How to provide the mental health support your team ACTUALLY needs…and a real-life example of how your team can THRIVE in spite of Covid…
I talked to a leader recently who said that in a recent team meeting, the topic of mental health came up and it actually became the discussion for most of the business meeting.
The reality is: the pandemic, shifting working conditions, unsettling current events, and real-life, personal difficulties have given us a new chance to look at the importance of caring for our mental and emotional health.
Why is this so important?
According to a Business Insider survey in July of this year, 95% of workers are thinking about quitting their jobs — and burnout is the number one reason. And burnout is just one of many mental health concerns in the workplace.
But there’s good news! It actually IS possible to care for the mental health of your team, even while working in light of Covid.
One leader we’ve worked with said they have the HIGHEST level of ENGAGEMENT in the team, despite the pandemic, because they’re DAILY thinking about and taking actions to support the team.
Here are some things they’ve been doing:
● Having regular 1:1 meetings no matter what (especially virtually).
● Listening to concerns and making adjustments to policies and procedures.
● Playing music, playing games, and organizing social activities (even through Zoom!).
● Setting up coffee dates, birthday lunch get-togethers, and just in general finding ways to have fun together and normalize the abnormal.
● Adapting to the employees’ needs to relieve stressors while still maintaining work standards and flow (technology needs, scheduling needs, etc.).
● Making a safe place for honest conversations, expressing frustration, and asking for help.
● Providing connections to trusted outside resources such as coaching, counseling, etc.
Supporting the mental health of our teams is more than just offering resources to help deal with mental health difficulties that have become a crisis.
Supporting mental health holistically is about doing that PLUS creating an environment and practices that actually support the mental and emotional health of your people on a day-to-day basis.
While ‘powering through’ is a strategy most leaders resort to in times of crisis, the Covid situation has been so prolonged that it is calling leaders to become more aware and creative in addressing the fatigue their people are experiencing.
Thankfully, mental and emotional health challenges and considerations don’t carry the same stigma they once did.
What are some strategies you’ve found to be helpful in caring for your and your team’s mental and emotional well being?