Mental Health as a key performance indicator (KPI) says Jeff Kennett... The former Victorian Premier has called for the performance bonuses for chief executives to be partially tied to the mental wellbeing of their staff.  Do you agree? Kennett made the proposal to the Business Council of Australia (BCA) on Monday. Jeff Kennett certainly gets my vote on this initiative! Mentally Healthy workplaces are equally as important to Australian workers as physically safe workplaces. Yet, as a training company who delivers Mental Health First Aid to businesses, I am often shocked at the resistance from Managers in training staff on the ability to recognise and understand Mental Health issues. Further, statistics show that workplaces are not meeting their expectations:  91% of Managers believe mental health in the workplace is important (88% believe physical safety is important). Despite this, only 52% of employees believe their workplace is mentally healthy compared to 76% for physical safety. Only five in ten (50%) believe their most senior leader values mental health. The Facts - Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2007 National Mental Health and Well-Being Survey (NMHWS):

• One in five Australians have taken time off work in the past 12 months because they felt stressed, anxious, depressed or mentally unhealthy.
• This statistic is more than twice as high (46%) among those who consider their workplace mentally unhealthy.
• Employees who believe their workplace is mentally unhealthy are unlikely to disclose within their workplace if they are experiencing a mental health condition, seek support from HR/management, or offer support to a colleague with a mental health condition.

Evidence has shown that promoting the physical and psychological wellness of employees in combination helps to improve the well-being of the whole population over the long term. This means engaging and educating those managers and leaders who influence employees, hence the importance of working with workplaces to enhance the workplace culture so that wellness is seen as a priority (Stone, Deci, Ryan, 2008). Since the immediate manager can have a big influence on their staff they can play a major role in driving awareness and creating a mentally well workplace. As Kennett says “it is time for industry leaders big and small to give the mental health of their workforce the same priority they would give any other measurable figure”. He rejected the idea that mental health is too subjective a factor to measure, and said lost productivity cost the economy $10.9 billion a year. In addition research shows that for every dollar invested in creating a mentally healthy workplace there is a $2.30 return. That’s a return on investment of 130% !" Take the first step to joining us in creating mentally well workplaces by training your staff in the Mental Health First Aid Certificate www.jigsaw.edu.au