What's the gap?
MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES NOW THE NORM IN OUR WORKPLACES (SapienLabs.org)
|
76% employees reported struggling with their MH |
66% reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past year |
42%
diagnosed with clinical MH disorder. |
EMPLOYEES NOT SUPPORTED (ConnectedMind.me)
|
69%
of those suffering from a mental health issue are too afraid to talk about it or don't know |
66%
of employees do not get sufficient mental health support at work |
69%
of respondents talked about their MH to someone at work in past year BUT only 49% received positive or supportive response |
Accelerating Mental Wellness Campaign
“Take the Pledge”
- Open discussions about mental and physical health from the top down
- DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging) policy and team and a willingness to be transparent about and accountable to their efforts
- Inclusive communication platforms that allow workers to respond in their own time and that accommodate disabilities (Examples: asynchronous channels, platforms with closed captioning, screen reader support, and keyboard shortcuts, audio support)
- Flexible scheduling and outcome-based work that does not require workers to be at a desk for 8 continuous hours a day
- Policy that discourages work communication while “clocked out” (e.g. no requests from managers on nights, weekends, time off)
- Remote-friendly systems, tools, and hours, and/or the option to choose to work from home up either part of full-time
- Floating mental health days, sick days, and PTO (or judgment-free PTO of at least 30+ days a year)
- Company-wide policies covering mental health including disability planning and mental health policies and coverage
- EAPs that offer mental health support, financial health support, and professional development
- Leadership training for managers that covers de-stigmatizing language, best practices for open mental health conversations, empathetic communication, and health conflict resolution
Suggested additions from Elissa Adair, PhD, Program Evaluator, Lines for Life, Portland, Oregon (thank you all for soliciting my feedback and I look forward to following your work).
Priority: Performance review, ongoing feedback and hiring/firing process is where managers often fail to implement trauma-informed, inclusive language. Important to include some guidelines related to merit and expectations. Other suggestions: commitment to continual learning and feedback gathering -- this bakes in that this is a work in process and not a one and done standard met. A key policy we have in our workplace as a 24/7 call center is protection from aggressive, sexually harassing,racist, inappropriate clients (who may still need our help to not suicide) and contractual partners. What if the “offender” is not “internal” -- what are standards?
Further Resources:
https://peoplefirstjobs.com/criteria
https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Pledge-to-Be-StigmaFree/StigmaFree-Company
https://www.modernhealth.com/deib
Priority: Performance review, ongoing feedback and hiring/firing process is where managers often fail to implement trauma-informed, inclusive language. Important to include some guidelines related to merit and expectations. Other suggestions: commitment to continual learning and feedback gathering -- this bakes in that this is a work in process and not a one and done standard met. A key policy we have in our workplace as a 24/7 call center is protection from aggressive, sexually harassing,racist, inappropriate clients (who may still need our help to not suicide) and contractual partners. What if the “offender” is not “internal” -- what are standards?
Further Resources:
https://peoplefirstjobs.com/criteria
https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Pledge-to-Be-StigmaFree/StigmaFree-Company
https://www.modernhealth.com/deib