Athanasios Chirvatidis, Regional Staff CounsellorMaintaining your mental health and creating a good work-life balance means paying attention to both organizational and individual factors.
To support the mental health and well-being of WHO staff, the first regional staff counsellor, Mr Athanasios Chirvatidis, provides some examples of practical action.
He explains that setting healthy boundaries and following an organized schedule after working hours is essential. Some issues that staff may face include difficulties in the workplace, personal issues or even critical incidents. The new virtual working modalities can also present challenges to staff well-being, so additional support mechanisms to alleviate these stressors are helpful.
Some signs of stress and burnout can readily surface and be easily recognized, while others are more subtle. Staff should try to monitor their stress levels and be aware of how they react mentally, emotionally and physically to stress. Physical symptoms include muscle tension and headaches, while emotional and cognitive symptoms can manifest as difficulty in concentrating, memory problems, or experiencing unusual and heightened anxiety. To prevent escalation of stress, none of these symptoms should be overlooked. From an organizational perspective, strategies need to be implemented to reduce staff burnout – which requires transformational changes to prioritize staff well-being.
People often come in when everything is already on fire. We need to work on prevention, psychoeducation and raising awareness around mental health and well-being at the workplace
Athanasios suggests entrenching some personal preventive measures for stress – by pausing, reflecting and recalibrating, and making a habit of self-care in our daily activities. Practising meditation in the workplace and at home, routinely doing physical exercise and introducing a “mental commute” when teleworking, by taking a break for reflection, are scientifically proven examples. Realigning a person’s perspective on the tasks at hand and help with issues in our personal lives can be sought by approaching the staff counsellor, the regional ombudsman or any relevant actor. Athanasios is also available for managerial consultations, to help leaders and managers support best practices for team well-being. In addition, it may be helpful to visit WHO’s newly launched mental health platform for extra support, guidance and awareness.
https://mentalhealthatwork.app/
