Mental Toughness – Does it Make a Difference to Mental Health?

There’s a lot of focus on mental health at the present time. Rightly so, given the devastating impact poor mental health can have on people. But how do you, as a business, show leadership in this area? How do you stop reacting to problems and get ahead of the issue, so that your people remain healthy and mentally resilient? And if you do take steps to actively improve the mental health of your workforce, is there a bottom-line benefit?

In our view, one strategy could be to start developing mental toughness across the organisation. This will help people – from the boardroom to the shop floor – develop their resilience, their ability to face challenges head-on and to thrive under pressure. Mentally tough people – not tough or macho so please don’t get mental toughness confused with the common perceptions of being tough because it’s not that at all – just function better! In general they:

• feel more in control of their lives.
• are accountable and responsible for their actions rather than seeking to blame others or life itself.
• believe that what they do makes a difference and as such don’t feel helpless or out of control.

Studies also show an explicit link between higher levels of mental toughness and higher levels of performance, so there’s a definite business benefit to be had here as well. And for leaders, high levels of mental toughness can really set you apart and improve your effectiveness. This is particularly true as it’s often lonely at the top…

Going back to mental health itself, there are lots of statistics that support the business case for investing in an organisation’s employees. The Mental Health Foundation’s website provides a good snapshot:

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-mental-health-work

Get in touch to find out more about how our mental toughness and other workshops can help your organisation thrive:

hello@yeast.ltd / 0330 133 133 8