Proceedings From a National Summit on Workplace Mental Health and Well-being: A Focus on the Graduate Academic Environment.

Abstract

The aim of the study is to spotlight the challenges, gaps, and opportunities to improve workforce mental health and well-being in higher education institutions. We convened a full-day summit of subject matter experts from academia, business, government, and practice to share research and best practices on workplace mental health. Highlights from the summit are presented in this paper covering the importance of leadership and culture; the mental health costs associated with being a Black STEM scholar; the role of the environment; case studies of three university mental health and well-being programs; and the future of work. Establishing a culture of caring requires leadership commitment, strategic planning, accountability and shared responsibility, and measurement and evaluation. Higher education institution leaders are called to lead by example; foster community partnerships; adopt a Total Worker Health framework; and regularly evaluate progress.