A theoretical framework for the interactive effects of key influencers on mental health in the workplace

Declining mental health in the workplace presents organizational decision-makers with serious challenges because it detracts employees from job performance and damages organisational effectiveness. From an economic perspective, the direct and indirect costs of diminished employee mental health are huge and predicted to rise for decades. Prior research indicated that the interactive effects between policy and organizational actions have a positive impact on mental health in the workplace as well as for society as a whole. Affirmative (proactive) action can improve the mental well-being of employees and positive psychology moderates the relationship between the incidence of mental health in society and the workplace. An effective solution to this growing problem requires policymakers and organizational decision-makers to collaborate. This paper identifies a range of current and emerging issues related to mental health in the workplace and presents a theoretical framework to provide a suitable platform for future empirical research in this area.