Mental Health Continuum
ESDC recognizes that its most valuable resource is its employees; without them, an organization cannot succeed, be productive or meet its mandate. Over time, it has become obvious that for a department to reach its optimal output potential, it must be composed of physically and mentally healthy employees.
As individuals, we are responsible for our own well-being. Supporting and promoting mental health requires an understanding of the signs and symptoms that can appear when someone is struggling.
In the hopes of finding strategies to help everyone within the workplace to stay mentally healthy or return to good mental health, ESDC has developed two tools1:
- The Self-Awareness Tool can assist all ESDC employees in identifying signs of good and poor mental health within themselves, and in finding suggestions on ways to take action to maintain or reestablish a mental health balance.
- The Manager’s Tool can be used jointly with the Self-Awareness Tool to help managers recognize these signs in employees and to guide them on what can be done to support their employees at the various stages of the continuum. The Manager’s Tool also contains useful resources for managers to learn more and develop their skills in this area.
Whether you are a person dealing with your own challenges or a manager trying to support an employee going through a rough time, remember: the sooner you act, the better!
1 These tools are based on Department of National Defense’s Mental Health Continuum Model.