Don’t just talk about mental health, say something!
Everyone is talking about mental health. So why is it only the companies selling mental health solutions that have anything important to say?
A few weeks ago, I was doing research on mental health marketing for my new Zapier article. After skimming the 1,000th “X ways to deal with stress” post, I had to wonder where all the progress had gone.
Don’t get me wrong, we’ve made HUGE strides in introducing mental health to the workplace. Just read Kelly Greenwood and Julia Anas’s HBR piece!
But it’s hard to see companies only talking about mental health on a surface level. So many are willing to invest in new EAPs and mental health days, yet there’s clearly still a stigma around companies -and the people in them- being open about mental health.
Adding to, REALLY adding to the conversation on mental health helps normalize it in the workplace.
Let’s go beyond workplace stress tips and show that we can tackle complicated conversations on private and public forums.
How? By encouraging business leaders to be vocal about their mental health.
We still cling to this idea that executives and managers who admit to being human are “weak,” and that their example will adversely affect the company.
That thinking has no place in modern workforce discussions.
Real change comes when those who are most affected can voice their needs and concerns openly.
Bettermental’s February episode is all about building a healthy work culture by prioritizing team mental health. Our first point? It starts with the leader.
When it comes to joining the mental health discussion, that means CEOs talking about anxiety. Managers sharing burnout stories. Workers with chronic conditions having open discussions about navigating their workplace.
A great example: In a recent EU Parliment roundtable hosted by #WorkAnywhere, Digital Nomad Week founder Olúmidé Gbenro, spoke about his own lived experience with depression to illustrate how crucial on the ground support is for remote workers.
Now that’s true leadership.
Leaders, don’t just let your companies talk about mental health. Say something.
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