How to Build an Environment that Supports Mental Health

Building an environment in the workplace that supports mental health is now more crucial than ever, especially with all that had happened since early 2020 when Covid 19 ripped through the world as we knew it and our lives, but how do we do this? I hear you ask?

Well, before I dive in to share my thoughts on this significant subject, I would love to express my heartfelt thanks to Chris Ashton, CEO of Worley, for inspiring me to write and share my thoughts on this topic, after he kindly took time to comment on my latest mental health video below.

Practically all businesses, senior leadership members, and CEOs now recognize the importance of having mentally healthy employees within their organization. Many studies now show that performance, productivity, and profits are the three p's that play a significant role in any business. Yet, most companies still struggle with where to begin when creating working environments that are open, transparent, and safe for employees to share their thoughts on mental health, thus leading to greater productivity, performance, and profits.

Now why mention the three p's? Well, I've noticed that when CEOs say these words along with mental health, they are often attacked by the public for doing so, especially on social media. For only caring about the three p's, but not building an environment that supports their employee's mental health. But if we stop and look deeper, pause for thought for a moment, we will see that the three p's and employees' mental health are inexplicably linked and intertwined, which is why it's wise to invest in training and development.

Because even if you disagree and think that CEOs shouldn't mention these crucial issues, we as a collective, without these businesses in our lives supporting us, especially financially in exchange for wages for the services we provide, where would we be? Where would we find the finances to pay our mortgages, buy our energy needs, and feed, clothe our children? Exactly, it would most likely have to come from another business if the one we currently work for did not exist. So it's also why I believe it's wise to see how much the companies we work for support our livelihoods before attacking them for being uncaring.

May the above words start the process of making you think differently about the business you work for. The truth is, practically all business leaders struggle enormously when it comes to discussing the issues that perpetuate the process of employees developing mental health problems. With many, as you may have noticed in your workplace, just making use of the latest buzz words such as 'We want you to bring your whole self to work' when it comes to creating engagement around talking about employee mental health. Yet these words, new fancy phrases used, are they developing into the changes required?

Because the truth is, although many businesses look to their employees to be the change or create the change, employees rarely take the actions needed to make these changes within their working environments; why?

Because they are not the decision-makers, nor are they the ones who drive company cultures, cultures are systematically leadership-driven. They are often a reflection of a company's leadership style. So if your company still operates from outdated authoritarian paradigm styles of leadership, you may be left asking yourself, does this style of leadership support creating an environment that supports employee mental health?

Creating such an environment where productivity, performance, and profits can flourish requires senior management to look at how the company operates from top to toe. Then, the outside-in approach needs to take a 360-degree system that revolutionizes the business—creating standalone mental health programs does not work. Many of them are designed as separate entities within the company because these inexplicably fall for many reasons: online learning does not give the valuable feedback we as humans need, it does not address the leadership style that contributed to the issues and the culture that at the core does not support employee mental health.

And if your culture isn't driven towards creating a working environment that supports employees with mental health challenges, or at the very least is looking to change it, then how on earth can they unlock the potential of its employees? How it looks at employees who suffer from poor mental health determines how engaged these employees would be. If this is not the case, then your environment is hardly likely to support the growth the company can otherwise achieve. Why? Because culture, environment, leadership style, mental health, and how your business looks at employees with mental health are 100% interconnected.

You may now be beginning to see the complexities involved in creating an environment that supports mental health, and asking whom we can bring to help us do this better is one of the first steps to take. Especially given the stigma still attached to discussing mental health, because let us be 100% honest here, with one another, mental health is still a taboo subject in the workplace. So many, if not all, are not doing it because they feel judged and don't know whom to talk to about it. And it's an essential topic majority of Leaderships, CEOs are starting to engage with and bring experts to help them address the fears and develop effective strategies to overcome them.

I have seen Tony J. Selimi consistently help his global clients solve very complex business, leadership, and people challenges. ?I often witnessed how he used his masterful teachings and methods to help them create workable plans. Here is an intro video worth your time.

Companies and senior managers can create a nurturing mental health company-wide environment where all employees feel supported, especially those who suffer from mental health problems.

Now you, as a business leader, employee, valuable member of staff, maybe ask who I am to comment or write on such a topic as complex as mental health? Well, ever since I invested in being coached and mentored by Tony, a world-renowned expert in human behavior and cognition, to help me overcome many mental health illnesses that I suffered with, my life changed forever and for the better.

Each session, training, and breakthrough I created with Tony as my coach and mentor led me to heal many of my mental health issues and emotional wounds. In doing so, I now openly share my ongoing transformation with him so many more can benefit from his integrated methods and life-transforming approaches. I keep learning from Tony that people's words and phrases soon fade, but their persistent efforts to help others grow do not.

With no change occurring for you, you are left to join the masses who suffer in the silence and darkness that comes with hiding your predicaments. Many of you are crying out for these long-overdue changes to occur, and it is why getting a masterful teacher like Tony to help you 'Build an Environment that Supports Employees Mental Health' is an investment your entire organization will thank you for.

In the follow-up articles in this series, I'll be sharing more of what worked for me and all of Tony's clients I have the pleasure to know. Knowing the results and transformations he created in me and these people, I know it will work for you, too. This is a chance to say goodby to the seemingly holy quest to create mentally healthy, friendly working environments and do it.

I look forward to joining you in part two of this article. I'll share more valuable solutions that Tony can help you create and, in the process, help you dispel myths such as why digital solutions alone are not the answer to solve the growing challenges that don't support employee mental health.

In one of Tony's talks for a group of global business owners, he shares how digital transformations alone won't even scratch the surface or come near to giving the organizations the effective solution they seek.?So if you're interested to know more, fear not; the second article is being typed as you read. As is the third on the importance of why management, leadership teams would benefit from being trained, coached, and taught how to use TJSeMethod: ALARM? and The Unfakeable Code? Method to address behavioral, emotional, and chronic issues that are toxic for us as individuals as well for us as parents, partners, friends, employees, and leaders.

Paul McMonagle Piping Supervisor, Workpack Engineer, and Mental Health Ambassador

PS – Those of you ready to take action now, Tony works on a virtual basis and in-person with clients all over the globe, facilitating the realization and accomplishment of their personal, professional, and business goals. Here are four ways he can assist you in creating life-changing breakthroughs, growth, and accelerating your journey to excellent health, influence, performance, and success.

#1… Book a Breakthrough Consultation Session by sending an email to?[email protected] .

#2 ... Grab your copy of Tony's #1 Amazon bestselling and Multi-Award-Winning books, A Path to Wisdom , #Loneliness , The Unfakeable Code?, and enroll in his Mindfulness for Higher Productivity, Performance, and Profitable Life Udemy Course! Click here to join thousands of his happy students.

#3 ... Make the fastest progress by hiring Tony to work with you on your business and train your teams. Just reply to this message and put "private" in the subject line. Let us know a little about you or your business and what you'd like to work on together, and I'll get you the quote, invoice, and the necessary booking details.

#4 ... Hire Tonye as a speaker to educate, inspire and transform your audience at your next company or industry event. Click HERE to download his speaker sheet and fill in the form with your event info, and once I hear from you, I'll send you the contract and fee info back.

For more information, go to https://tonyselimi.com .