The five essentials for a mentally healthy workplace

The systems we’ve created at work are so inhuman. Tish Harrison Warren writes, “When a careerist culture meets a digital revolution that allows unlimited access to work, something’s got to give. And in America, that something tends not to be work demands but is instead the human soul.”

Something has to change to save our souls.?

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy today released a new framework highlighting the critical role that workplaces play in promoting the mental health and well-being of workers and communities. This week’s podcast is our discussion about five evidence-based essentials that help organizations develop mentally healthy policies and practices. The essentials are remarkable for their humanity:?

1. Gain purpose at work
2. Opportunity for connection and community
3. Enable work-life harmony
4. Opportunity for growth?
5. Protection from harm

How the heck do I implement that at my company -- and what does it cost?

Here’s the thing: data shows consistently this is what employees want from their employers. And for decades, too many employers have chosen to tune out, focused only on efficiency and shareholder value.??

Now, there is a massive shift happening in our country. Extreme rates of burnout and the fact that 90% of Americans believe we’re in a mental health crisis are driving a remarkable change in how our success-obsessed culture talks about work. This is big. We want our souls back.

The challenge to employers, laid down by the Surgeon General and others in the workplace mental health movement is: Will employers listen?

In the old days, we saw mental illness as something that happened outside of work, and needed to be addressed outside of work. Now we see that mental illness and mental health lie along a spectrum of severity and most of us will be mentally “ill” at some point in our lives. Even though I manage a diagnosed mental illness that started before I began my professional life, work can exacerbate my symptoms, and my colleagues today are just as likely to experience a period of depression or anxiety that's been profoundly affected by work.

Some of the ways work makes us ill are obvious: a screaming, toxic boss or a lack of paid sick days or family leave. Scheduling that won’t let us sleep or a complete erasure of work-life boundaries (do you check your phone in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning? I do). And some mental health care solutions are obvious: give good health benefits, provide access to tele-health therapy or an EAP service that makes getting help easier.

But creating mentally healthy work goes beyond the obvious. Mental health at work is about recognizing that we are all gorgeously flawed, imperfect humans, and we must build a culture that respects people for who they are and gives them what they need. We can do this – and our work (no matter what it is) will be more successful for it.

The five essentials outlined by the Surgeon General are so simple… but they are so hard! How can your leadership bring these five essentials to any workplace? Stick with me as we begin this journey together.