The afterglow of the holiday period is gradually fading as many Australians face the reality of their holiday spending spree. With Australians spending nearly $10 billion on Christmas presents last year1 and almost two million saying the festive season will leave them with worrying debt2, it is not surprising stress levels skyrocket post holidays.

Returning to work after the fun of the holiday period brings a dose of reality. Someone who has spent more than they planned can feel out of control and stressed that they haven’t managed their funds as well as they perhaps should have. While stress is a normal part of life, constant levels of negative stress, or distress, can affect many parts of a person’s life, such as health, family, marriage and work.

Almost three-quarters of Australian workplaces have no formal policy or procedure for managing staff mental health issues, according to a recent survey by law firm MinterEllison.

Clear policies are crucial to encourage good mental health in the workplace, as is strong leadership to implement them. It is not enough for a workplace to provide a phone number for counselling sessions. Employers have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace, which includes identifying mental health risks in the workplace and taking action to mitigate these. While this must be led from the top, employees also have a responsibility.