OSUSPP has been helping our campus to create a culture of care since 2006. Since then, nearly 22,000 students, staff, and faculty have been trained in REACH as suicide prevention gatekeepers who have learned how to reach out to their fellow Buckeyes who may be at risk for suicide. In 2019 the OSU Employee Assistance Program met with OSUSPP to learn more about the outreach and education initiatives offered to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, and discussed collaborating to implement suicide prevention for faculty and staff as well. Given the number of helpful and supportive mental health services and resources already available through the EAP program, this partnership was envisioned to advance assessing and addressing mental health and suicide concerns for employees on the academic and medical campuses. In 2021, this partnership formally developed into OSU WorksWell, a program that offers a voluntary and confidential mental health screening to employee groups and that emphasizes the importance of employee wellness and access to helpful resources and supportive services.
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Workplace Mental Health is an Important Topic
- At least 1,757,900 Ohio adults have lived with mental illness
- Adults aged 45-64 had the highest rate of suicide in Ohio
- The average age of an OSU employee is 42
New Data Shows That The Number of People Struggling Continues to Increase
20% of adults in the U.S. have lived with a mental illness
- 80%
- 20%: 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental health condition
- 80%
- 20%: 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental health condition
Only 1 in 3 receive treatment in a given year
- 67%: Face it Alone
- 33%: Receive Help
- 67%: Face it Alone
- 33%: Receive Help
Stress Can Contribute to Suicidal Thoughts
- You don’t have to have a pre-existing condition or a mental health diagnosis to struggle with suicidal thoughts.
- Suicidal thoughts can come from “hitting the wall.”
- Nearly everyone has had a thought like this at some point, but not everyone acts on it
Michelle Norris, MA, MEd, LPC, Graduate Teaching Assistant – Workswell
OSUSPP (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/)
OSU Employee Assistance Program
OSU EAP (https://hr.osu.edu/benefits/eap/)
Ohio’s Voice For Suicide Prevention
OSPF (https://www.ohiospf.org/)
We hope that you will consider partnering with OSU WorksWell to create a culture of caring about your employees’ mental health and well-being! Any employee group can choose to engage in the OSU WorksWell Roadmap to Success process with their department, office, or program.
How the OSU WorksWell Roadmap to Success works:
- A department leader initiates contact with either EAP or OSUSPP to convey interest and learn more.
- OSU WorksWell arranges a first meeting with a small group of department/program/college stakeholders to educate them on the process and to set up the implementation phase. At this time a date range to roll out the Interactive Screen Program Stress & Depression Questionnaire will also be established.
- Employees receive an email from an employee group leader inviting them to voluntarily complete the screening anonymously and confidentially.
- The OSU WorksWell counselor assigned to that department roll out receives a notification each time a questionnaire has been completed. The counselor reads the scored responses which helps them to understand the severity of that employee’s presenting mental and emotional health concerns.
- The counselor initiates contact with the employee and invites the them to communicate further via the website’s confidential and anonymous dialogue system. The counselor can then answer questions, provide helpful next steps, and suggest resources.
- At the end of the roll out, the OSU WorksWell counselor aggregates the de-identified data regarding usage, severity, and themes that were present in responses and prepares a department report (no employee names or any identifiable information is presented).
- OSU WorksWell counselor arranges a final debriefing meeting with department stakeholders to provide the data, facilitate departmental conversation about next steps, and to make recommendations for additional support and strategies.
I’m interested in having this for my department! How do we get involved?
A leader with your employee group should first send an email to osuworkswell@osu.edu to get the process started. An OSU WorksWell counselor will then be assigned to your “roll out” and will walk you and your group through the process from start to finish
What does the OSU WorksWell Roadmap to Success Process look like?
See “How Can I Partner with OSU WorksWell?” above.
I’m interested in taking the stress and depression questionnaire just for myself– can I just take it on my own?
No, this questionnaire is only shared out on a departmental level and must be in partnership with the OSU WorksWell program.
If I take the survey, will anyone in my employee group or my supervisor know?
No! Participation is voluntary and anonymous at every level. Your answers and dialogue with the counselor are 100% confidential. The OSU WorksWell counselor will only know your name if you choose to identify that information.
- EAP (https://hr.osu.edu/benefits/eap/)
- HR Employee Resource Center
- OSUSPP (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/)
- OSPF (https://www.ohiospf.org/)
- AFSP (https://afsp.org/)
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/)
- Call: 1-800-273-8255
- Text: Talk to 741741
- Local & National Resources: (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/resources/)
- REACH Trainings (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/reach/#groupcontactform)
- REACH Out Trainings (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/reach-out/)
- OSU Couple and Family Therapy Clinic
- OSU Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Lab
- Office of Institutional Equity
- Kirwin Institute
- Office of Diversity and Inclusion
- Military and Veteran Services
- Department of Public Safety
