Mental well-being is a crucial conversation topic in our lives today because of the ever increasing, challenging and at times conflicting demands of modern day living. Poor mental health affects our ability to participate meaningfully in our lives be it in terms of our ability to work or maintain relationships with family, friends and the community or pursue our dreams and goals.
Unfortunately, mental health conditions are not uncommon. As reported by Our World in Data hundreds of millions suffer from mental health conditions annually. For example, it is estimated that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will experience major depression in their lives, which is extremely concerning.
In our experience, getting to know the context and paying attention to the conditions can help in understanding what enables or hinders mental well-being. Engaging in open conversations, demonstrating care and extending necessary can help in managing mental well-being in the workplace.
Context
The context of an individual’s life impacts the state of mental well-being for the individual. There is the external context that we all live in – the family, society, environment & and our workplace. And then there is the internal context –an individual’s ability to deal with different stimuli from the external context. The evolution of an individual is based on 5 elements in their life – Intellectual, Emotional, Physical, Financial & and Spiritual.
Each element of the context can create conditions that enable or hinder the state of well-being. The focus of this blog is on the workplace context, where most of us spend a significant amount of our time on a daily basis. As per a study conducted by The Workforce Institute at UKG covering 3,400 people across 10 countries.
- 60% of employees worldwide say their job is the biggest factor influencing their mental health.
- 43% report they are exhausted, and 78% say stress negatively impacts their work performance. They also say that work stress negatively impacts employees’ home life (71%), wellbeing (64%), and relationships (62%).
- 81% of employees worldwide would prioritize good mental health over a high-paying job, and 64% admit they would take a pay cut for a job that better supports their mental wellness.
On the other hand, workplaces that are inclusive and have positive mental health tend to be more innovative, productive and agile as indicated by some of the research shared below:
- As per the study conducted by the Workforce Institute at UKG, 63% of the respondents say that they are committed to their work and 80% say they’re energized, when they have positive mental health
- A Deloitte report found that companies with inclusive cultures were 6 times more likely to be innovative and agile.
- A study done by Hewlett Packard Enterprise showed that the neurodiverse[1] teams are 30% more productive than the others.
- JPMorgan reported that professionals in its Autism at Work initiative made fewer errors and were 90% to 140% more productive than neurotypical employees.
At the workplace, the leadership (managers), the work culture and the team one works with have an impact on the mental wellbeing of an individual.
Conditions
The workplace context can create certain conditions that could enable or hinder mental wellbeing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified certain risks to mental wellbeing at the workplace, which are classified by us as conditions created by a given element at workplace
Leader/ Manager- led conditions
- authoritarian supervision
- unclear job role
- excessive workloads or work pace, understaffing
- under-use of skills or being under-skilled for work
- long, unsocial or inflexible hours
- under- or over-promotion
Organization led conditions
- unsafe or poor physical working conditions
- organizational culture that enables negative behaviours
- job insecurity, inadequate pay, or poor investment in career development
Team-led conditions
- limited support from colleagues
- violence, harassment or bullying
- discrimination and exclusion because of race, gender, caste, colour, neurodiversity, etc.
Other conditions
- conflicting home and work demands
Dealing with these conditions is critical to ensuring or restoring mental wellbeing. This can be done by using the approaches of Conversation and Care
Conversations
Meaningful conversations have the power to make a difference in an individual or groups’ perspective on a topic. In the context of improving mental wellbeing, group conversations can be useful in heightening the consciousness of various aspects of mental wellbeing and/ or expanding perspectives on how a team can contribute to enhancing the wellbeing of the team members.
Leaders play a critical role in enabling the mental wellbeing of individual team members and collectively as a team, which may not be getting its due importance today. As per the study by the Workforce Institute at UKG managers have just as much of an impact on people’s mental health as their spouse (both 69%) — and even more of an impact than their doctor (51%) or therapist (41%).
So, how can leaders conduct meaningful conversations with their team members, individually and collectively to have a pulse on the mental wellbeing of their teams and provide them the necessary support to enable them to maintain their mental wellbeing? Shared below are examples of two scripts to conduct such conversations. Conversation 1 provides the script of one such conversation that a leader, team member or HR partner could conduct with their team, as a group conversation. Conversation 2 provides the script that a leader, team member or HR partner can use to conduct a one-to-one conversation with a team member/individual to support their mental wellbeing needs. The chronology of questions in both conversations is based on the ORID framework which is part of the Technology of Participation (ToP) suite of facilitation methods and reflects the natural thinking process of human beings.
