I work in Wellness, an area of Mercer Marsh Benefits Mexico dedicated to developing strategies focused on preventing and controlling health conditions associated with work for our clients. I run an office that deals with occupational mental health risks.
I'm just starting my Ph.D. and am learning about meta-analysis, which compares different studies to identify opportunities in evidence-based health programs. I’m looking specifically at therapy models.
It supports me in having a healthy lifestyle. It takes me an hour to commute to the office due to traffic jams, etc. When I work from home, I have time to go to the gym in the morning. I'm also a vegetarian, so access to my kitchen is immediate, and I don't have to go through the hassle of looking for vegetarian restaurants near the office.
I think the impact of social, mental, and physical aspects of stress has been underestimated. General education in this phenomenon is part of the key to addressing the complex public health problems we are facing.
In addition to my day-to-day responsibilities, I regularly speak at forums related to mental health. For example, I recently presented at a session about making neurodiversities visible at the Dive In Festival, an annual inclusion and diversity event. Marsh McLennan is one of the festival sponsors.
Mental health has never been so critical for organizations; Mercer Marsh Benefits Mexico has been a pioneer in implementing these programs. When I started at the company, my role was fairly straightforward – to help our clients comply with a Mexican government-issued standard related to identifying and preventing psychosocial risk factors.
However, one of our new directors championed moving into the mental health arena because he recognized how important of a topic it is for organizations. This movement was already taking place a couple of years before the Covid pandemic. And then, the pandemic started, and mental well-being became front and center for everyone.