthier environment, thus supporting an improvement in job satisfaction, retention and productivity.
3. PR3: This PR will be a podcast series where experts and/or SMEs owners from the different countries involved in the project will be interviewed to discuss and provide suggestions to SMEs owners about how to recognise signs of poor mental health and what they could do to respond or to prevent them.
4. PR4: The Result is a methodological framework on how to engage stakeholders from different levels around the issue of mental health in the workplace in SMEs involving companies, associations of SMEs, mental health and social practitioners, organizations working in the field of health and safety at work, educators, NGOs etc.

The partnership will also implement a Multiplier Event in each country and an international conference in Denmark.

Partners

• Anziani e non solo societa cooperativa sociale, Italy
• European Health Futures Forum, Ireland
• European Network of Active Living for Mental Health, Belgium
• Kinonikes Sineteristikes Drastiriotites Efpathon Omadon, Greece
• MIELI Mental Health Finland, Finland 
• Rightchallenge – Associação, Portugal
• Rīga Stradiņš University, Latvia