A place for mental health in the work place

Work to live and live to work. An American standard. American’s notorious lack of balance between their personal and professional lives increases stress, burnout and reduces efficiency and morale in both areas of life. The dread upon returning to work on Monday mornings and the fear upon checking work emails is impacting individuals to their core. It deteriorates the sanctity at home and perpetuates poor habits and attitudes at work.

Mental health is no more than buzz words in the majority of offices. While some offices offer mental health services through their insurers, it is often insufficient sessions, entails a long waiting list, and employees often choose not to participate based on fear of discovery.

There is nowhere to turn. The CDC reported that in 2021 suicide rate among U.S. persons of working age is approximately 33% higher than it was 2 decades ago. These rates continue to climb. Mental Illness is a pandemic. Mental health care is long past due in the workplace. While the priority should be the staff’s health, there is an evident, inevitable ulterior motive: staff retention.

We no longer live in a world in which the majority of employees stay loyal to a company from 18-65. The phrase “people don’t leave work because of work; they leave work because of managers” has never been truer. The tension and toxicity of an office will continue to soar as individuals’ mental health declines.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (59.3 million in 2022; 23.1% of the U.S. adult population). There is a hidden underlayer in every workplace, whether it be virtual or in-person, of suffering. This internal suffering is impacting not only the individuals’ livelihood, but their ability to good coworkers and producers. By curating a workplace wellness routine and standard, an amelioration of teamwork and efficiency is fated. With that, comes an environment of people who feel cared for and thus remain loyal, dedicated, and diligent.

In their 2022 workplace report, Gallup, discovered that unprecedented rates of dissatisfaction, disengagement and unhappiness. 60% percent of people reported being emotionally detached at work and 19% as being miserable. Thus, not only are about 1/5 people struggling with a mental health challenge, 1/5 are also dejected. How can we expect any standard of work when our workers are suffering?

This is not a stalemate situation. There are alternatives that will lead to the betterment of workers. Workers that come happy and leave happy. It almost feels ludicrous to imagine a “happy” work environment, and well, that is ludicrous.

So, what is the move? Move towards a higher standard of mental wellness. Replace hopeless team-building meetings with mental health workshops, professional counselor check-ins, a curated office environment, and more flexible office hours.

There is a place for mental health in the workplace. There are countless ways to start. But start soon.

Marki Kaim, LMSW

Suffering Staff, A Good Time To Replace Team-Building Retreats

There is a very specific in a room of adults in an office during a team-building activity announcement. This very specific look is not the expression that the executives expected when planning the company’s yearly outing. The look of looming dread over the idea of this “reprieve” tells a story of a staff longing for authenticity. The annual trip to walk across logs in pairs, make a human pyramid in a remote field after a lecture about teamwork, or go to a minor league baseball team’s home game needs to meet modernity.

In a 13 year-long study by Statista, only 25% of employees felt that their organization cared about their well-being. It is evident that the current model for corporate events is inefficient.

From an employee perspective, a company seems to pay for one team building outing a year and wipe their hands clean until the next calendar year. This singular event lacks genuineness. CityHUNT estimates that to have 10 individuals partake in a one-day team-building event can run up to $8,000. The allocation of this large sum, for a singular event, can be better directed and more impactful. The sentiment of team building is one of good intentions; the execution, luckily, can be improved. By replacing a one-day, costly, workshop with an on-going commitment to team cohesion, real relationships can form. Importantly, there is an opportunity to mitigate office toxicity

Having on-going mental health meetings, group facilitations, and wellness reviews is a methodology that shouts commitment to staff, company retention, and will lead to loyalty in ways a one-day retreat cannot achieve. The investment in staff longevity is vital to an organization’s success. Pollack Peacebuilding found that 18% of employees leave their organizations due to workplace conflict (CPP Inc., 2008) (with 75% of staff not reporting conflict due to fear of retribution). This turnover is detrimental to success. They also estimated that 56% reported stress, anxiety, and/or depression due to workplace conflict. Thus, one field trip to a bowling alley or a tug-of-war field day, is ill prepared to manage the impact of office politics and relationships on staff’s mental state and ability to function.

 Spending upwards of 40 hours in a space that does not preserve our mental health is catastrophic, for employees and organizations alike. The lack of productivity and therefore, success, is inevitable when the office is a place of suffering staff. Now, we must acknowledge that the pressure of productivity must come second to wellness. No bowling trip or holiday party (even if it includes an open bar) can conquer team conflict to the extent necessary to save our staff.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.