Linked: Want to be an effective mentor in 2021? Talk about mental health

You know I couldn’t resist this article just from the headline, but the whole thing is worth reading, especially if your folks are working remote, or in some kind of hybrid situation, because these are all things we are dealing with, and need to do:

A thematic thread of the pandemic has been candid dialogue about mental health and well-being. Sarah Sheehan, co-founder of coaching platform Bravely, noticed an uptick for guidance at the intersection of career and mental health. “We’ve seen huge spikes in sessions around stress and burnout. What I think has been incredibly interesting is that those same people — talking about these feelings surrounding stress and burnout — they’re also talking about their desire to continue to grow in their role or get to the next level in their career,” Sheehan told HR Dive.

This is really the big question many of us have, and rightfully so. Hopefully, your workplace is smart enough to encourage you to disconnect during off hours, or take care of your mental health needs, and speak up if you’re feeling burned out. But, what do we do if that same employer also rewards the folks who don’t do any of that? How does an employee keep up healthy boundaries and not get left behind in their career when they watch the peers who work all hours of the day/night, never disconnect, and work in an absolutely non-sustainable way are praised for their “grit and commitment”, and maybe even promoted over folks who work harder at maintaining a sustainable work-life balance?

That’s a difficult conversation, one that should be taking place across the board, because your people want to succeed, just not at the expense of their own mental health. Are you making room for that, or are you still rewarding more hours instead?

https://www.hrdive.com/news/pandemic-mental-health-burnout-mentoring/601416/

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