Mental health in business: Let’s Fix it

Hello all. Chilly, isn’t it? Being from the States means the UK weather hits hard! We love it here though.

It’s time for my next breaking down business bullsh*t newsletter. Recently, mental health has been dear to me for one reason or another, and I'm feeling very passionate about it - especially mental health in the workplace for leaders and their teams.

It's undoubtedly a time of uncertainty, anxiety and stress. And I want to help employers and leaders in the workplace take care of their teams.

Especially during these times. We have enough going on.

Most companies try to be supportive of their employee's mental health. They'll post on mental health awareness day, they'll reward them for going above and beyond, and put in some mental health scheme. However, more is needed.

It's easy to dismiss the fundamental steps we need to take to be fully supportive; let's work together and not be dismissive.

As a CEO or team leader, you need to be aware of your actions and avoid overworking and unconsciously damaging your employee's mental health.

Is hitting your sales targets more important than someone's time off?

Is that new customer worth overworking your team?

No. Employees are people, not robots.

Though money isn't the critical factor here, did you know poor mental health cost employers ￡56 billion in 2021/22 compared to ￡45 billion in 2019? Probably not.?

So, whilst your thought initiative may be to keep going, hitting high targets may cost you more.

It would be much cheaper to have someone on your board looking out for you and your team's wellbeing, inputting systems for change, and improving the company's health than if you had a high staff turnover, less output and mismanagement.

Leadership

Let's make the change away from caring too much about short term metrics to having a healthy workplace that encourages sustainable productivity.

If we don't support employees and their mental health, they are left to feel like they're the problem. They believe they need to work harder to meet an unrealistic output. Or, they doubt themselves for not getting better results, even though they're overrun.?

They're not the problem; let's help them realise that.

Poor leadership leads to your team feeling inadequate. Unrealistic expectations, excessive workloads and tight deadlines increase stress.

They don't need to feel like they're not trusted and have no voice - this induces anxiety.

Breaking the barrier and encouraging your employees to speak up when they're struggling leads to a much happier workforce.

How to spot if employees are struggling:

If they are:

• Needing to use their annual leave to recuperate?
• Producing diminished quality work
• Constantly working overtime
• Never finishing on time
• Lacking creativity?
• Unenthusiastic?
• Always tired
• Spaced out
• Down

Then they could be struggling. Look for the tell signs, and help them.

How to implement change

We need to come out of a numbers-only mindset. A healthy company isn't one that only focuses on profits.

To make a dynamic change in your company which puts mental health as the focus, you need to start with yourself.

To create lasting change for yourself, you need to discover tools for self-therapy that help you build resilience and psychological flexibility. Revamp your own commitment and be nurtured as a leader. Stop focusing on the sale, and focus on the humans. You won't have a team or company without it.?

Let's get to the root problem.

You need to model healthy behaviours for employees' mental health to flourish. You also need to use these tools you now have and teach your team how to use them.

Implementing systems that support flexibility, resilience, and commitment is the way forward. Having a workforce that feels comfortable about speaking up when they need support is imperative.

You can transform yourself as a leader.

And help your team's mental health.

It can be synonymous.?

I'm here to help. I work with CEOs and leaders to transform companies into healthy workspaces. I can also work with teams who need that support. Taking care of your wellbeing is essential; it leads to a highly engaged, committed and productive team. It keeps companies alive.

Message me to find out more.

That's all!

Time for the quick self plug??

• Listen to my weekly podcast, I dive into startups, leadership, and unearthing stories from companies and business owners https://www.humanestartup.com/podcast?