Good Practice - Project
Balancing the mind at work
A CAP funded project to raise awareness about rural workplace mental health and provide tools that help rural employers to establish a culture of openness and support.
General information
RDP Priority
- P6. Social inclusion and local development
RDP Focus Area
- 6B: Local development
RDP Measure
- M07: Basic services & village renewal
Summary
Mental health is a major reason for people dropping out of the rural workforce before the age of retirement. This project emphasises the value of addressing mental health in the workplace while helping rural companies to establish a culture of openness and support.
Results
Mental health professionals were able to reach a diverse array of workers and professions in a variety of different working environments across all the rural working communities in the area. They encouraged broad uptake of a ‘Happy Place to Work’ certification instrument through a programme of workshops to improve mental wellbeing in the workplace.
Promoter
MIELI Tukitalo mielenterveys ry
Funding
Total budget 128 302.00 (EUR)
EAFRD 48 498.00 (EUR)
National/Regional 66 974.00 (EUR)
Private 12 830 (EUR)
Ressourcen
Balancing the mind at work
(PDF – 2.4 MB)
Context
The COVID-19 pandemic, along with on-going economic uncertainty, may have created new challenges for many people in their day-to-day working life. The fast pace of new information and changing working practices may have, in many cases, led to a sense of information overload and mental exhaustion. These factors can align to make mental health a major reason for people dropping out of the workforce before the age of retirement in Finland. The phenomenon has particularly impacted rural areas, where employers can struggle to recruit and retain skilled workers.
Objectives
The project aimed to tackle a growing rural development issue of ‘burn out’ and its impact on workforce retention in Finland’s countryside. It emphasised the value of addressing mental health in rural workplaces and helped companies establish a culture of openness and support.
Activities
The project was implemented in the Pirkanmaa region by ‘MIELI Tukitalo mielenterveys ry’, which is the local branch of the national ‘MIELI’ mental health association. Project activities included:
- Working through partnership to raise awareness about mental health to combat stigma and discrimination at work.
- Promoting the ‘Happy Place to Work’ certification instrument created by the Finnish Mental Health Organization (MIELI), which provides an easy-to-follow checklist of actions that organisations can implement to improve mental wellbeing in the workplace.
- Organising hands-on workshops to discuss the issue of mental health in working environments and providing practical tools for individuals, teams, and employers. Topics included: ‘How to feel better by balancing your expectations’, ‘How to recover at work and from work’, ‘How to promote your own well-being’, ‘How to discuss challenging issues’, ‘How to champion positive communication’.
Main results
The most important result of the project was that mental health professionals were able to reach all of the rural working communities in the area, which includes a diverse array of workers and professions in a variety of different working environments: schools, public administration, individual entrepreneurs and private companies from different fields (e.g. care giving, industrial, sports, etc.).
Key lessons
Many employers saw mental health as a necessary step to improving the image of their business in the eyes of employees and job seekers. It was positive to find how open the different types of employers were to discussing and addressing the issue of mental health.