What We Get Wrong about Mental Health at Work

We are well into Mental Health Awareness Month, so there is no shortage of resources to be found related to workplace mental health. In fact, that’s one of the many things we get wrong about mental health at work- but we’ll get to that later in the article.

I am heartened by the increase in focus around mental health at work and beyond, however- we often miss key things when it comes to mental health at work and beyond. I want to talk about them and how we can work past what we typically get wrong when we try to tackle mental health at work.

We All Have Mental Health

Often when we have conversations around mental health, our focus naturally goes to mental health challenges and conditions. Certainly, these issues have a place in the conversation and are important to address. It makes sense, most of us are geared toward solving problems and issues and so we are drawn to them

However, when we do this, we miss the extremely important fact that WE ALL HAVE MENTAL HEALTH. Just like we all have physical health. And much like physical health conversations, we know the importance and impact of prevention and proactive care.

We also risk excluding team members who can benefit from mental health efforts when we only focus on challenges and issues. Mental Health is a topic for us all to benefit from- a more expansive view and conversation is vital when we talk about mental health holistically.

Stigma Around Mental Health Conditions

Despite a lot of progress being made here, there is still significant stigma around sharing mental health conditions and diagnoses.

Much of the stigma comes from misunderstanding and fear of mental health conditions that are often perpetuated by media portrayals and ingrained social norms and beliefs, sometimes individuals with mental health challenges will even self-stigmatize because of these norms and portrayals.

The best bet when it comes to overcoming stigma- our own and societal, is through education. There are a lot of wonderful resources for folks to help learn more and knowledge helps us reduce fear and stereotypes. An awesome option is Mental Health First Aid through the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

We Overwhelm our Teams & Ourselves with Resources and Information

With more and more focus on mental health at work and all facets of our lives, there are many more resources available. However, this can quickly become a double-edged sword when all the resources and information quickly become overwhelming. Our brains can only handle so much information and if we are in a crisis situation; that is even less.

Don’t get me wrong- I love seeing all the amazing resources- I am not encouraging you to eliminate them, I am encouraging you to be thoughtful about how information is communicated, grouped, and accessed. And make access to crisis and on-demand resources as easy as possible to find.

Since a lot of these resources can cost money, it is also worth looking at both utilization and asking your employees what they want and need to better support their mental health (spoiler alert- their first choice probably isn’t a meditation app).

We Don’t Focus Enough on the Day to Day

When you ask your teams (or even yourself) what has the greatest impact on your mental health at work, the most likely answer will overwhelmingly be the day-to-day reality of your job.

The culture, the never-ending to-do list, an unavailable manager, a toxic co-worker- these have a much greater overall impact than we’d think given how often mental health workplace initiatives focus on adding programs and resources vs. addressing our day to day lives.

I get it- what I’m talking about is investing in meaningful culture change. That’s probably one of the hardest things out there. And there’s nothing wrong with adding resources for the team. The key here is understanding the best approach will offer both and a long-term investment in making work better and more mental health focused for your team is going to have the greatest impact.

It’s also important to recognize that programs added without culture change investment will likely meet resistance or negativity — think “Nice app, but my manager doesn’t care about my mental health.” Aligning organizational efforts creates a much more meaningful impact overall.

We Don’t Empower and Educate Managers and Other Front-Line Leaders

Speaking of making an impact on the day-to-day experience of work, your greatest resource is your front-line leadership and managers. Consider- who would you go to if you were experiencing a challenge, someone who you talk to every day in a position of authority is probably pretty likely. Also, who is most likely to recognize changes in behaviors or other potential mental health red flags- the person who works closely with them daily?

That said, managers have more on their plate than ever. The role of manager has gotten exponentially more difficult send 2020 and regardless of whether or not managers expect or are prepared to have mental health conversations- more likely than not, they already have or will soon. 92% of Gen Z new grads say it’s important for them to feel comfortable discussing mental wellness at work.

If you are trying to figure out where to start initiatives to educate your team and change your culture- start with your managers!! They need support and resources to support their team and their mental health. As we know from countless reports, manager burnout and mental health are often in a dire spot as well.

Invest in manager training resources and support to ensure they are prepared if and when mental health conversations and challenges show up on their team. And this doesn’t mean leaving them to address issues on their own or become defacto counselors- it’s setting them up with the right tools for action and next steps to support everyone- including them.

Remember, we all have mental health for our full lives. Mental Health at work is not a once-a-year ‘check the box’- it is a long-term commitment to support the humans that make your organization run. While initiatives like culture change and education can seem overwhelming, they also are imperative to the most impactful results. Invest in your own and your team’s mental health. It’s worth it.