Mental health services for SME workplaces: options for Scotland

Optimum service options based on mental health standards have not been explored for smalland medium enterprises in Scotland. Research has shown that the focus of regulatory agencieson workplace mental health has moved from inspection and enforcement to achievingcompliance with public regulation and sociocultural influence. SMEs have constraints inmeeting mental health standards through professional and costly options that largerorganisations frequently use. The need for professionals to reach workforces and implementmental health standards in SMEs is driving innovation. The range of low cost or free mentalhealth service options is identified on a spectrum from information technology-based Apps,through government-brokered services to citizen-driven social innovation and self-help basedoptions.This study aims to establish, through comparative analysis, how innovations may provide lowcost or free mental health services options to SMEs. Building on existing work on mental healthstandards it asks: Which innovations – a technology-based solution, government-brokeredoption or self-directed social citizen networks – are most likely to be most effective in reachingSME workforces? This research's significance lies in detecting the most advantageousapproach to effective mental health services in SMEs.At the core of the research design and academic contribution and impact, the study exploreshow service options consisting of nine organisations may help achieve mental health standards.A qualitative method using multiple case study design was selected to increase the findings'validity and reliability. The researcher performed one in-depth interview, explored secondarydata of policy documentation of service, and examined themes associated with mental healthsix standards. The multiple case study approach helped create a series of factors to form aconsistent service provision narrative. Cross-case synthesis analytical method was selected todetect results where each case was handled as a distinct study, and then findings were linkedacross the individual cases.The findings from the study indicate that service options advantageous to reach six standardsare available to support employees' mental health at the SME workplace. AI-based orgovernment-based mental health service options fulfil different supporting workplacebenchmarks to establish mental health six standards. But no one type of option is capable ofeffectively fulfilling all six standards at the workplace.Based on the results, it is recommended that integrated service approaches to employeewellbeing are considered to achieve mental health standards at SME workplaces. This studyindicates that a combination and blend of low-cost, easy access approaches is appropriate forSMEs to achieve all mental health six standards. The research provided a perspective on thedrive to offer technological or AI-based support to SMEs to create low-cost scalableinterventions in the workplaces with the assistance of government-brokered and citizen-drivenoptions.