Call it courage

Years ago, when I first started in professional communications, I got to do a bit of behind-the-scenes work investigating public opinion about mental health. In those days, people murmured about mental health if they talked about it at all. And in the workplace? Please. 

Getting the facts to the public about mental illness—how many of us live with an illness, what we know about brain health—has helped to lift some of the discomfort talking about it more openly. The research I looked at showed that people held some major misconceptions about mental illness. 

We have come a long way as a society, though I don’t have insight into what misinformation lingers in people’s brains. What I have seen, though, is generally more effort to learn about and create space at work for people living with different mental health needs. The policies are often there, and questions are, too: 

 

  •  What happens if my staff member needs a lot of time off? That isn’t fair to the others. 
  •  They might have an…(hushed voice) episode…at the office. What if someone gets hurt? 
  •  I can’t understand how to deal with this. How can I manage the emotion/lack of emotion/spiciness?
  •  Everyone gets on so well with each other, except for X. They just seem so different than everyone else. Can I let them go without being in the wrong 

 

Let’s flip these questions to think about how our colleague living with mental health issues might feel and how we can build better communications and relationships with them. After all, inclusion only works when we include people. 

Showing up in a workplace with a brain that works differently than others takes courage. Feeling different in a workplace can be isolating, worrisome, confusing, or all of these. Dealing with co-workers or supervisors who don’t understand might be exhausting or frightening. After all, some dark ideas may lurk in their minds. 

 

  •  Taking time to rest or to regulate medications or whatever is necessary to feel functional is good. People cannot feel guilty about needing self-care. 
  •  If a workplace is healthy, teams can have conversations that lead to better understanding. 
  •  Talking about what everyone on the team needs also moves the spotlight from the person living with mental health issues. Airing our needs takes vulnerability; safe workplaces are healthier for everyone. 
  •  Frankly, some of the brightest minds have lived with mental health issues. Including people with different ways of thinking and problem-solving can be such a boon to the team and the organization. Make plans to work with health instead of treating it as a deficit. 

 

I’m not in human resources. If you have specific occupational health and safety concerns, please talk with a professional. From a communications perspective, I can say what helps. Do the work of getting to know staff and colleagues. Create safety by saying what you mean and sticking to it. Show compassion by listening and asking open questions that help you to understand how to be a better co-worker. And think of what would be different if a colleague had a physical ailment. How far would you be willing to go to help them succeed? 

Drop me a line at olga@unspun.ca if you’d like to talk about improving communications in your workplace. 

 

 

Consider these resources for deeper learning: