Navigating Mental Health at Work

Our personal lives don’t stop once we clock in at the start of our work day. If anything, they’re exacerbated by our work stressors, and the more these issues pile up without acknowledgment, the worse we begin to feel.

Talking about mental health in our everyday lives is something that’s beginning to be more normalized, although the level of conversation still isn’t where it could be, especially at work. 

According to a Harvard Business Review article, “76% of respondents reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past year, up from 59% in 2019.” The residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have undoubtedly increased among people dealing with mental health issues. Because of this, it’s important that now more than ever, we use this as motivation to enact real change to help people who are struggling. 

We’re afraid to talk about our mental health for a lot of reasons, but especially because of the stigma that surrounds it. We’re afraid that if we talk about how we are struggling or experiencing suicidal thoughts, people will think differently of us and respond indifferently. Unfortunately, many people suffer in silence because they are afraid to share their real feelings. 

It seems, sometimes, that the people who look the happiest are the ones who are actually in deep pain. 

Take Robin Williams, for example. He’s one of the greatest comedians of all time and was someone who was known for his goofy, larger-than-life personality. When he died by suicide in 2014, it was shocking to learn that someone who appeared to be so happy was actually in so much pain. When it comes to mental health it is safe to trust the old adage; don’t judge a book by its cover. 

We don’t know the lengths of what someone is going through. While trauma certainly leads to a lot of mental health struggles and illness, it isn’t the only contributor. Sometimes, it can be a series of seemingly insignificant events that stack up over time. The more things start to pile up, the more it feels like drowning. 

Life is just plain hard sometimes, and the problem grows when we isolate ourselves and try to bear the burden of it all on our own. 

Because mental health isn’t something you can’t always physically see, it’s hard for people to understand precisely what someone is going through. With mental health struggles, we don’t always know the best way to help or feel afraid of overstepping. Often in a work setting, a person who is struggling with their mental health will be labeled as having performance and absenteeism issues, which further ostracizes them.

We mustn’t be so married to remain “professional” that we are unwilling to step into the “messy” parts of someone's life and say I am here, and this won’t last forever. But to do so requires that we are willing to get vulnerable to meet someone else in theirs. Taking time to just listen, and be there goes a long way.

We often underestimate the power of presence. And sometimes, suggesting simplicities like going outside, taking a shower, or listening to upbeat music as a way to bring someone out of a depressive and/or anxious state is also helpful. It is also important for someone battling mental illnesses to get medical support and intervention, and designing work policies in a way that supports people getting that help is vital to prioritize the human over the work.

If you had a cold, for example – where you’re coughing, tired, feverish, and aching – you’d be told to seek medical intervention and rest until you feel better. Someone telling you to “snap out of it,” “get over it” and “get back to work,” isn't helpful and certainly doesn't help you feel better. Mental health is no different. 

We need to talk about mental illnesses. The stigma surrounding it often promotes feelings of shame, guilt, and loneliness, and results in a reluctance to seek help.

To challenge this, we can do our part by sharing our own mental health stories, educating ourselves and others, and promoting human, holistic health-centric policies. In the workplace, cultivating a culture where it’s normal to do what’s best for your well-being instead of bogging yourself down with work or staying in a space that’s detrimental to your mental health is most important. With how much time we spend at our jobs, it's vital that we feel healthy and whole. If we’re not taking care of ourselves, how can we expect to be at our best? 

There needs to be genuine organizational initiatives that invite the mental health conversation as part of a healthy culture. Incorporating flexible work hours, adjusting workloads, redesigning roles, and addressing workplace issues are all steps that organizations can implement to alleviate work-related stress.

Mental health impacts our emotional and psychological well-being and is important at every stage of life.

Perhaps part of the issue is that we label it “mental” health instead of holistic health; seeing it as the culmination of our mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

While we all have different experiences of mental health and how we manage it, opening up the conversation in new ways is the first step in destigmatizing the experience. Taking the experience from the individual to the collective could work wonders to create a healthy & supportive community at work. 

How is your workplace opening up the conversation around holistic mental health and advancing efforts to talk about mental illness? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.