World Mental Health Day, 10 October: Mental health at work celebrated with coffee at the Stem Cell Centre

By agata [dot] garpenlind [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se (Agata Garpenlind) - published 10 October 2024

Stem Cell Centre, Mental Health Day, 2024, by Agata Garpenlind

This year's theme for WHO Day is "Mental health at work". At the Stem Cell Centre, they took a joint mental break for coffee and mingle with colleagues in order to promote a supportive and inclusive work environment.

As part of the ongoing commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee at Stem Cell Centre invited to a well-deserved mental break in honor of World Mental Health Day on October 10, 2024.

This year’s World Mental Health Day theme, “Prioritizing Mental Health in the Workplace,” aligned perfectly with the intention behind this event.

From the invite: "We recognize the pressures that can come with academic and research environments, and we hope this fika break serves as a reminder of the importance of taking time to care for your mental well-being."

The ladies in the first image of the video from left to right are:

Laura Castilla Vallmanya (first one to speak in the video)

Ofelia Karlsson

Vivien Horvath (second one to speak in the video)

Anita Adami.

World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2024 “Mental Health at Work"

You can learn more about the global initiative and this year’s theme by visiting the World Mental Health Day website.

This World Mental Health Day, WHO is uniting with partners to highlight the vital connection between mental health and work. Safe, healthy working environments can act as a protective factor for mental health. Unhealthy conditions including stigma, discrimination, and exposure to risks like harassment and other poor working conditions, can pose significant risks, affecting mental health, overall quality of life and consequently participation or productivity at work. With 60% of the global population in work, urgent action is needed to ensure work prevents risks to mental health and protects and supports mental health at work.

It is essential for governments, employers, the organizations which represent workers and employers, and other stakeholders responsible for workers’ health and safety to work together to improve mental health at work. Action to address mental health at work should be done with the meaningful involvement of workers and their representatives, and persons with lived experience of mental health conditions. By investing efforts and resources in evidence-based approaches and interventions at work, we can ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive at work and in life. Let's take action today for a healthier future.