Sustaining Mental Health Conversations at Work: Why It Matters and How to Do It Right
Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash
Most businesses during Mental Health Awareness Month:
“Our employees’ mental health is of the utmost importance. As such, we offer [insert mental health and wellness-related programs and benefits here].”
Most businesses June through April:
“[crickets]”
In today’s business world, our conversations around mental health often get relegated to a once-a-year affair during Mental Health Awareness Month. If you think about it, that’s like watering a plant once a year and expecting it to thrive.
We shouldn’t treat mental health conversations at work like a check-the-box exercise; they should be ingrained in the fabric of our organizational culture year-round.
Why? Because the mental well-being of your employees directly impacts their productivity, engagement, and overall satisfaction at work. And usually, your employees spend more time with each other each week than with anyone else in their lives. With all of that being said, wouldn’t it make sense to not only tell them that mental health is important, but to enable those conversations year-round as and when they need to happen?
It’s time to light a fire under your business' butt, make a shift in workplace culture and prioritize mental health conversations every day.
Read on to find five practical solutions you can implement this year to put your company ahead of the curve when it comes to mental health at work.
WHY SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS
Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room: employee mental health is often seen as a taboo topic in the workplace. We all know that ignoring it doesn’t make it disappear, yet that is the generally (and unfortunately) accepted operating model. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression and anxiety alone cost the global economy an estimated $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.¹ And this doesn’t even include the general mental health struggles of what life throws at us, and on any given day, can feel just as hard.
These staggering figures should be enough to make any business leader sit up and take notice. And yet, it so often doesn’t, and here we (still) are.
Let me be very clear: focusing on mental health year-round, if anything, is good for your bottom-line. Think about this novel concept: if a business shows that it cares about the mental health of its employees, year-round, the positive impact that has can have endless ripple effects. From feeling more psychological safety, to getting mental health resources sooner, to supporting one another, and taking the time off they need so that when they are at work - they can knock it out of the park. I know, first-time Nobel Prize idea right there (not).
Creating a culture where mental health struggles are openly discussed and prioritized sends a powerful message that their well-being matters. When your employees feel supported and valued, they’re more likely to be engaged, motivated, and loyal to your company. On the flip side, neglecting existing mental health challenges can lead to a decline in employee performance, absenteeism, and high turnover rates.²
HOW TO SUSTAIN CONVERSATIONS YEAR-ROUND
Normalize the Conversation: Break down the stigma surrounding mental health by normalizing the conversation. When leaders share their own experiences and mental health struggles, they create a safe space for others to do the same. It’s up to you to decide the impact you want to make – not only as an individual, but as a leader with influence.
Lead by Example: Since leaders set the tone for your company culture, encourage them to prioritize their own mental health and lead by example. Modeling healthy behaviors for your teams could include taking regular breaks, setting boundaries, and seeking support when needed. But don’t stop there–weave your own struggles into everyday conversation (as much as it makes sense to do so). This could look like sharing a feeling or a fear that arose for you during a recent meeting. Or sharing about struggles outside of work. Role modeling through conversations like these provides valuable transparency to your team who are now signaled that this type of openness is supported and met with understanding. I cover this in much more detail in Chapter 8 of my book (LEADERS AND MANAGERS: How to Set the Tone and Discuss Mental Health with Your Team Members).³
Prioritize Organizational Conversations: Since team dynamics are typically unique within the company, it’s important to elevate these conversations company wide–through town halls, special events, employee resource groups (ERGs) or through your organizational-level platforms and channels–for them to be sustained and ingrained as part of your company culture.
Consider DEI and World Events: Now that we’ve discussed internal communications and practices, let’s think about external factors that may influence how your employees show up at work. Whether it’s a global crisis impacting the majority of the company or a community crisis hitting home for some, by acknowledging the specific challenges employees might be facing, and offering resources and support, you can create a space where everyone feels psychologically safe to talk about what may be impacting their mental health outside of work.
Train Managers and Leaders: Equip managers and leaders with the knowledge and skills to support employees' mental health. Offer training on recognizing signs of distress, having productive conversations, and the importance of referring employees to the appropriate resources (because sometimes the help that employees need may not be the help that a manager can or should give them, depending on what’s going on).. Managers play a crucial role in creating a supportive work environment and should be equipped to address mental health concerns effectively.
Provide Ongoing Training: Integrate mental health training into your company’s professional development program and use employee input for topics to foster a sense of inclusion and trust. Regardless of someone’s tenure or position in the company, every person needs this skill set at some point in their career, and the sooner you expose them to this critical training, the better.
Implement Supportive Workplace Policies: Develop policies that have been shown to have a positive impact on employee mental health, such as flexible working hours, remote work options, and access to counseling or therapy services (in person or virtually). These policies not only show your commitment to employee well-being but also provide practical support for those struggling with mental health.
Encourage Work-Life Balance: Promote a healthy work-life balance (I like to call it work-life integration, but I know that’s a less popularly known phrase) by setting realistic work expectations, encouraging breaks, and discouraging excessive overtime. Burnout and stress can greatly impact mental health, so it's important to encourage employees to develop reasonable boundaries around how much they work, in an effort to create a healthy workplace where employees can take care of themselves both inside and outside of their workplace environment.
Establish Mental Health Resources: Provide resources and information about mental health support services to employees. This can include referral programs, helplines, or access to mental health professionals. By making these resources easily accessible, employees can seek help when needed and feel supported by their organization.
Make it easy for employees to access all mental and physical health resources. Your company likely has an employee assistance program (EAP) or similar benefit, but do your employees know about it? Or what those resources actually do? I’m a former EAP counselor and I’m constantly shocked at how many people don’t know they have an EAP, and most importantly, what it does or that those conversations are protected by confidentiality laws (except in cases of harm to self, harm to others, child abuse, or elder abuse). It’s one thing to tell your employees you have mental health resources once a year. It’s another to consistently talk about why it exists, how to use it, when, etc. Remember that people have a ton of things going on in their lives, so if you don’t keep this information top of mind for them, the odds that they’ll forget it exists is strong.
Celebrate Progress! Recognize and celebrate milestones on your company’s mental health journey. Whether it’s implementing a new initiative, achieving a specific goal, or simply starting a conversation, every step forward deserves recognition. Give your brave leader a shoutout on Slack for presenting on their approach to creating transparency by adding their therapy appointments to the team calendar! Or add a rotating highlight in the company newsletter for tips on having productive conversations that advance the de-stigmatization of discussing mental health at work. You get the idea.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Investing in mental health can be done in many ways–big and small. When your company prioritizes mental well-being in the workplace, it can improve employee morale, productivity, and retention rates. The kicker? It’s critical to challenge the status quo by sustaining these conversations year-round.
Whether you’re a leader in your company, an HR professional, or otherwise able to influence change, it’s time to step up and take the mental health of your employees seriously, in an ongoing fashion. Let’s move beyond the ‘Mental Health Awareness Month’ mentality and create lasting change in our workplaces – together. Everyone deserves to feel supported, valued, and empowered to thrive at work. Especially when social media and other folks aren’t ‘looking’.
READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?
Contact me and I would be happy to speak to your company about the importance of having workplace mental health conversations. If you are already on board with this message and ready to roll up your sleeves, let’s discuss how you can leverage my advising services for mental health corporate strategy, employee upskilling, and program deployment.
