Mentally healthy healthcare : main findings and lessons learned from a needs assessment exercise at multiple workplace levels

Interventions addressing healthcare workers’ mental health should build upon an exhaustive understanding of the major causes of both work-related stress conditions (i.e., job demands) and positive mental health (i.e., job resources) in the workplace at all the levels they might unfold, namely the individual, the group, the leader, and the organization. The present chapter draws upon a multilevel workplace mental health needs assessment exercise performed within three different departments of a large healthcare institution and involving both managers and employees. It aims to illustrate the job demands and resources at multiple levels in the targeted organization, differentiate among healthcare workers' mental models of their working conditions, and discuss the research and practical implications of such findings. Also, it offers practical recommendations on how to effectively conduct such activities by, on the one hand, considering both healthcare workers’ mental health risk and protective factors and, on the other hand, encompassing multiple workplace levels of analysis.