Holistic wellbeing | How to get to the root causes of work-related stress

Daniela Masters, Head of Global Health and Wellbeing Programmes at Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) interviews Jason van Schie - Psychologist and Co-Founder of People Diagnostix, the company behind FlourishDx

GEB partnered with FlourishDx early last year, before the ISO 45003:2021 management standard for psychological health and safety at work was introduced. GEB’s healthcare dashboard data was indicating a need for multinational employers to address health and wellbeing strategically and holistically and, underpinning this, we identified a need for cross-departmental collaboration; particularly across HR and Health & Safety or Risk Management.

Our medical claims data suggested a potential increase in co-morbidities between physical and mental illness in 2020. In the last two years the agenda for a strategic approach to mental health in the workplace has been pushed forward by several years. Individuals and organisation have all been affected by the drastic changes the pandemic brought to our working and private life.

The partnership with FlourishDx was established with a view to helping clients access the support they need to look under the bonnet of their organisations; to get to grips with the root causes of work-related stress and, in the process, help prevent psychological injuries and promote positive mental health in the workplace. The underlying idea of the ISO45003 is a shared responsibility for employee and employer. The employee is asked to look after their personal coping strategies for stress, while the employer will need to address organisational mental health hazards.