The aim of the project is to bring the message to companies that positive mental well-being starts with decent working conditions, by trying to reduce the factors in the work environment that affect mental health.
On Monday, 28.09, the project "Mental Health Matters" started with a meeting of project partners at TalTech. The project is led by Prof. Karin Reinhold from Department of Business Administration. Experts from Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Poland, Sweden and Norway participate in the project.
Karin explains:
There are already a large number of employers for whom mental wellbeing is an important issue and who support the mental health of their employees. In doing so, they ensure that employees remain productive and engaged throughout their careers. Unfortunately, not all employers are aware of the importance of this issue: both in Estonia and in Scandinavia, the number of work-related burnouts is on the rise. The sad statistics were a wake-up call that we need to act together with experts from neighbouring countries. This is how the 'Mental Health Matters' project was born, which quickly received funding from the Interreg programme.
The project will involve a wide range of actors from policy makers and representatives of the Labour Inspectorate to small and medium-sized enterprises. Together, they will assess the relevance and challenges of the measures to be used. In addition, the project will develop a "first aid kit" to support SME owners and managers who often lack access to experts to manage psychosocial risks in the workplace. The project will run for 2 years.