Conversation 1: Group Conversation to support the mental wellbeing of a team.
This conversation design can be conducted with teams/groups of people who want to engage in a conversation about the state of their mental wellbeing and identify actions to enhance it.
| CONVERSATION SCRIPT | |||||
| Opening Statement | Level 1 Questions | Level 2 Questions | Level 3 Questions | Level 4 Questions | Closing Statement |
| We have gathered as the (name the assembled team or organisation unit) to do a check-in on the state of our mental well-being. The purpose of this conversation is to explore the factors most influencing our mental well-being and what actions we can take to better manage those factors. | What signs or indicators of stress, pressure (work related or personal) are we observing in our team? | What emotions are we seeing because of the stress, pressure? What is the general mood, vibe of the team in relation to the stress, pressure? | What are the main factors contributing to reduced mental well-being? Which of those, if addressed would make the biggest difference to mental well-being levels? | What specific changes need to be actioned either individually and/or collectively to improve our mental well-being? How will the action be taken and by whom? What support (org, peer) would be useful to implement the action/make the change? | Thank you for taking the time and engaging seriously in this conversation. It was important that we pause and take stock of our mental well-being as the (name the assembled team or organisation unit). We’ve explored the critical factors, and actions we can take to rebalance our sense of well-being. |
Conversation 2: One-to-one conversation with a team member/individual to support their mental wellbeing
One-one or individual conversations can be useful in enabling the individual to explore their experience of their mental wellbeing. In the early stages of an imbalance in mental wellbeing a well conducted conversation can even enable the individual to identify ways to improve or restore their mental wellbeing. An example of the script of one such conversation that a leader, manager or team member could conduct is given below.
| CONVERSATION SCRIPT | |||||
| Opening Statement | Level 1 Questions | Level 2 Questions | Level 3 Questions | Level 4 Questions | Closing Statement |
| I’ve been observing (name a couple of behaviours you’ve observed that suggest the individual may be feeling under pressure) in you that might suggest you’re experiencing a sense of reduced well-being. Would you be willing to engage with me to explore some of the causes and the possible responses to the causes? | I shared (repeat the couple of behaviours observed) as indicative of a sense of being under pressure. What are you experiencing? | What are the dominant feelings or moods you experience? | What are the main factors contributing to your reduced sense of mental well-being? | What specific actions, behaviour changes would help to improve your mental well-being? | Thank you for the courage you’ve shown and trust in me to engage in this conversation. How can I support you? OR What additional support will help? |
Such conversations should not be conducted as a one-off but should be included as part of the way leaders and organizations engage with their teams.
Care
Care is about demonstrating genuine care and concern for people. In the context of a workplace, this could be demonstrated in many ways such as
- Creating a culture where conversations regarding mental wellbeing are possible and the capability to conduct conversations is built among leaders and HR Partners.
- Ensuring that employees don’t experience the risks mentioned in the conditions above as the way things get done in the organization is how care can be demonstrated.
- Doing periodic check-ins with individuals and teams to understand the state of their mental wellbeing and extend support when they need it.
- Creating an inclusive workplace where neurodivergence is not seen as a deficit but as one of the diversities that exists within the organization.
- Being sensitive, compassionate and protecting confidential information while ensuring availability of necessary help (including expert professional help) to individuals and team members, where required.
While such care can be demonstrated by employees at any level in the organization, there is a higher degree of onus on leaders and the HR function to embed this as part of the organization’s culture. This will require leaders and HR professionals to be trained to identify signs which could indicate an employee struggling with mental wellbeing, to conduct open conversations with empathy and offer necessary support to enable the employee to deal with his/her struggles to regain his/her mental wellbeing.
Focus on mental wellbeing is now an essential part of our daily lives and hence impacting our work lives. This will require organizations to equip its people, especially leaders, to recognize it, be sensitive to it and take necessary action to enhance the mental wellbeing of their teams.
[1] Harvard Health describes Neurodiversity as the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one “right” way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.