Thread by @drbensearle

This piece by @mckinnon_a will resonate with a lot of people. Most corporate wellness programs fall short of the mark, and some do so by an absurd margin. I want to discuss several reasons why this happens. Thread. 1/x
abc.net.au/everyday/workp…

Firstly, let's deal with some elephants in the room. 2020 and 2021 have been tough on our mental health. We've all been through a ton of change, faced a lot of risk, and got cut off from many of our usual support structures. 2/x
aihw.gov.au/reports/austra…

If you're a parent of children, then you've been likely been isolating with kids. Many have been juggling this with working from home, two things that clash horribly. It's a particularly difficult form of "role conflict", a major contributor to stress. 3/x
psychology.iresearchnet.com/industrial-org…

But even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, most workplaces struggled to do much about mental health beyond awareness-raising, which can seem superficial. Yes, stigma is still a problem that discourages people from accessing mental health services... 4/x
sane.org/information-st…

...but it's 2021. World Mental Health day (Oct 10) started in 1992. If you're an adult, you should already be aware about mental health issues (although there's always more to learn). And if you run an organisation, awareness-raising just isn't enough. 5/x
who.int/campaigns/worl…

But what else is there? @mckinnon_a writes, "But many companies are choosing to give their workers cupcakes and yoga sessions rather than access to childcare, more flexible working arrangements or permanent employment." Let's talk about what organisations can actually do. 6/x

Employees don't burn out due to a dearth of cupcakes and yoga, but due to excess demands and insufficient resources. And the best way to manage these? It's not complicated. Reduce demands. Increase resources. Repeat till employee mental health is good. 7/x

What demands should you reduce? Reduce workload so that you aren't expecting more than someone can achieve in a reasonable time. Minimise bureaucratic hurdles. Do something about bullies, harassers, and ongoing interpersonal conflicts. Identify and resolve role conflicts. 8/x

What resources should you increase? Offer people more support, and encourage them to support one another. Let them work flexibly. Develop their skills, then let them make more decisions independently. Provide more clarity about what's important. Ask them what else they need. 9/x

None of this is complicated or surprising. The challenge is getting organisations to recognise that managing employee mental health requires more than just superficial action, and that improvements in work design (demands/resources) work in a way that cupcakes don't. 10/x

Ok, I'm done. Feel free to respond with your thoughts on what organisations could and should be doing to support employee mental health!
#stress #psychology #hr #wellbeing
Also consider listening to this discussion about burnout and how to prevent it.
mindonthejob.com/blog/2017/05/1…