Do you remember that feeling as a kid, when you were told it was bath time? It was a crushing and oppressive statement that meant so many things, but ultimately, playtime was over. Do you also remember that feeling as a kid, when you were told to get out the bath? It was the complete opposite!
No kid ever wants to bath… but no kid ever wants to get out of the bath.
Within the space of half an hour or so, our thoughts and motivations can do a one-eighty.
As much as we like to think we’re all grown up now, our minds don’t work any differently. We may have slightly more self-control, but our base operations are identical. This means that the people we work with, who may seem happy and in control today, could be feeling radically different this afternoon, this evening, tomorrow or next week.
For the most part, we’re able to keep these rallying emotions under control and in a healthy space. This has a lot to do with what we refer to as mental health. But when pressures weigh in – and we’ve had tons in the last few months – our mental health takes a knock. A serious knock.
The next few years may very well be even harder than the last as we start to unpack what has happened in 2020, and it will be a helpful skill to identify who in our team needs help to rebuild parts of their lives (and their personal wellbeing) that were deeply decimated. This is not about academics or skills which are relatively easy to see, it’s about emotional and mental health and these are easily masked as we learn to mask our true thoughts and feelings in order to fit into the workplace.
One red flag is absenteeism (or presenteeism!). When someone in your team is either not showing up for work, or is showing up way too much, it’s an early warning signal that they’re taking strain and struggling. We’re not talking about changed schedules or working situations (like flexi-hours, WFH or video engagement), we’re talking about a noticeable change in how a valued member of your team is showing up and contributing to the community that you’re building.
Although much work has been done to remove the stigma around mental health, it’s still a very big problem that remains undetected in its early stages. Added to this stigma is the pressure to hold on to work and not be seen as the weakest link. As the job market remains tough, employees will be less inclined to take time off or openly engage with their shortcomings in the workplace for fear of losing their jobs. This is even more prevalent in higher levels of the business where opportunities are less and the environment is particularly competitive.
Balance, rest, support and open communication are all valuable tools and practices to employ with your top-level management to nurture and show that you value their mental health. As you build this in the strategic strata of your organizational structure, it will trickle down to the technical and operational levels and have broader reach within your larger team dynamics.
With all the strains placed on businesses and teams, it’s easy to focus on ‘money-making’ initiatives, like sales, targets and expenses, and we can slowly overlook the human element. Mental health is hard to gauge at the best of times, under our new-normal we need to identify red flags early and support our teams to grow. Within a very short time, our thoughts, emotions and motivations can do a one-eighty.
Let’s be there for our people.
When our people grow, our businesses grow. Period.