When your Mission, Gifts, Talents and Purpose
meet an insurmountable problem that takes great collaboration & conviction to solve
a revolution is on the horizon!
– Donna dean –
The Time TO ACT IS NOW! Senior Leaders & HR Executives must Reimagine their Company Culture to include a culture that values Mental Health.
According to the World Health Organization:
- Work is good for mental health but a negative working environment can lead to physical and mental health problems.
- Depression and anxiety have a significant economic impact; the estimated cost to the global economy is US $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.
- Harassment and bullying at work are commonly reported problems, and can have a substantial adverse impact on mental health.
- There are many effective actions that organizations can take to promote mental health in the workplace; such actions may also benefit productivity.
- For every US $1 put into scaled up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of US $4 in improved health and productivity.
Are Senior Leaders and HR Executives equipped, ready and and in position to reimagine their COMPANY CULTURE as we are slowly emerging from the COVID Storm? After all, it has taken everything just to keep our ships from sinking.
- What are the top 3 Priorities for a Company’s long term sustainability?
- How crucial is a REIMAGINED “MENTAL HEALTH” CULTURE to a company’s long term sustainability, profit margins and brand position?
THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE MUST BE TOP PRIORITY
My vote is that The Employee Experience (your internal customer) must be your top priority, now more so than ever. Companies who are willing to pivot towards what’s most important to their front-line leaders and teams will rise above the Post-Covid storms and soar.
Studies have shown that a strong employee experience is a predictor for financial performance. Furthermore, companies that promote mental health and support people with mental disorders are more likely to reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and benefit from associated economic gains.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST IMPACT TO THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, ENGAGEMENT, PRODUCTIVITY?
We can all agree that the political polarity, social unrest, disparity in gender and race issues, unprecedented unemployment and mental health crisis and COVID-19 has turned our world upside down. The simultaneous occurrence of these events represent the biggest impact to the employee experience.
Furthermore, like every great crisis or recession in prior years; it has also ignited a revolution.
As we look at the employee experience, DEI initiatives (diversity, inclusion & equity) are certainly front and center. The Mind Share Partners study found that Black and Latinx respondents reported experiencing more symptoms of mental disorders than their white counterparts, and were more likely to have left a previous job for mental health reasons. It stands to reason that Mental health is also a diversity and inclusion issue.
THE DIE MHIW REVOLUTION
I believe the DIE MHIW (diversity, inclusion, equity, mental health in the workplace) REVOLUTION is upon us. I believe that mental health in the workplace is the heartbeat of the Diversity, Inclusion, Equity Revolution. If you are not pumping blood to the heart; the body dies. That’s where we are as a nation.
The DIE MHIW (diversity, inclusion, equity, mental health in the workplace) initiatives must be deployed together as part of a Reimagined Company Culture that values the mental health and experience of every employee.
THE FACTS
According to:–McKinsey & Co, Mental Health In the Workplace, The Coming Revolution. What has ineffectively been a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to mental health in the workplace is becoming instead “do ask, do tell, let’s talk.” There is a coming revolution in how companies (and public-policy makers) think about, talk about, and cope with all forms of mental health issues.
According to: —Dee Ann Turner, former vice president talent and human resources for Chick-Fil-A, CEO of Dee Ann Turner & Associates; this generation of leaders now have more emotional challenges to address in their workforce, including how they will help employees to achieve psychological safety.
According to: –Tim Kuppler, director of Culture and Organization Development at Human Synergistics International, Culture is not something you “fix” like a car or toaster. Leaders must have a disciplined approach to assess and measure the culture at defined periods. This process should inform their strategic plan and supporting priorities.
Corporate culture leaders who act decisively on this opportunity to reinvent the workplace can create significant strategic, cultural, talent, and operational advantages for their organizations in a post-Covid-19 market. But it will take time, leadership commitment, and transparency. – reference Inc. 5000 DANIEL P. FORRESTER, PHILIPIA HILLMAN AND ELIZA MCDEVITT
According to Visier 2021 HR Trends; failure to take action and make real progress will not be an option in the tumultuous months ahead. D&I initiatives aren’t just about being virtuous, improving business performance, or reducing turnover; they are about avoiding bad press and class action lawsuits.
Furthermore, the employee perceptions of decisions made during this crisis (political polarity, social unrest, racial and gender disparities and MENTAL HEALTH) will count double as the economy starts to stabilize and recover.
A CASE STUDY
A Kentucky-based professional services organization provided positive evidence for the power of a leader’s voice in simply “starting the conversation” around mental health. Through a survey, the organization found that 90% of their employees struggled with mental health or knew someone who did, highlighting an opportunity to address the issue simply by promoting awareness and communication.
Leading by example, the CEO spoke publicly about how he and his family were affected by poor mental health, while the company amplified the message broadly to its employees through multiple different touch points including a website and infographics.
The organization also established a cohort of senior-level employees to conduct a deeper dive on the issue in order to better understand mental health challenges and how to implement solutions.
After implementing these initiatives, 68% of employees reported that they spoke to someone about their mental health for the first time. The success of this example has been replicated in other industries and with other types of workforces around the world, demonstrating the powerful impact of corporate culture and leadership.
The time for every Company Senior Leader, HR Executive and their Leadership teams to act is NOW!
I’m on a mission to inspire & equip leaders, to collaborate with a diverse group of subject matter experts around the nation; to come together in unity, to champion the Mental Health In the Workplace Movement through collaboration, conversation, education, awareness and ACTION!
Let’s start the conversation. We are in this together. https://www.donnadeanservices.com/book-online
LEARN MORE. https://www.donnadeanservices.com/mental-health-in-the-workpl
LET’S CONNECT: https://linktr.ee/Donnadean