You may be aware that the 10th of October 2016 was World Mental Health day.
I think that this is something to be applauded. The more that awareness about this aspect of health and wellbeing is raised and the subject destigmatized, the better for all of us.

For quite some time now, I have been talking about the need to generate organisations and workgroups that are enriching places to work within, and not toxic. Whilst every aspect of mental health, or perhaps more correctly ill-health, is not something which can be improved by having a great working environment, I think that we can all relate to the idea that sometimes when things feel like they are getting on top of us, we can cope up to a point, and then another thing comes along (not necessarily that serious) that can just prove too much, and we feel overwhelmed. This can be a kind of tipping point; or if you prefer, the dried stalk of grain, plus newtons, that had a detrimental effect on the integrity of the back of the dromedary.

For example, problems at home may just be manageable if work is rewarding, and vice-versa, but if both areas of our lives are challenging, this can cause us some real issues.
People are of course all different and the example above is a simplified one, but also one that is sadly often true. Does this mean that businesses should be structured in such a way that they are specifically designed to salve the emotional problems which may exist for individuals outside of the working environment? Probably not. However, if teams and departments and organisations are structured in a way that is likely to make people happier and more efficient, then the resulting effect may be exactly that. And surely that would be a good thing.

I believe that there is a win/win opportunity available here. If employees experience psychological wellbeing, then they are more likely to be off work less, and be productive and innovative. Indeed there is a potentially huge economic benefit to adopting a psychological wellness approach, not only because of the billions of pounds and dollars which are lost to businesses each year because of mental health issues, but also because of the large additional load that is currently being placed upon many already overstretched public sector services.

So what can be done? Well here is a brief overview of what I think is important.

1) We need to be aware that a change in an individual’s circumstances can trigger a mental health issue. It may be more than one thing, it may also be that this latest thing has acted as the tipping point, as mentioned above. These events or changes can be things like; uncertainty and insecurity about a job, the loss of someone, relationship problems at work or outside of work, or a change of role.

2) We then need to be aware of what signs an individual may exhibit. These signs could be things like:

Emotional changes – irritability, aggression, withdrawal, change in sense of humour, being inappropriately ‘loud’.

Physical changes – difficulty sleeping, persistently fatigued, weight gain, weight loss, headaches, stomach complaints.

Professional changes – poor time management, persistent lateness, a reduction in problem solving ability and capacity to properly plan, forgetfulness.

N.B. This is of course not a comprehensive list. And whilst any or all of the above may be caused by stress, there could equally well be other underlying causes at work. So for example, someone being persistently late does not necessarily mean that they are suffering from stress. They may simply need to buy a new alarm clock, or to not rely on a Samsung Galaxy note 7 to be an accurate chronometer, or indeed to be an accurate anything, apart from its uncanny ability to impersonate burnt toast. And it is also important to note that it is the change in the individual that is important here. If someone has always been withdrawn then the fact that they are currently withdrawn may not be signalling very much.

3) What do do about it? The first thing to bear in mind is that (unless you happen to be a mental health professional) the job here is not to diagnose. That has its own inherent set of biases and dangers. The job here is be in conversation with people so that the question ‘is everything ok?’, or ‘how are you doing?’, doesn’t sound like something official, or unusual, or that is likely to cause the barriers to come up. In that way, if something is wrong, then that person may feel able to discuss it and can hopefully be guided to find the right kind of help.

I would strongly suggest that for those open and natural conversations to occur (which may well lead to quickly accessing professional help, and hopeful resolution) the working environment must be open and conversational in the first instance.

This brings us back round again for the need for the leader to set the right emotional tone. Leading without ego. Leading by walking about, encouraging others to do the same. Having a truly, non-judgemental open door policy. Genuinely living the values of transparency, honesty, fairness, respect and decency, and actively stamping out bullying, intimidation and all forms of political shenanigans, must be de rigeur.

So how is your open door approach coming along? Are you managing to dial down the ego? Are you regularly engaging people on a platform of equal respect?

Stress is on the increase in the workplace, and that’s not good for the individual or for the business, and so any ‘leader’ who creates an environment which is toxic e.g. people ‘living in fear’, is doing the employees within the business, and the business itself a huge disservice, and quite patently, they are not actually a leader. They actually don’t warrant the title supervisor, far less leader. In fact they are far from ‘super’ and so perhaps at best they might be called a ‘visor’. And nobody likes shady behaviour in a boss!

If you’d like to think about the subject of psychological wellbeing in the workplace a little more, I have produced a short video about the subject. The link is below.

And this month’s podcast is also about the same subject.

The SoundCloud address is here:

Best wishes
Mike