Showing up at Work
Sharing life experiences with coworkers is a great way to foster a sense of connection and build relationships at work. When we laugh together about teaching our teenagers to drive or training our new puppy, we create common ground. But if we expand those conversations to include the stress, anxiety or depression that comes with everyday life, the mood often changes. In the workplace, employees often choose to struggle alone rather than face the stigma that accompanies mental health challenges.
While there may be more support available than ever before, employees are often hesitant to use it. Only 2-8% of employees use their Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that are designed to enhance employee well-being. There is a common misconception that seeking help for mental health could be seen as a weakness. Employees worry about everything from confidentiality, to being passed over for a promotion or treated differently. For this reason, employee benefit plans, especially mental health resources are often under-utilized. If employees don’t use their mental health resources, then their impact will be minimal.
Learning from Gen Z
We can learn something from younger generations that are taking a different approach to destigmatizing mental health. Gen Z tends to access mental health supports more often and normalize public discussions on therapy and mental illness. We might not understand their obsession with TikTok and athleisure wear, but we can appreciate the way they’ve changed the conversation around mental health. Instead of viewing treatment as a sign of weakness, they promote it as an important part of self-care. Words like ‘crazy’ or ‘nuts’ that demean people who have a mental illness are faux pas and have been replaced with non-judgemental language. The goal is to reduce the stigma by not defining a person by their condition.
In a workplace, when we feel comfortable discussing an issue, and safe from repercussion, we can openly encourage people to access help. When leadership supports well-being, it is easier to take a pro-active approach. Seeking early intervention can lead to reduced stress and improved morale. Simply put, it is more effective for employees to share supportive resources than funny memes, although we all love a good Sponge Bob moment.
Leadership Sets the Tone
In a place where mental health discussion is encouraged, we have the opportunity share the responsibility for a healthy community. We can encourage each other to take daily walks, work from home or take a day off. Leaders within a company can share experiences with seeking therapy and set an expectation that employees use it to improve their well-being. While it is important to set professional boundaries, you cannot destigmatize something you don’t talk about at every level of leadership. A good employee benefits provider will offer education to leaders and staff separately and together to help them build culture of acceptance.
Resources At Work
Having the right program in place is only the first step to employee well-being. Promoting usage, a strong trust in confidentiality and normalizing mental health discussions are key.
When the word ‘crazy’ is used around the water cooler, save it to describe the morning traffic not the mental state of your coworker. We will all be better for it.
Brian is President and Co-founder of Bloom Benefits Group. Bloom Benefits Group is an advertiser with Family Psychology magazine.
https://bloombenefits.ca
