Podcast

People Risk Podcast: Managing Mental Health Risks

COVID-19 put people-related risks firmly on the boardroom agenda. As the single largest health crisis of our time, the pandemic has reinforced how employer-sponsored health, risk protection and well-being plans are central pillars of the employee value proposition. CEOs quickly recognised the impact that well-being can have on business continuity, safety, employee performance, the client experience, reputation and ultimately the bottom line. The past year has also shone a light on the role that looking after employees plays in meeting rising environmental, social and corporate governance expectations.

The 2021 Global Risks Report, published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Marsh McLennan highlights the major threats that are likely to reshape our world over the next decade. Unsurprisingly, people risks along with digital, political and societal risks dominated the landscape, bringing new challenges that are both constantly evolving and critical to address.

In our first episode of the European MMB People Risk podcast, Managing Mental Health Risks, we delve into any organisation’s most important asset: their people, and why their health and well-being determines the health and resilience of the company.

This episode is hosted by Helena Zikova, MMB Growth Enablement Leader, and features special guest Wolfgang Seidl, who leads the Workplace Health Solutions practice at Mercer Marsh Benefits.

Key Takeaways:

Mental health has a direct impact on our output and engagement. Employers have now woken up to the importance of having a health strategy in place and organisations should provide a safe environment that protects people from infections, while at the same time, creating space for social interaction and wellbeing to enhance psychological well-being.
When we survey people and ask: “What contributes most to wellbeing?” they tell us: “Health, good work and relationships”. The pandemic has told us that those three items were really key to surviving those challenges that we were facing.
More and more people are feeling anxious, stressed or depressed and lots of people are running into financial difficulties. It’s important that businesses recognise the long-term health implications of both coronavirus itself and some of the associated mental health issues.
Managers are well placed to notice when one of their team members depressed, stressed, unwell, or even experiencing domestic violence: they should watch out for changes in colleague behaviour, mood, productivity or engagement and use basic empathy skills to support employees.

About our Speaker

Wolfgang Seidl leads the Workplace Health Solutions practice at Mercer Marsh Benefits, advising companies on health and wellbeing strategy. Wolfgang is a Doctor of Medicine, also master’s degree in psychiatry, philosophy and society, and he is an accredited psychotherapist. He also pioneered Return on Investment Research in Mental Health at work.

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People Risk Podcast: Managing Mental Health Risks

Key Takeaways:

About our Speaker

Wolfgang Seidl

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