What do you get when you bring together a group of passionate HR professionals from foundations on a sunny afternoon in Utrecht? A dynamic exchange of ideas, recognition of shared challenges and, above all, a good dose of inspiration to further anchor mental resilience in the workplace.
On 22 May, The Mental Move organised a special Round Table for foundations, with the cooperation of KWF and the Consumers’ Association, in the Watertoren in Utrecht. No endless presentations, but real conversations, practical insights and concrete inspiration.
The core of the discussion? Mental health is a shared responsibility. It is not a luxury, but a necessity. And care for this does not lie with HR alone: it is a shared responsibility of leaders, teams and employees.
Here are the most important insights that have stayed with us:
- Prevention is better than cure. Ruth de Heer, clinical psychologist and founder of The Mental Move, emphasised the importance of prevention and ambition. Mental resilience requires proactive action, not just when someone gets stuck. Don’t just intervene when problems arise, but structurally invest in what makes people resilient.
- Holocratic organizational structures require flexibility. Rieneke Koning, Absenteeism & Employability Advisor at the Consumers’ Association, works in a self-organizing organization. This offers a lot of freedom, but also requires continuous attention to mental health. How does she approach this? Persevere and keep finding creative ways to make well-being a topic of discussion.
- Radical candor: honest and caring. Renske van Nieuwkerk, HR Business Partner at KWF, introduced a powerful insight: the difference between radical candor and disastrous empathy. Real connection is created when you are honest and show that you care about someone.
- Mental health belongs to everyone. What touched us most was the shared belief that mental health is not an exclusive task of HR. Only when leadership, teams and employees feel jointly responsible, a culture is created in which people can flourish.
Would you like to talk to us further about mental resilience and how to prevent mental absenteeism? We would love to think along with you! Please contact us!
