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World Mental Health Day give way for public relations to focus on talent.

World Mental Health Day give way for public relations to focus on talent.

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light."

 Albus Dumbledore

However, how do we keep the best employees? On this year's World Mental Health Day, we will explore how a focus on wellbeing might be the answer.

It is a time of great change in our lives ranging from aftereffects of a pandemic to current economic uncertainty, political shifts and death of recent monarch. How people work has also changed around us. Consequently, many people are considering making changes in their own lives leading to a fast-paced job market. People are thinking about what they want from their jobs and how they’d like to be employed as well. But while there is great change, there is also great opportunity; an opportunity to re-think how we manage our most valuable assets-our human resources.

Change professionals are at the vanguard of transformation. We stay constantly connected to breaking news cycles and monitor real-time and often disparaging social media conversations with an obligation to respond quickly yet accurately. It’s sometimes breathtaking – nothing beats that buzz of seeing a new campaign make headlines – but this high-octane culture can lead to burnout and mental illness.

How best can we keep our staff safe? When developing a well-being strategy, it must be organisation-wide. The strategy should consider how each team functions with attention toward job design, team structure and recruitment for specific skills required by PR practitioners. Empathy is key for excellent leadership in employee well-being, engagement, talent retention as well as performance improvement purposes. Top-down leadership is essential.

In terms of organisational wellbeing training Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAiders) is a good starting point for any company or business. MHFAiders act as the first port of call for anyone facing mental health challenges; hence they can guide them towards more resources and services.

Workplaces need supportive cultures where employees can express themselves freely. Combining diversity inclusion with health and wellbeing will produce positive changes in workplace mental health outcomes as well as employee performance.

Flexibility must also be encouraged. This should not be a "one size fits all" approach but one that is centered on the employee. Options may include for instance, hybrid/home working, and a four-day work week. Regular office days build company morale but more importantly they allow employees to exercise their creative abilities by giving them opportunities to participate in brainstorming sessions and plan meetings.

There must be well-designed job posts. In many cases, public relations recruits are expected to do everything, yet end up doing nothing right. This can lead to feelings of incompetence. Some people have outstanding strength in one area of public relations, but inability within another; however their roles encompass everything else.

Flexibility should also be encouraged. Employee-first rather than “one-size-fits-all” options have to be taken into account. They could include hybrid/home working or a four-day work week. Besides enhancing company morale, official work days always gives room for creativity as they allow workers develop and showcase their talents during creative sessions or while planning events

Designing a good job is very important. Public relations recruits are often viewed as jills-of-all-trades but may not end up being masters of any. This can make them feel like they failed. Some people excel in one aspect of public relations, but the nature of their jobs requires them to perform excellently in all areas.

On World Mental Health Day, it becomes necessary that we take stock and unite in promoting care and attention for mental health issues among our nearest ones. Instead of global strategies aimed at improving mental health, we recommend creating workplaces with space for diverse talents so as to awaken business leaders to pressing concerns about people’s psychological conditions.