Mental Health Toolbox for Hong Kong Employers

This is our third in a series of articles in partnership with StartupCare Hong Kong where we explore the issues surrounding employee health. You can view the previous articles here:

Why can working in Hong Kong be so stressful?

How does mental health affect work productivity in Hong Kong?

Acknowledging you need mental health support is hard, and asking for help can be even harder, especially when your mental ill health is worsened by your workplace and it is negatively impacting your results. If we go to the doctor and the gym to take care of our bodies, then we should do the same for our minds too. One of the most powerful ways to encourage a positive culture around tackling mental health at work is to simply treat it with the same respect and sense of normality with which physical health is handled.

We have gathered a selection of Hong Kong’s top resources related mental health for work and SMEs:

 1)  Mind Hong Kong is mental health charity committed to raising awareness and understanding of mental health in Hong Kong. They provide online support and interventions and spread awareness about the importance of mental health through events and public campaigns. Click here for a list of their latest events.

2)  CMHAHK, also known as the City Mental Health Alliance Hong Kong, is a collaborative venture founded by businesses in the city who share the same vision of creating mentally healthy workplaces. They offer training in mental health for companies and hold events to promote the topic. You can also find in-depth reports and resources to have a deeper understanding about mental health in the workplace.

3)  Solace Tree is an online app that provides video chat consultations with credentialed psychologists in real time. Online wellness courses are available to promote personal growth and mental well-being

One of the most powerful ways to encourage a positive culture around tackling mental health at work is to simply treat it with the same respect and sense of normality with which physical health is handled.

4)  TheraTalk is another platform that offers online counselling services through text messages with the option of real-time response. Examples of their offline services include corporate counselling and corporate wellness programs.

5)  Talking Mental is a podcast series founded and presented by Aaron Stadlin-Robbie, a long-term sufferer of anxiety and panic attacks. Each episode explores and dissects the topic of mental health and panic disorder with experts in different fields. 

6)  LifeHub is an innovative wellness centre that aims at addressing lifestyle diseases through adopting an integrative approach to health to treat the root cause of the patient’s symptoms. Their services range from IV nutrition drips to functional tests and oxygen therapy.  

7)  Insight Timer is a meditation app that guide you through the steps of how to meditate, and offers a wide range of over 30,000 meditations that help with issues such as sleep, stress and anxiety, as well as to boost your confidence and motivation. Best of all, it’s free!

8)  Hong Kong Christian Service, is the first provider of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in Hong Kong. They offer EAP services such as personal counselling and consultation service, staff training and development programmes. 

9) Spoonful markets itself as a virtual cafeteria for your office, which offers daily healthy meals for individuals and corporate teams at a cheaper rate for members. Why healthy food matters? Research shows that consumption of healthy food is associated with reduced risk in depression, as the healthy food can avoid inflammation in the brain that lead to some mental health conditions. 

Lastly, StartupCare offers employee health benefits solutions tailored for SMEs in Hong Kong, with an integrative approach that not only takes care of your employees when they are sick but also their everyday health and wellbeing. At ConnectedGroup, we partnered with StartupCare as we share the same belief that a healthy workplace culture is essential to bring out the best in employees, contributing to the company’s success. We encourage all organisations to regularly review their employee health and welfare framework and ensure there is adequate focus on mental health.

To discuss talent issues in Hong Kong more generally or to identify HR professionals who have experience of developing powerful employee welfare programs, please feel free to reach out to me at mat@connectedgroup.com

To learn more about StartupCare and their health benefits solutions, contact Simon Yuen at simon.yuen@startupcare.co