The WHO Report and U.S. Surgeon General recommendations say there needs to be a shift in how employers approach mental health from an organizational level by addressing the environment and design of work to lower the risk to employee mental health, similar to the approach to employee physical health.

The World Health Organization Guidelines for Mental Health at Work cover how the work experience shapes mental health and the key for organizations is to evaluate the psychosocial risk factors. Risk factors include supervisor support, workload, lack of goal clarity, harassment, etc. Organizations must assess these risk factors and control them through management practices, corporate policies, and internal program design.

U.S. Surgeon General framework focuses on how it is the employer's responsibility to design the workplace to protect employee mental health, including an emphasis on a mentally healthy experience over perks. Employee mental health needs include connection + community, work-life harmony, work voice + equity, mattering at work, and opportunity for growth.

• Three key takeaways:
• Individual and workplace well-being are interdependent
• Organizational approaches are necessary to prevent and curb mental health distress
• Employers need to proactively assess psychosocial risks at work in order to mitigate risk and potential harm