Normalizing the discussion of mental health in the workplace

By Anthony Ariganello, C.M.

Mental health. That’s one big and nebulous topic, isn’t it?

Over the years, workplaces have struggled to create and foster a culture and workplace environment where it is okay to bring up, discuss, and strive to address mental health issues.

And then came the pandemic. It amplified mental health issues and along with a generational transition to millennials and beyond, raising and talking openly about mental health issues in the workplace become normalized, post-COVID.

Where does this leave us as HR professionals? What are our responsibilities on these issues? And how do we go about allowing a culture and environment to develop where demonstrating vulnerability, particularly in terms of bringing up mental health issues, is not seen as a weakness?

Read on to find out about the kind of strategies HR professionals can employ to normalize the discussion and dialogue around mental health issues in the workplace.

Education – raising awareness

Given that there is still a stigma associated with mental health, particularly in the workplace, as with many other key strategic initiatives, it starts with education. Raising awareness among your employees on what mental health is, how it can present itself in the workplace, and how it can impact an employee’s work life is imperative.

Bring in expert guest speakers to talk to your teams over a lunch and learn, create a safe space where there’s no punitive impact or judgement to sharing, and take the first step to demonstrate vulnerability by talking about your own personal experience are some ways to build trust and reduce employee anxiety around raising and discussing mental health issues.

To demonstrate the power and impact of education, according to a 2019 survey around 40 percent of top-earning CEOs are dyslexic, and when LinkedIn recently added “dyslexic thinking” to its recognized list of skills, within days, more than 10,000 people had included it in their profiles.

Look around for other best practice case study examples

As we all know, for any initiative to be successful and sustainable, leaders will need to find ways to demonstrate their respective vulnerabilities, while at the same time, allowing employees the opportunity to do the same.

Sir Richard Branson, he of Virgin fame, says opening up about his dyslexia (which is very severe) was the best thing he ever did. In fact, he calls it his “superpower”. ?Let’s not forget that Branson grew up and was diagnosed at a time when such issues were not discussed openly.

Branson dropped out of school at 15 and was told by his teacher that he would either become a millionaire or be in prison. Well, we all know how it turned out for him and for the many companies he runs.

Another example comes in the form of SAP. This German-based company develops enterprise software to manage business operation and customer relations. The company is the world's largest enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendor.

By embracing neurodiversity in the workplace, the company’s groundbreaking Autism at Work program provides hiring and workplace support and leverages the unique abilities and perspectives of colleagues on the autism spectrum.

SAP’s Autism at Work (AaW) is aimed at creating a more inclusive and supportive work environment that leverages the unique strengths and perspectives of autistic individuals by fostering inclusion, maximizing potential, providing support, raising awareness and improving retention.

Get ahead of the regulatory curve and demonstrate yourself as a true employer of choice

This should come as no surprise given how self-evident it sounds. Yet, many of us act or react only when the threat (or promise?) of regulatory decisions is upon us or about to be upon us.

While government may be acting with the best of intentions, in most cases, governments are behind the curve and are reacting to an issue taking on more significance than it has before, and/or it is reacting to pressure from certain groups, such as unions.

What if, instead, you worked with your senior and executive teams to get ahead of any regulation and took steps to demonstrate your company as a progressive employer of choice that takes the initiative to walk the talk on its Mission, Vision, & Values (MVV), especially around mental health issues in the workplace.

One of the key forms of stress among employees is anxiety and depression. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity.

So, what’s holding you back?

#Burnout?#Mental Health #Leadership #Organizational Culture?#CPHR?#CPHRBC #CPHRBCY?#HRInnovation #FutureOfWork #EmployeeWellness?#EmployeeEngagement?