A Leader's Guide to Prioritizing and Fostering Better Mental Health

“Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making choices and enjoying those choices.”?– Betsy Jacobson

The Question

How can leaders help foster better mental health for their team?

Mental health is a complex and nuanced topic personal to us all.

It is influenced by an extensive list of factors and impacts everything we do.

And good work supports good mental health! Yet it continues to be stigmatized and is generally considered taboo to discuss in the workplace.

The state of news media amplifies turbulent world events and trends to constantly be in our faces, which can heavily affect mental health. We can see these symptoms by the rise of public discourse with new buzzwords?(e.g., Quiet Quitting???).

October 10th was World Mental Health Day, a day designated to raise awareness and allow for space to open up a dialogue on making mental health and well-being a global priority.

We are all stakeholders in this conversation, and we can all benefit by prioritizing well-being in the workplace.

This begs the question - how can leaders help to foster better mental health for their team?

The Research

Mental Health is Good for Business

A healthy workplace is pivotal not only for mental health but also for organizational health. It reduces issues of absenteeism, improves performance and productivity, minimizes interpersonal conflict and burnout, improves problem-solving and customer service, and ultimately helps contribute to a healthy organizational culture that will help drive the bottom line.

And though it is tempting to place the onus on individuals since mental well-being is such a personal matter, leaders are missing great opportunities to help their team members address friction points within their control that can help alleviate the burden.

Quick Stats:

• Research from the?Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) with UBC?found that "41% of people in Canada reported a decline in their mental health since the onset of the pandemic."
• Turnover:?Research done by Mind Share Partners found "half of their respondents reported having left previous roles at a company due, at least in part, to mental health reasons, compared to a third (34%) in 2019. This number grows to 81% for Gen Z (previously 75% in 2019) and 68% for Millennial respondents (previously 50% in 2019) (Harvard Business Review)
• Workplace factors which negatively impacted mental health: emotionally draining work, challenges with work-life balance, and lack of recognition?(Mind Share Partners' 2021 Mental Health at Work Report).
• Opportunity: "Those who felt supported by their employer amidst the pandemic were 2.4x as likely to be satisfied with their job and 2x as likely to intend to stay at their company for 2+ yrs."?(Mind Share Partners' 2021 Mental Health at Work Report).

Some Advice

These statistics and factors are just the tips of the iceberg.

As a leader, it's important to remember your team's intersectionality as you navigate mental health questions in the workplace.

That is the various modalities that shape our unique experience (i.e., gender, race, sexuality, class, etc.)

You can watch my keynote on?Overcoming Challenges as a Visible Minority?below as an example??

Your Hack

This week's hack is to?find one way you can intentionally honour mental health.

Before you click off for the suspiciously simple hack this week, read my suggestions below.

After all, mental health is about removing barriers. The easiest way is to start small and try to offer something for everyone. But don't let this stop you from trying them all!

Fostering better mental health at the workplace would optimally require organizational changes and initiatives as per?WHO's?Guidelines on Mental Health at Work?report?(think organizational interventions and accommodations, manager mental health training, employee training in mental health literacy and awareness, etc.).

But as a leader here is a non-exhaustive list of suggestions that you can do to help the effort at a micro scale:

• Gently check in and listen in your one-on-ones.

Frequently check in with your team members instead of getting straight into work talk. Allow them to lead the way. Be sensitive and avoid passing judgment through your questions.

Strike a balance, and remember you are not their therapist and instead should aim to support your team members gently.

• Support or advocate for mental health days on behalf of your team.

Survey your team's opinions on implementing mental health days and work on advocating for it to senior leadership. Track how your team is feeling. Just like any business metric, it will help you make your case.

• Understand that mental health spans well beyond the definition of mental health.

A relevant example of this is financial literacy. Money is a big stressor outside of work and is closely linked to work. How can you support your team to alleviate that stress? Can you bring in learning resources/speakers? Empower and support where you can.

• Respect the boundaries of your team.

Work-life balance is a universal struggle. Perform a pulse check to audit how your team is doing. Have conversations about how to facilitate or alleviate emotionally draining work.

• Avoid the temptation to take things personally.

People are going to have bad days. That's okay. Give your team members space to not have to emotionally mask every day and respect their privacy if they choose not to share why.

• Make time for your own needs and don't be afraid of vulnerability.

Intentionally make time for yourself and cater to your own well-being. If you take care of yourself, you show up as a better leader and human. You can better navigate daily stresses and help your team members work through their own. Remove the pressure off yourself that you must always remain stoic and strong as a leader. Your vulnerability helps destigmatize and encourage others.

Parting Thoughts

Mental health is a journey that requires a consistent and conscious commitment to maintaining.

But it is amongst the most valuable investment both organizations and individuals can make.

In a world that grapples with the stigma and challenges of mental health, I urge you to not avoid it as well. But instead, value the potential it has and work alongside it instead of despite it.

At?Unicorn Labs, we obsess over what makes high-performing teams. And we acknowledge that the meaning of high performance goes beyond the simple output of productivity. Read our blog on employee happiness??

Bad Bosses Are Destroying Employee Happiness: New Data Shows

Unicorn Leaders — The Podcast

Have you heard the newest episodes!?

Our most recent podcast guests are leaders superstars: Samuel Witherspoon and Amanda Gordon.

???Samuel (Founder and CEO, IMRSV Data Labs)?tells us how he created a vision that helped guide his company and how important it is for you to do this too.

???Amanda?(Vice President People at Rewind)?shares the secrets to attracting, hiring and retaining the star employees that will bring your company from good to great.

Take a listen & subscribe ??

Apple Podcasts?&?Spotify

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Sincerely,

The Unicorn Labs Team