Mental Health and Managers

A few weeks back I had the privilege of listening to esteemed author and social researcher Hugh MacKay speak about the so called “good society”. He spoke at length about the strange dichotomy that exists between the material success Australians are experiencing and the metrics that show in many ways we, as a society, are going backwards. Homelessness is on the rise, poverty amongst children is increasing, and home ownership is (especially in Melbourne and Sydney)becoming more of a fantasy than reality for many Australians, especially younger generations. He also addressed another contrast. Our internal selves are happier and confident, assured in our individuality, but we still hold strong pessimistic attitudes towards our future and the growth of our society, especially towards the economy and the environment. All of this stress, confusion and cognitive dissonance is making us more anxious, paranoid and depressed.

So if we are living in such great economic times (recession free for over 25 years), why are we a generation plagued by mental illness? Why are we still unable to truly grasp the importance of mental health and how it effects both ourselves and our colleagues in the workplace?

Every time we lose a well-loved public figure to suicide (such as Anthony Bourdain and designer Kate Spade), there is a avalanche of grief on social media. Fans discuss how saddened and shocked they are by the news, comments on how they will “miss them” and further discussions on how mental health is such an important topic to address with yourself and with others.

And then, we finish our lunch breaks and go back to work, innocuously picking up where we left off, attending meetings, morning coffees all the while not giving the issues surrounding mental health any more thought than we previously had. Until the next notable suicide happens and then the cycle starts again. While’ it’s promising to see more workplaces starting to take such a complex issue more seriously, in my opinion, we are still nowhere near where we need to be.

Businesses big and small are very good at understanding when someone is physically ill and cannot work. You have a cold, a migraine, a broken leg, you stay at home. But with mental health, the line between “sick” and “not sick” is unclear and changes from person to person. If an employee was to call their manager one morning and say honestly “I just cannot come in today”, is this person sick or not sick? It is important for leaders within business to recognise that to understand mental illness is not easy and at times might seem trivial, but it must always be treated as you would any physical ailment.

From an economic point of view, I can understand why some managers require their staf fat all times. In the western world, commerce takes place in a free and competitive market. It is cut throat, stressful and success today does not guarantee success tomorrow. Traditional business management mindset stresses operational efficiency, so if some staff are not performing at what you know is full capacity (let’s say they need a day off for their mental health), then you should replace them with people who can work. This might be all well and good for some entry level professions but in an economy which is increasingly being driven by specialist knowledge, managers and businesses cannot afford to lose talented and trained staff.

To its credit, businesses seem to be trending in the right direction when it comes to mental health, offering services such as flexible hours, remote working opportunities and activities such as mindful meditation and free gym memberships. However, I cannot help but feel that we risk learning the wrong lessons from these trends. I believe that business are getting better at reducing the risk of mental health from being cultivated by work environments, but I feel that the way we help out our colleagues when they are suffering is simply not enough.

Due to the aforementioned fear and paranoia of being the weak link, many people suffering from mental health do not speak up out of fear from being targeted or ostracised. This means that it is up to managers to notice the symptoms of poor mental health, and provide the necessary support without being asked for it. Some symptoms are obvious, such as an overload of stress or an increasingly low mood. Employees may not speak up or may be suddenly and frequently late for work. Other times it is more nuanced, sometimes people suffering from serious mental health can be high functioning and can seem completely normal to those around them. Indeed, mental health is incredibly complicated and often misunderstood, so businesses should be careful when hiring employees (and especially managers), to ensure that high emotional intelligence as well as technical proficiency and experience are taken into account. Senior business leaders must also be willing invest in their middle and junior leaders by sending them on regular training to ensure they understand how to correctly respond to mental health in the work place. I am sure that some businesses encourage this (I won’t say well done to them, because in my opinion you are simply doing your job properly), though I can speak from personal experience that many are nowhere near the level that they should be.

If management of all levels, from team leaders to executives, were trained on how to spot the signs, and then be trained on how to help, then employees would feel more supported and not be scared to speak up when they are struggling. How we help depends on what our role is in the company. Direct line managers should see their teams as a family, supporting and helping each other at a detailed level. People in different departments should see each other as neighbours, acknowledging each other and checking up if something seems a bit off.

Most people spend the majority of their awake and active hours at work. If these work environments do not support the difficulties and nuances that come from mental health, then we cannot be surprised when it begins to negatively affect other parts of our community as well. An environment that doesn’t provide appropriate support means staff are more inclined to bring their grievances and pains back home, affecting marriages, families, housemates etc. It is too easy for us to simply say “if there was something wrong they will speak up”. They won’t, unless they feel their issues are recognised and acknowledged. 

It is every person's responsibility, especially management's, to recognise the symptoms of mental health and to constantly nurture and support those within their team, ensuring action is taken when needed. It is an ongoing and dynamic fight that won’t be solved overnight, but one that can certainly be taken on with the attention it deserves. but. As Hugh MacKay expressed, we are living in a dichotomy of plenty and pain and unless we do something to change the way we support those around us at work and outside of work, we will continue to see our “Lucky Country” trend in the wrong direction.

If you like this you, feel free to check out my other ramblings over at www.msalamy.me

A big thank you to Jessica Calusen for helping me to edit this (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/jessica-clausen-20a160104/)