3 Ways to Support Mental Health in the Workplace

May is Mental Health Awareness Month here in the United States, and I have to admit that the month hits a bit different for me this year. One of my children experienced a mental health breakdown in the last 12 months. It’s been one of the hardest situations that I’ve ever had to navigate. Supporting our child took every bit of strength to hold hope in a dark place. Seeking support for myself has taken time and revealed new fears that I didn’t even know existed in my heart. And some days I find myself unable to concentrate on work because my mind is running wild with “what if” scenarios.?

I am one of many people experiencing Mental Health Awareness Month differently this year. As our family has walked through this difficult season, I have been dumbfounded by the amount of caregivers who share our story. It’s like a silent crisis happening in our country - teens and young adults facing new mental health challenges brought on by the pandemic. Thankfully, our health insurance significantly covers mental health care costs, which has been one way to navigate out of this dark place.?

Why am I sharing a personal story? So, you can understand that each employee in your workplace is navigating different situations. I would assert that any caregiver of teens and young adults is struggling right now. These struggles may show up in the workplace as lack of interest and less productivity. In this month’s newsletter, I am sharing 3 ways to support mental health in the workplace. First, I will share a framework that organizations can use to evaluate their support mechanisms. Second, I will share another framework that supervisors can use with their teams. And finally, I will share a video that individuals can use to build supportive practices in their daily lives. You ready??

First, let’s discuss organizational support for mental health. In the past, mental health was seen as an anomaly in our population. And there is still incredible stigma around mental health in some communities and circles. Here are three ways that organizations can act right now:

1. Organizations can support mental health by talking about it when possible. This includes team meetings, staff communications, and benefits seminars.?
2. Organizations can support mental health by using inclusive language. This includes not using terms like crazy, ADHD brain, and paranoia out of context. FYI - I struggle with this every day!
3. Organizations can support mental health by leaders sharing about their own mental health challenges or adjacent situations. Vulnerability builds trust.?

Each of these actions normalizes mental health, which decreases stigma. The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy created the following framework in 2022. I literally share it once a year on social media because it is such a great resource. You can read the full article here. I encourage all leadership teams to read the full report and discuss how you can organizationally support mental health and well-being in the workplace with this framework.?

1. Protection from Harm: Creating the conditions for physical and psychological safety is a critical foundation for ensuring mental health and well-being in the workplace. In order to promote practices that better assure protection from harm, workplaces can:
2. Connection and Community: Fostering positive social interaction and relationships in the workplace supports worker well-being. In order to promote practices that better assure connection and community, workplaces can:
3. Work-Life Harmony: Professional and personal roles can create work and non-work conflicts. In order to promote practices that better assure work-life harmony, workplaces can:
4. Mattering at Work: People want to know that they matter to those around them and that their work matters. Knowing you matter has been shown to lower stress, while feeling like you do not can increase the risk for depression. In order to better assure a culture of mattering at work, workplaces can:
5. Opportunities for Growth: When organizations create more opportunities for workers to accomplish goals based on their skills and growth, workers become more optimistic about their abilities and more enthusiastic about contributing to the organization. In order to promote practices that better assure opportunities for growth, workplaces can:

Dr. Murthy’s report gives strong evidence and actionable recommendations. This is free consulting. What are you waiting for? Have this leadership conversation right now.?

As a lifelong HR practitioner, my heart starts beating faster when I think about team discussions on mental health. Conversations can go awry quickly, and most supervisors are not equipped for the growing mental health crisis happening across the world. In fact, I mentioned in last month’s newsletter that the whole of supervision has been turned upside down in the last five years.?

You know that I’m all about providing resources and actionable advice, so here we go. The McKinsey Health Institute has established 23 drivers of health based on extensive research. I like this list because everything seems actionable to me.?

• Physical inputs: diet, supplementation, and substance use
• Movement: mobility, exercise, and sleep
• Daily living: productive activity, social interaction, content consumption, and hygiene
• Exposure: nature, atmosphere, sensory stimulation, materials, and stress
• State of being: mindsets and beliefs, body composition, physical security, and economic security
• Healthcare: vaccination, detection and diagnosis, clinical intervention, adherence

As a supervisor, it’s important to personally check in with your employees every week. In addition, you can add a team check-in in team meetings or a Slack channel or some other easy communication tool. The team check-in would be structured around these 23 drivers of health. Maybe you ask your team each Friday to identify one driver of health to focus on the following week.?

While engagement around this check-in might be awkward or non-existent at first, continuing this kind of health check-in normalizes the health discussion for your team. And be willing to share honestly about yourself. That’s a trust building action for you as a supervisor.?

20-Minute Tutorial on Individual Wellness

We all need individual help with our mental health right now. None of us came out of this pandemic without some impacts. These may be impacts that we don’t even realize yet. Maybe you are seeing some of these signs with peers. Grumpiness, numbing out, lack of interest, and maybe even an emotional collapse - these are all symptoms of pandemic panic.?

What are some practices that you can use right now? In this 20-minute video, my friend Vera Ilnyckyj and I share insights from our coaching businesses. Going from panic to power involves these basics: Self-Care Rituals, Reflect, Connect, Rest, Digital Detox, and Breathe. Think small. Take 1 minute to breathe, 1 minute to reflect, and 1 minute to plan your mental health care now.?

I hope that you enjoyed The Fully Human | Resources Newsletter! Next month’s topic: becoming a better ally in the workplace. I share a lot, so let's connect:

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