Mental Health

Career | Mental Health

Employee Wellness Plans Are Likely Making No Difference
ByMike McBride January 18, 2024January 17, 2024 Reading Time: 2 minutes

o here’s an app, but your manager is still going to expect you to answer emails 24×7, customers will be given your cell phone number to reach you whenever, and you’ll be expected to produce 8 hours of work while also attending 4-5 hours of meetings every day. All while not making enough money to pay for childcare or pay off the loans you took to get the degree that was required to get the job in the first place.

Gee, I wonder why that yoga class isn’t helping.

Read More Employee Wellness Plans Are Likely Making No Difference
Mental Health

Would Retiring Induce “Relevance Deprivation Syndrome” For You?
ByMike McBride December 21, 2023December 21, 2023 Reading Time: 1 minute

I think another way to understand this is our cultural obsession with “what you do” being the defacto representation of “who we are,” meaning that when we stop working, it can be detrimental to our mental health. After all, if you’ve spent 35-40 years identifying yourself as a lawyer, what will you be when you stop working as a lawyer?

Read More Would Retiring Induce “Relevance Deprivation Syndrome” For You?
Career | Mental Health

Linked – The ripple effects of layoffs
ByMike McBride December 14, 2023December 14, 2023 Reading Time: 2 minutes

It’s December, and the number of organizations conducting layoffs keeps growing. It’s been a never-ending cycle of layoffs. Let’s not kid ourselves and assume that everyone is feeling OK about that. Let’s not ignore the mental health elephant in the room, let alone the damage to workplace culture. And let’s also acknowledge that leaders who have conducted any layoffs do not get the benefit of the doubt regarding trust. There’s simply no reason to trust you.

Read More Linked – The ripple effects of layoffs
Mental Health

Stories Can Help Eliminate Mental Health Stigma, But Is The Workplace A Safe Place to Share Yours?
ByMike McBride December 7, 2023December 6, 2023 Reading Time: 2 minutes

Bosses, ask yourself the question. Is this a safe place for people to talk about their mental health? If it’s not, what can you do to change that? The article above has some advice for you. Maybe it all comes down to the kind of people who work for you and the behavior that you tolerate. If someone is honest about their mental health struggles and then you allow them to be stigmatized by others, it’s not a safe place.

And if it’s not a safe place, your wellbeing program doesn’t matter.

Read More Stories Can Help Eliminate Mental Health Stigma, But Is The Workplace A Safe Place to Share Yours?
Mental Health

Building a Culture that Supports Mental Health By Creating Opportunities to be Kind
ByMike McBride November 6, 2023November 9, 2023 Reading Time: 2 minutes

As I said, I’ve seen this same research. More than once. I’ve talked about it here and here, and probably a few other times as well. On the individual level, acts of kindness toward others are beneficial for not only the receiver but the giver. As a peer, I can do what I can to give to my coworkers, but what does it look like to have a culture that encourages, rewards, and maybe even expects that kind of behavior?

Read More Building a Culture that Supports Mental Health By Creating Opportunities to be Kind
Career | Mental Health

Linked – Looking for a Job While the World is Falling Apart
ByMike McBride October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 Reading Time: 3 minutes

The advice in the article below might seem familiar. I’ve seen plenty of advice on the topic of how to keep moving in life during difficult times over the last few years. Things like turning off the news, keeping to a normal routine, etc. What I like about this article is that it acknowledges the elephant in the room that typical advice doesn’t when you’re not working.

“Many people are in a job search and have to keep the quest moving regardless of world events.”

Therein lies the rub. The difference between being informed and being overwhelmed often comes down to being able to turn the news off, set boundaries around our social media use, and so on. But it can be especially difficult to do that when your day isn’t filled with things you have to do.

Read More Linked – Looking for a Job While the World is Falling Apart