Dr. Eva Elisa Schneider: Passionate about mental health on the job

Speaker and consultant Eva Elisa Schneider has one ambition. She wants employees and managers to enjoy their work and to feel good about what they do. Often, exactly the opposite is the case. A recent study on job satisfaction by the German staffing agency Avantgarde Experts says that every fifth employee wants to change jobs. Ouch, that hurts. The reasons vary widely, but it’s clear that job dissatisfaction can make you sick. Who feels good about dragging themselves to work day after day, whether it’s to an office or to their desk at home in a home office?

Eva Elisa Schneider talks about mental health in a modern workplace

As long as someone is healthy, things work out. But what if someone becomes ill, and mentally ill at that? “It’s still a huge taboo subject,” knows mental health expert Eva Elisa Schneider. The doctor of psychology and psychotherapist is campaigning for mental health in a modern working world for precisely this reason. She wants mental health – or illness – to be talked about openly, especially in the workplace.

“It’s still a difficult topic in companies, especially in the executive suites. Because we are still signaled that part of our health must not be shown. But how is that supposed to work if you are permanently afraid and feel you have to hide? Either because you are affected yourself or because you are not well for other reasons. That’s massive stress that makes you sick in the long run.”

Being open about mental health in the workplace makes the company sexy

Talking openly about mental health in the workplace has many benefits because it serves to prevent illness from occurring in the first place. On the one hand, employees feel better, and on the other, a culture of openness and acceptance brings numerous benefits to companies, according to Eva Elisa Schneider: “Productivity increases because employees are fit, sick leave goes down, there is less turnover. Not to mention the positive effects on employer branding, which ensures talent attraction. That’s very relevant right now against the backdrop of the masculine skills shortage.”

For destigmatization of mental illnesses

Eva Elisa Schneider still sees prejudice against mental illness. She said in an interview with Emotion magazine, “There are still many misconceptions about mental illness and mental stress. For example, suffering from a mental illness does not always mean that it is chronic or that the person affected will only be able to perform half the workload forever. That’s why I’m doing educational work, which is also essential for destigmatization. The next step is to educate about how to talk about mental illness – both from the employer and the employees side.”

In her keynotes, she will talk about mental health as a must-have for modern businesses, psychological safety in teams, and mental health in a digital world, among other topics. Keyword digital hygiene, which we need all too urgently in the post-pandemic era, according to the clear opinion of psychologist Eva Elisa Schneider.

“Hands on” lectures and workshops: Anchoring mental health in work culture

In her lectures, she not only shares valuable information with her audience, but also provides equally valuable, immediately implementable and useful tips. Her mission: “I empower organizations to embed mental health in their work culture. At some point people like me shouldn’t even be needed anymore. Then it’s just normal to talk openly about your last psychotherapy session at work, too.”