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

Abstract

Objective: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusions: 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.