Strategy | New standards for a unified, global, approach to mental wellbeing

By Tracey Ward Head of Business Development & Marketing, Generali Employee Benefits UK

Trying to ensure a consistent strategic direction for mental health and wellbeing across a global organisation can be like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

When you are dealing with multiple countries, each with their own health and safety standards (adherence with which - not to mention interpretation of - can vary hugely too), a catch-all strategy is unlikely to fit. Consequently, organisations have traditionally approached employee mental wellbeing in a piecemeal manner. At the same time, issues such as work-related stress and burnout continue on an upward trajectory.

It is with this in mind that new proposals for the first global standards, giving organisations practical guidance on how to manage psychological health and wellbeing in the workplace – otherwise known as psychosocial risk – were recently published as part of a consultation document. The consultation for ISO 45003 Psychological Health and Safety at Work closed in October, with the final standard expected to be published in summer 2021.¹