The Association Blog

Tools for discussing and promoting mental health in the workplace

As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to a close, this week’s tip serves as a reminder that discussing and promoting mental health in the workplace can, and should, continue all year long.

While you may have already passed along resources or hosted special events for staff at your shelter this month, if you haven’t, you can get started at any time. One shelter shared what they have been doing to focus on the importance of mental health:

• Employee Wellness Raffle, where staff can drop a ticket into a bin to win a variety of wellness-themed $50 gift cards
• Virtual Meditation: Thirty-minute guided Zoom sessions aimed at mindfulness and stress reduction
• Special mental health awareness bracelets and pins available in the breakroom
• Promotion of new benefits in support of the upcoming annual benefits open enrollment period (in this shelter’s case, they added a medical carrier that offers mental health resources and added one PTO day of pet bereavement to each calendar year)

You may also wish to get a copy of Mental Health America’s 2024 Mental Health Month toolkit, a 52-page pdf that includes worksheets and fact sheets, covering topics ranging from “Things you can say when you’re not ‘fine’” to negative news coverage and mental health.

Learn More

Mental Health America’s 2024 Mental Health Month Toolkit
Sample materials from the toolkit:
Fact sheet: What to Say When Someone Tells You They’re Fine, But They’re Not
Worksheet: “Time to Talk” letter template