No one can deny that there’s been a significant shift when it comes to mental wellness in the workplace. Whether it’s the onset of a global pandemic or other forces beyond our control that are to blame, people are struggling. So, what does a good leader do when the team is overwhelmed with anxiety, burned out, or depressed? Instead of ignoring and hoping it goes away, responsible leaders must empower employees to lean in and find help. In this episode of the Transform Your Workplace podcast, guest Lacey Partipilo addresses this timely and relevant topic by providing practical tips for leaders to address mental health at work.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Director of HR and Client Success at Xenium HR, Lacey Partipilo is our go-to source when it comes to business advice and HR expertise. She is all about relationships, building connections with not only her team at Xenium but also her many business clients.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, Sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
TOP TIP FROM THIS EPISODE
“I think the answer is putting the oxygen mask on yourself before trying to rescue everyone else.”
Lacey was adamant that leaders need to take care of themselves first. This means practicing good boundary-setting, making sure that they’re carving out time for things that “keep them grounded.” And despite how managers and leaders may feel, Lacey said that they’re “not responsible for the mental health of [their] employees.” She went on to say, “leaders aren’t, in most cases, licensed mental health professionals,” so instead of trying to take on the burden of their team’s mental health, they should work to understand the benefits that the organization offers in terms of mental health support and encourage employees to take advantage of and access the available resources.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Leadership and Mental Health
“The challenge for people in leadership positions is that they feel responsible for the productivity and the performance of their people. And if their people aren’t doing well, they themselves are not doing well. I think that adds an interesting dynamic. So, I would say leaders are probably struggling in that regard. I think when the pandemic started, many leaders had to figure out how to manage remote employees and had never done that before, and that was challenging.”
“Then, you add this additional complex layer where you’re managing remote employees who are struggling with mental health issues or maybe their family members are. And so that can bleed into the workplace. Then, there’s this additional layer where they themselves may be suffering from either things like diagnosed conditions or just the stress of the pandemic and what that has brought on for them. So I think that is really what’s creating something that is especially challenging right now.”
The Indicators of Mental Wellness
“One of the things that was interesting in this training was that they talked about not using productivity as a sign of either wellness or not being well. And that the relationships that people have and whether people can be patient and kind and understanding could be a sign, maybe even more so than productivity.
I think there are people who, when they’re struggling, throw themselves into work. That may be their way of avoiding thinking about […] some of the more pressing challenges that they’re facing. So I don’t know that it’s a one-size-fits-all.”
The Importance of One-On-Ones
“I feel like every podcast that I do with you, we talk about one-on-ones. When managers have regular one-on-ones with employees, it’s a way to really understand what’s going on. And you know, we’re not talking about having your employee sit down on a leather couch and pour their heart out. But I think it’s important that we’re connected and that we understand what’s challenging them and how that’s impacting the work and the workplace too.”
Signs of Burnout
“When employees have been pretty actively engaged but then they stop going to happy hours or participating in book club, I think that can be a sign of burnout. Employees who actually say, ‘I can’t do this anymore’ or start dropping the ball in certain areas could be burned out as well. […] But it isn’t one-size-fits-all because, again, there are people who are going to, even when they’re burnt out, continue on. And obviously, as leaders, it’s our job to be paying attention to that and to help employees to maybe see when things are going sideways and when they need to take some time off. That’s another thing that I think contributes to this burnout issue is people not using their vacation or paid time off benefits because there’s nothing to do. They can’t go anywhere and they can’t plan a vacation, so people are saving that up. I think really stepping away, decompressing, and recharging can only happen by being disconnected for more than one or two business days.”
Breaking the Stigma
“Not everybody is willing to access [mental health] benefits for a lot of reasons. It’s like 25% of people will, at some point, suffer from some type of mental health issue in their lifetime. That’s pretty high, but there’s still a stigma behind it. So we need to be helping employees see that this is not an abnormal thing. This is why we have these benefits in place. We need to encourage them to do it. But at the end of the day, employees also need to understand the impact that whatever they have going on personally is having on the workplace too.”
Making Resources Available
“Something that I think is interesting is having a mental health emergency plan. And this does come up in small businesses. So if you’ve got someone who’s in crisis and is having a mental health emergency in the workplace, there’s a stigma. We don’t want to talk about it. We don’t want to use scary words like ‘suicide’ in the workplace. It’s heavy. It feels almost like too much to handle, especially for our frontline managers. So it’s crucial to equip them with tools and resources and a plan for what do I do in the event that this comes up because it will come up.”
Hope for the Future
“I think the organization is resilient. As challenges are presented, employees work together to solve them. People are solution-oriented, they’re empathetic and encouraging of one another. It seems a little bit utopian to think about, but I think if we had great resiliency skills and coping skills and if we train our employees and leaders, whatever challenges present themselves will be something that the teams are equipped to handle. So that’s just the truth of it.”
LEARN MORE
There’s always more conversation to be had when it comes to mental health. If you’re looking for connection or resources, find Lacey on LinkedIn and reach out. You can also check out the Xenium website for some resources about remote work and other helpful content.