Mental health at work : Eclosia encourages early awareness and action before reaching breaking point

Mental health is no longer a topic discussed in hushed tones. Last Tuesday, around 160 employees from across Eclosia Group, representing a wide range of professions and management levels, gathered at the Hennessy Park Hotel for an 'Enjeux' workshop dedicated to mental health, an issue that has become impossible to ignore in today’s workplace. At the heart of the discussions were prevention, active listening and collective responsibility.

Opening the session, Gina Casset, Head of Counselling & Well Being at Eclosia, invited participants to rethink their perception of mental health. Too often associated solely with illness or depression, mental health is, above all, a state of balance that enables people to cope with everyday challenges without depleting their resources. “Mental health is not the absence of difficulties,” she reminded the audience.

Using the example of “Sophie”, a fictional employee facing both a heavy workload and personal bereavement, Gina Casset illustrated how someone can gradually move from a state of balance to vulnerability. Initially high-performing and committed, Sophie begins sleeping less, withdrawing from colleagues and making mistakes before eventually taking sick leave. According to Gina Casset, this scenario is far from unusual. “If we think about it, we have all seen a Sophie in our organisations,” she noted.

Such deterioration rarely happens overnight. The warning signs exist but often go unnoticed. “The earlier we recognise the signs, the better our chances of taking action,” Gina Casset stressed, highlighting the importance of paying attention to behavioural changes, social withdrawal and persistent fatigue.

The figures presented during the workshop confirmed that the issue is very real. Since the end of the pandemic, the number of employees receiving support from the Group’s counselling unit has steadily increased. The need now spans all employee categories, from operational staff to executives, and across every generation.

According to Gina Casset, this trend is partly driven by increasingly demanding work environments characterised by hyperconnectivity, accelerated work rhythms, constant change and growing pressure. “Today, the brain never switches off,” she explained, comparing it to a smartphone running too many applications simultaneously.

The workshop continued with a panel discussion featuring Gina Casset, Nazia Hajee Abdoula, Certified Meta Coach and Neuro Semantics Trainer, and Cédric de Spéville, CEO of Eclosia Group. During the discussion, Nazia Hajee Abdoula encouraged participants to reflect on the concept of psychological safety, a notion developed by management researchers and widely popularised by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson.

Psychological safety refers to a team environment where individuals feel free to speak up, share ideas, express doubts and admit mistakes without fear of judgement or negative consequences. Drawing on the example of the Columbia space shuttle disaster, Nazia Hajee Abdoula demonstrated how silence can lead to dramatic outcomes. “Psychological safety saves lives because it gives people permission to speak,” she said.

Invited to share his personal experience, Cédric de Spéville explained that one of his main warning signs appears when he feels the need to withdraw into himself. “Communication and the ability to express what you are going through in a constructive way can make all the difference,” he shared.

When asked whether emotions have a place in the workplace, his answer was unequivocal: “We cannot separate ourselves from our emotions. Trying not to acknowledge them would be a serious mistake.”