Across Europe, the figures on psychological distress are alarming. Around half of all employees are suffering from work-related mental health issues, a trend that is also reflected among students. To raise awareness of this issue, the Unite! Well-being expert team has developed two practical well-being guides, aimed at both staff and students. These guides offer advice and resources tailored to the individual needs of each person.
The guides analyze the daily challenges faced by staff and students, providing practical actions to improve physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Using real-life situations, the guides offer initial steps for changing certain habits and provide resources to help deepen care for overall health. Each section of the guides offers a series of tips to help people find the solutions that best suit them. Some of the key suggestions include: eating well, getting enough sleep, establishing a routine, exercising, spending time in nature, meeting up with friends, reading a book, and practicing meditation. For the Unite! expert team these are not strict rules, and the main message is to be kind to ourselves and find activities that help us feel better.
The goal of the guides is to raise awareness among students and staff about the importance of mental health and well-being, and to provide initial, easy-to-implement recommendations. Protecting the physical and mental health of employees and students is essential, not only from a social perspective, but also in terms of efficiency. It’s a win-win situation. Although many of the causes of problems are beyond our control or responsibility, we can still take action at our own level, starting with ourselves,"
The guides, available for both faculty and staff and students, can be downloaded from the Unite! website. There is also a condensed version in poster format, designed to keep mental health tips visible and accessible in everyday life.
The well-being team regularly organizes workshops open to staff and students. However, Lucie Jiraskova regrets that "unfortunately, the people who need it the most don’t always attend these workshops. People often start worrying about their mental health when they’re already feeling unwell. For this reason, it is crucial to spread the word about the team’s activities to help prevent difficult situations like burnout."