The Power of Community: Boosting Mental Health Together

Community can take many forms - it could be a small group of close friends or colleagues, or it might extend into broader networks such as sports teams or charitable organisations with a structured approach to providing support and services.

The ability to connect, share experiences and offer support to others facing similar challenges helps reduce isolation, creating a safe space for individuals to better understand their own mental health.

Personally, I’ve found that sharing my own experiences has been crucial in helping me understand my anxiety and OCD and it has empowered me to take meaningful action to address the challenges I encounter day-to-day.

I’ve witnessed incredible work by charities that build these supportive communities through word of mouth, referrals, and the creation of safe spaces where individuals can meet and connect. While many of these organisations aren’t specifically focused on mental health, they tackle important issues such as employment, disability, housing and sports, which provide common ground for meaningful conversations.

This reflection brings me to think about the corporate world and the efforts being made to foster community within organisations. What can we learn from the charitable sector’s successes? Too often workplace communities are fragmented into teams or departments which can lead to diverse groups of people coming together with little in common except their specific role within the company.

I’ve had the privilege of working in organisations that emphasise cultural connection. These companies encourage cross-departmental interactions through social calendars, creating opportunities for employees to connect beyond their day-to-day tasks. 

However, there remains a stigma in many workplaces around opening up to colleagues, with concerns that it could harm one’s career, job security or professional reputation. While this may not always be true, the worry lingers in many workplace settings.

I’ve also been involved with companies that have introduced initiatives to combat this stigma, offering spaces for employees to connect and engage in a remote/hybrid world. I’ve seen remote-first companies that have made these initiatives a business critical priority, leading to remarkable results in retaining and supporting talent.

I believe there’s much to learn from the charitable sector’s approach, particularly in measuring the impact of community-building initiatives and implementing structures that genuinely shape company culture. While many corporations already have volunteering programs and partnerships with charities, there may be additional opportunities to integrate training that can help foster these community-building skills within corporate cultures.

With productivity, engagement and bottom-line performance often dominating the agenda, workplace community is sometimes overlooked. But in today’s world, it’s something we can no longer afford to neglect.