Mental health initiatives
Comcare works in partnership with employers and industry to undertake activities that address our four key mental health priorities.
Our key priorities for mentally healthy workplaces
- Reduce stigma and encourage early help-seeking by raising awareness of stigma and the importance of early help-seeking through education and promotion, and improved participation in early intervention initiatives.
- Enhance manager confidence and capability by providing managers with accessible and practical information around creating mentally healthy workplaces and supporting individuals who may be struggling with their mental health.
- Improve the management of workplace factors by connecting workplaces to better-practice evidence-based resources and providing education on systematic approaches to creating mentally healthy workplaces.
- Explore better-practice recovery and return to work by partnering with experts and employers to trial and test better-practice, evidence-based approaches to managing recovery and return-to-work for psychological injuries.
Employees experience workplace stigma
Concern about experiencing mental health stigma can prevent workers from feeling safe to disclose their mental health condition and/or seek help at work.
Intervening early and providing support is key for better health outcomes in the long term. To help equip managers with the skills they need to support worker wellbeing we’ve launched the Mental Notes program.
Read our manager resource kit to help tackle mental health-related stigma and our conversation guide to learn how to start a conversation about mental health at work.
More resources
- Mental health coaching service (NewAccess workplaces) project
- Early intervention service pilot project
- Supporting your team
Enhanced manager confidence and capability
Enhanced manager confidence and capability is needed to create a safe culture of understanding and support. Managers play an essential role in supporting employee mental health.
Workplace factors including job exposure
Workplace factors can cause unnecessary stress and can lead to psychological injury for workers. A systematic approach is necessary in preventing poor mental health outcomes.
- People at Work: A free online tool to support better psychosocial risk management
- Lead indicators mentoring program project
- Supporting better practice Employer Assistance Program (EAP) services
Recovery and return to work are more complex
Complexities in recovery and return to work processes can negatively impact health outcomes for workers. A focus on early intervention and evidence-based treatment is fundamental to a speedy recovery.
