ABSTRACT
Mental health is vitally important to workplace wellbeing in the twenty-first century. The emergence of ‘mentofacturing’ in the late twentieth-century turned the focus from ‘made by hand’ to ‘made by the mind’. Mental health has risen to the top of managers’ priorities at work, their own mental health and that of employees. The introduction defines mental health, taking the World Health Organization conceptualization as positive emotional and psychological wellbeing coupled with social integration within a web of supportive interpersonal relationships. The second section of the chapter identifies three key threats to employee mental health. The third section presents a model for the protection of mental health and the prevention of mental distress at work. The key role of a chief clinical officer within this model is discussed. The fourth section identifies Stages 2 and 3 surveillance indicators and management strategies for maintaining or restoring mental health. The conclusion emphasizes the manager’s ownership of positively reinforcing employee resilience and vitality while referring employees in need for professional clinical aid.
