Workplace Mental Health Programme: Psychosocial Risk, Peer Support and Return to Work – Dubai, 8–12 Feb 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

Workplace mental health problems reach the organisation as absence, presenteeism, conflict, grievances and resignations, yet many employers respond with isolated awareness days that change neither working conditions nor how managers react. This Core Concept course gives HR, HSE and line management practitioners a non-clinical method to build and run an organisational mental health and wellbeing programme: assessing psychosocial hazards as ISO 45003 guides, equipping managers and peer supporters, routing employees to professional help, arranging adjustments and return to work, and evaluating results. Participants produce a Workplace Mental Health Programme Plan for their organisation.

Course Objectives:

• Build an evidence-based business case and programme charter for workplace mental health using absence, turnover and engagement data
• Assess psychosocial hazards and work-related stress sources and record controls in a psychosocial risk register aligned with ISO 45003
• Prepare line managers to recognise signs of distress, hold supportive conversations and refer employees to professional or emergency services without diagnosing
• Set up a peer supporter network with defined roles, boundaries, confidentiality rules and escalation routes to the employee assistance programme
• Plan reasonable adjustments, phased return to work and anti-stigma communication that keep employees connected to work
• Measure wellbeing and evaluate programme outcomes with indicators, surveys and a reporting scorecard

Target Audience:

• HR business partners and people managers responsible for wellbeing, absence and employee relations policies
• HSE and occupational health coordinators responsible for psychosocial risk assessment within the safety management system
• Wellbeing, engagement and inclusion leads responsible for designing and running support programmes
• Line and department managers accountable for the day-to-day workload, attendance and return to work of their teams
• Employee assistance and benefits coordinators responsible for provider contracts, uptake and service promotion
• Peer supporter network coordinators responsible for recruiting, supervising and supporting volunteer mental health champions

Course Outline:

Day 1: The Business Case and Current-State Review for Workplace Mental Health

• Mental Health Continuum Model: Thriving, Struggling and Unwell at Work
• Cost of Poor Mental Health: Absence, Presenteeism and Turnover Cost Calculator
• WHO Guidelines on Mental Health at Work: Six Recommendation Areas for Employers
• Organisational Readiness Audit: Policies, Data Sources and Existing Support Services
• Programme Charter and Sponsor Map for a Wellbeing Steering Group

Day 2: Psychosocial Risk Management with ISO 45003

• ISO 45003:2021 Structure and Its Link to the ISO 45001 Management System
• Psychosocial Hazard Categories: Work Organisation, Social Factors and Work Environment
• Job Demands-Resources Model Applied to Team Workload and Role Design
• Psychosocial Risk Register: Hazard, Exposure, Existing Controls and Action Owner
• Organisational Controls: Job Redesign, Role Clarity, Participative Scheduling and Anti-Bullying Procedures

Day 3: Supportive Conversations, Peer Supporters and Signposting

• Recognising Signs of Distress: Changes in Behaviour, Performance and Attendance
• Supportive Conversation Framework Based on the ALGEE Action Plan
• Peer Supporter Role Charter: Scope, Boundaries, Confidentiality and Self-Care
• Support Pathway Map: Employee Assistance Programme, Occupational Health and External Services
• Urgent Situation Protocol: When and How to Refer to Emergency Services

Day 4: Adjustments, Return to Work, Stigma and Programme Risks

• Reasonable Adjustments Planner: Workload, Hours, Duties and Workspace Options
• Phased Return to Work Plan and Keeping-in-Touch Arrangements During Absence
• Anti-Stigma Communication Plan: Leadership Messaging and Lived Experience Stories
• Manager Mental Health Training Needs Analysis and Curriculum Design
• Programme Failure Points: Low EAP Uptake, Peer Supporter Overload and Privacy Breaches

Day 5: Case Study Work and the Workplace Mental Health Programme Plan

• Multi-Sector Case Review: Diagnosing Gaps in Three Organisations' Wellbeing Programmes
• Wellbeing Measurement Toolkit: Pulse Survey Items, Leading and Lagging Indicators
• Programme Evaluation Scorecard: Reach, Uptake, Outcomes and Return on Investment
• Workplace Mental Health Programme Plan Drafting with Risk Register and Pathway Map
• Steering Group Presentation and Peer Critique of the Programme Plan

Skills You Will Gain:

• Psychosocial Risk Assessment
• Wellbeing Business Case Development
• Supportive Conversation Practice
• Peer Support Network Governance
• Support Pathway Design
• Return to Work Planning
• Stigma Reduction Communication
• Wellbeing Programme Evaluation

Why Attend This Course:

• Leave with a Workplace Mental Health Programme Plan, psychosocial risk register and support pathway map ready for your steering group
• Replace one-off awareness events with a managed programme that links working conditions, manager behaviour and professional support
• Know where the limits of a non-clinical role sit and how to hand over to professional and emergency services with confidence
• Compare how organisations in energy, healthcare, finance, public service and logistics have structured and evaluated their programmes

Conclusion:

An organisational mental health programme works when it treats working conditions as a risk to manage and support as a service to design, run and measure. This course moves from the business case and a review of current provision, through psychosocial risk management as ISO 45003 guides, to supportive conversations, peer supporter roles and signposting, and then to adjustments, return to work, stigma reduction and the points where programmes fail. The final day applies that material to multi-sector case studies and produces a Workplace Mental Health Programme Plan with an evaluation scorecard.