WorkSmart: Healthier companies start with the mind
The workshop demonstrated how mental health and innovation go hand in hand, creating balanced, productive and creative working environments.
On 30 October, INOVAGAIA organised the WorkSmart workshop: Mental Health and Innovation in the Workplace, an initiative designed to encourage reflection on one of the most pressing issues in the business world: mental health. During an engaging afternoon, participants explored strategies for managing stress, improving communication and developing healthier and more innovative working environments. Helena Pereira, a psychologist at Visual Thinking – one of the companies based at INOVAGAIA – emphasised that “promoting mental health is not a one-off initiative”, but rather “an organisational commitment that requires culture, processes and relationships built on trust”. Topics such as mindset, emotional intelligence, time management and effective communication were covered, with practical exercises and co-creation sessions to generate solutions applicable to day-to-day business operations. According to the World Health Organisation, burnout is an occupational syndrome and one in five employees shows signs of stress, which reinforces the importance of initiatives such as this. Ignoring this situation comes at a high cost: absenteeism, presenteeism, staff turnover and errors that directly affect productivity. Through WorkSmart, INOVAGAIA reaffirms its mission to support companies in building more humane, balanced and creative environments, where looking after people also means looking after the business.