Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Mental Health Biases in the Workplace
By Heidi Sadecky, MA,PCC – Executive Coach & Director, Townsend Leadership Program
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the rate of reported mental health challenges has significantly increased around our nation. Naturally, these issues spill over into the workplace as well. Team leaders and executives have more conversations than ever with their employees about mental health concerns in the workplace. With this new information in hand, how do leaders better staff and assign work without unfairly disadvantaging someone because of a perceived mental health concern?
I would like to share some wisdom I’ve garnered in my experience as a professional leadership and executive coach about balancing speaking up about mental health while fostering a professional, productive workplace.
Discovering Your Own Perspective on Mental Health
Addressing questions about mental health in your employees begins by addressing your own mental health history and perspective. How has your mental health affected your life, making certain tasks easier and others more difficult at times? Has grief or depression ever impacted your work? Additionally, it’s helpful to consider how the mental health of those closest to you has impacted your life and worldview. Sometimes the largest mental health challenges people face aren’t their own; they’re the mental health concerns of a family member or loved one. Those issues are often felt to be just as significant even though it isn’t happening to you directly.
Through this examination, you may come to find both the negative and positive effects of possible scenarios your employees may be facing. For a possible example, some individuals with ADHD find that while they experience the common symptom of disorganization, they are also able to keep a greater variety of trains of thought going at once, allowing them to multi-task effectively.
Lead with Empathy
Build up the habit of genuine empathy and open communication with your staff. You may feel tempted always to solve someone’s mental health problems for them or just work around them. However, this approach only serves to exclude that individual from the organization. Instead, I recommend that you reach out to create a space for your employee to speak for themselves. You can prompt healthy behavior by asking questions like, “I’ve noticed you haven’t been as eager to participate lately, how are you doing?” or “I understand you’ve lost someone recently, how can the team and I provide the support you need?”
As a manager and leader, it’s your job to oversee the success of your company. That also means overseeing the success of your employees. When your employees work fluidly and effectively, and are eager to accomplish their work, then your business is sure to grow. Your leadership can set the tone for communication and collaboration at your company by providing avenues for safe, trusted communication.
Build Collaborative Work Processes
Think back to the example I mentioned earlier concerning the strengths and weaknesses surrounding certain mental health concerns. Some of your staff may have those same weaknesses, but they also have a tremendous opportunity to work successfully when you assign tasks and roles that play to their strengths. Building out teams or scrums among your employees with a variety of strengths will make sure that everyone on that team has something to contribute to the overall workplace.
What’s more, if you’re able to build up a culture of collaboration and trust, your employees may feel open enough to share their struggles with their team members. Lasting success will come through your employees when they feel empowered to work together to solve problems, communicate, and adapt as a group to changing mental health concerns.
I have coached both individual leaders and entire organizations collectively to begin addressing the concerns about mental health in the workplace among their coworkers and employees. I would also be glad to coach you as you seek to introduce open channels of communication throughout your corporate culture. As mental health continues to grow in prominence throughout the public eye, our companies must also adapt to these changes. Rather than rashly making changes without considering how they will affect your company, it would be wise to enlist the support of a professional leadership and executive coach who can guide you through these changes. If you want support, take the first step in discovering how executive coaching can broaden your horizons and grow your potential as a leader by booking a quick call to learn more!
Heidi Sadecky is a highly-trained executive coach with over 30 years of combined corporate and coaching experience. She helps her clients operate at a higher level, overcome workplace challenges and achieve measurable results.
She is an in-demand facilitator of the only Townsend Leadership Program, a unique and highly effective group coaching program located in the North East United States.
In-person, virtual and hybrid leadership groups are now forming.