There should be no question about how to access resources. There should be an expectation that there are people you can reach out to who would help you navigate those resources and that managers are supportive of basic mental health activities that help avoid burnout.
Anything less just isn’t good enough.
As pointed out in the link below, these types of behaviors break trust. I can’t trust leadership who doesn’t act in a way that matches the talk, and in too many cases the talk about well-being is just talk. You could say the same about diversity and inclusion and other efforts that exist mostly to appeal to customers and potential employees instead of demonstrating a true commitment to those things.
So, while I wouldn’t place the blame for all of our anxiety coming from a pandemic, climate, racism, sexism, and violence, I do believe the workplace has a role to play when it comes to supporting the human beings who work for you in dealing with all of that, and a responsibility to not add to it. Unfortunately, I see a lot of leaders who don’t seem to care about either of those things. IMHO, they don’t deserve to have employees.
What I am starting to learn, and Gary writes as well, is that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness but it might very well be an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to connect with other human beings at a personal level, it’s an opportunity to learn from the expertise of others, and an opportunity for them to put that knowledge to good use. It’s an opportunity to use that combined skill to create a better solution than I would have created by myself.
Most of all hard problems are an opportunity to work as a team or a community, something that we all need as human beings. Whether you are anxious and need a friend to support you, or you can’t find the answer to a vexing technical issue, or you simply need some help learning a new skill, it helps to have people around.
Leaders often throw benefits out to solve the problem, when work might actually be the problem. A great employee assistance program, health insurance that fairly covers mental healthcare, heck maybe they even threw in a few meditation app subscriptions for free. “See, we care!”
But the employee is quietly suffering from a lack of any connection to coworkers, poor communication with their boss, workplace stress, or even bullying and harassment, with no one in leadership to talk to. That’s not going to make them feel like you care.
Which got me thinking, if we are taking vacation time, sick time, or even going with a four-day workweek because it will help us come back and be more productive workers, then why bother? Is that all we are? Does everything we do, including what we do outside of work, have to revolve around our jobs?
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