It is a subject that has recently been on everyone’s lips and which raises concerns and responsibilities. In life, many individual, social, and structural traits can be combined to protect or weaken our mental health. We've all experienced it once. It is a complex process in which each of us faces differently, with different degrees of difficulty and severity, with very different social and clinical consequences.

There is no well-being without mental health. These are closely related concepts. Mental health encompasses a person's psychological, emotional and social well-being and relates to their thoughts, emotions and behaviors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is a state of well-being that allows healthy and effective management of emotions, allows people to cope with vital circumstances and moments of stress, develop all skills, learn and work properly and contribute to improving the community. It is the fundamental part of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective capacities to make decisions, establish relationships and shape the world in which we live. Mental health is also a basic human right. And a fundamental element for personal, community and socio-economic development.

The relationship between mental health and business is evident. The workplace is also an area in which the promotion and protection of mental health at work is an area of growing interest that can be supported through legislation and regulations, organizational strategies, management team training and interventions directed to workers. To delve into the subject, recently, the fourth edition of the tertulias Elkarri Ikasiz, organized by the Bai Euskarari Association, has focused on work and mental health.

This is undoubtedly a matter of reflection, even in companies, as factors such as the workload, the constant pressure, the role and duty of each of them, inadequate leadership or communication, the imbalance between work and personal life, the lack of autonomy, excessive control, the lack of opportunities for professional development... There may also be personal issues. The problem is there and if the person is not well, he will not be able to face the day to day.

We need healthy businesses and environments that value and care for people working in them to ensure the quality of life and the physical and emotional well-being of workers. According to Larraitz Urrestilla, head of the People and Culture Department of Beloki Orkli, prevention is fundamental and companies, considering the entire ecosystem, must be prepared to work in three areas: work, workloads, communication, relationships, etc. they must be properly organised; secondly, they must provide training, resources and tools to guide management in difficult and highly stressful situations. Finally, vulnerable individuals should be cared for and interventions should be offered to those who have lost well-being or are ill due to strong anxiety or depression. Companies should be healthy spaces that are responsible for the active and continuous improvement of workers' health.

The WHO Global Report on Mental Health encourages all countries to accelerate the implementation of the Plan of Action, as significant progress can be made in improving the mental health of citizens, by working on three paths of transformation: increasing the value that people, communities and Governments bring to mental health, and that all stakeholders, from all sectors, commit and invest in it. Secondly, to influence the physical, social and economic characteristics of family, school, work and community resources to improve the protection of mental health and prevent mental health diseases. And thirdly, strengthen mental health care so that the whole spectrum of mental health needs is covered by an accessible, accessible and quality community network and care services.

We are talking about a fundamental component of our well-being that needs a shared strategy to address with priority.

Rober Gutiérrez, Euskera professor