March 11, 2025 • 40 mins
Are you truly aware of the cost your organization pays for ignoring mental health, not just in lost productivity, but in the unseen toll on your employees’ lives?"
Join host Bernadette Boas as she delves into the critical topic of mental health and well-being in the corporate world. This episode stresses the urgent necessity for businesses to treat mental health as a core business imperative rather than a mere afterthought.
Bernadette shares personal stories and statistics to underscore the profound impact mental health has on productivity, innovation, retention, and the overall success of a business.
Key Challenges Discussed:
- Acknowledging Underlying Issues
- The Cost of Ignoring Mental Health
- Internal Triggers Overlooked:
Key Talking Points:
- The Importance of Safe Spaces
- The Role of Leadership
- Investment in Well-Being Programs
Connect with Us:
Stay engaged with future episodes and dive deeper into valuable leadership and cultural insights by visiting ballafirecoaching.com/podcast. Follow us on YouTube at Shedding the Corporate Bitch TV for more content and perspectives.
Join us next time on Shedding the Corporate Bitch for more empowering conversations and leadership guidance.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Let me ask you something when you have an
employee who is struggling toshow up fully to their job maybe
they're disgruntled or justhave a bad attitude do you rush
into disciplining their behavioror their performance, or do you
take your time to seek out whatis causing their behavior,
personally or professionally?
(00:22):
Do you know the questions youshould be asking to uncover the
real cause of their performance,versus a surface answer they're
going to give you just so thatyou go away and then you accept
that answer.
Well, I wish I did, becausewhen, at the beginning of our
careers, a very good friend ofmine and co-worker took his own
(00:43):
life very good friend of mineand coworker took his own life.
Your employees are not dealingwith just pushing through their
exhausted, stress or evenburnout just to meet your
deadlines or hit their targets.
They are being pummeled bysocial, economic and internal
pressures and stressors.
Workplace burnout and mentalhealth struggles are at an
(01:04):
all-time high.
Yet many companies still treatwell-being as an afterthought,
as a nice-to-have.
They go right to discipliningthe surface behavior and not the
underlying issue.
And that is the role of leadersis to meet their employees
where they are and give themwhat they need to be successful.
(01:24):
But here's the truth Ignoringmental health just doesn't hurt
the employee.
It kills productivity, killsinnovation, kills retention and
potentially kills the businessif it's not made a business
imperative.
I'm Bernadette Bowes and ontoday's episode of Shedding the
Corporate Fedge, we're divinginto why mental health and
(01:46):
well-being must be a businessimperative and not just a
nice-to-have.
We'll discuss the realchallenges leaders face, the
cost of neglecting employeewell-being and, most importantly
, how you can build ahigh-performance culture without
burning your people out.
Leaders often tell me that theycare about the well-being of
(02:08):
their people.
Let's be sure that covers theiremotional, mental and physical
state, and here's your chance toprove that out Take care of
your people and drive resultsall at the same time.
Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast
that transforms today'smanagers into tomorrow's
powerhouse leaders.
Your host, bernadette Boas,executive coach and author,
brings you into a world wherethe corporate grind meets
personal growth and success ineach and every episode.
With more than 25 years incorporate trenches, bernadette's
own journey from beingdismissed as a tyrant boss to
(02:42):
becoming a sought-afterleadership coach and speaker
illustrates the very essence oftransformation that she now
inspires in others with her tips, strategies and stories.
So if you're ready to shed thebitches of fear and insecurity,
ditch the imposter syndrome andstep into the role of the
powerhouse leader you were bornto be, this podcast is for you.
Let's do this.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I was considering having this conversation at a
later date, specifically May,since May is Mental Health Month
, so make a note of that foryourself.
But I thought that, with all ofthe chaos going on in the world
and from my own personalexperiences over the last
several months, which I want toshare with you, I thought it's
(03:30):
never the wrong time to talkabout mental health and
well-being of yourself and ofyour people, of your friends and
family, family, just ensuringthat we're all paying attention
to what other people areexperiencing and going through
and whether or not they needhelp and they need support.
(03:51):
So a couple of stories thatwoke me up to the whole idea of
mental health and well-being isnot only the one I mentioned
very briefly in regards to adear friend of mine and coworker
in my mid-20s who, on theoutside, seemed as if they had
(04:11):
everything going for them.
You would never have expectedthat he was dealing with any
internal demons personally orprofessionally, and yet a couple
of years into knowing him andworking with him, I learned that
he was found in his car in agarage, with the car running.
It woke me up to the idea thatthe masks that we often wear I
(04:36):
wore one very solidly for yearsis not always our true selves
Obviously not, because it'scalled a mask and therefore that
smile someone's wearing or thatlaughter or that energetic,
enthusiastic personality may bemasking a lot of things
(04:58):
underneath the covers.
And he definitely made mereally consider what point they
must reach if they make thedecision to take their own life.
But then I forgot about it.
(05:19):
Life goes on myself in a statewithin my last few years of my
corporate career where I wasextremely unhappy, extremely
unfulfilled, extremely, not onlystressed out and burned out and
exhausted and disgruntledaround the work that I was doing
(05:40):
, the people that I was doing,with the people I was hanging
out with, and even myself beingvery, very unhappy with myself,
feeding those insecurities,those fears, those unhappiness,
those holes with over-drinking,over-eating, even over-working
(06:02):
animals.
And it really didn't wake me upto the fact that I obviously
was having my own mental healthissues as a result of that.
I was not only projecting thisunhappiness, this feeling of
being unfulfilled, this feelingof insecurity and posture
(06:25):
syndrome.
Can you relate to any of that?
But then what I was doing is Iwas medicating it and I was
soothing it with over-drinking,over-eating, even over-working
out and going out.
That was my salvation, to kindof this miserable state of mind
that I had been in.
And I can only, you know, thankGod, literally, that I had that
(06:49):
wake-up call that kind of gotme to the point where I just was
miserable, being miserable andI said I have to do something
different.
And I didn't necessarily go andseek help, which I would
recommend to anyone but I knew Ineeded to do something
different and fortunately Ifound my way out of that and
through that.
(07:10):
But then I found myself, justthis past year, in a different
state.
I found myself where I amextremely happy, where I am
extremely happy, extremelyfulfilled, I feel very valued
(07:31):
and very cherished in all theareas of my life family, friends
, work with my clients, with mycommunity, with my activities,
with my social life, whateverthe case might be.
And yet I found myself earlyNovember in the ER and then
eventually, overnight in thehospital because I was having
what they were considering panicattacks, because I could not
(07:54):
get my heart rate under controland we discounted every type of
procedure that you can imagineand therefore any physical
reasons why my heart was racing,other than stress, other than
anxiety.
And I thought to myself, geez,outwardly, I don't feel stressed
(08:17):
.
But then, when I really thoughtabout it, when I sat down and
considered what was reallytriggering me, what was really
causing me to get irritated oragitated, it had nothing to do
with my family, friends and workand my social life.
It had to do with more social,economic type of political type
(08:39):
of scenarios and I thought tomyself now that's ridiculous
that I would find myself in ahospital as a result of this.
My point being is twofold.
One is we, as individuals, needto be focused on ourselves when
it comes to what is going onwithin ourselves emotionally,
(09:02):
spiritually, mentally,physically in order to ensure
that we aren't damagingourselves unintentionally or
intentionally.
But as leaders and what it isthat we wanted to talk about
today we also need to ensurethat we are focused on what our
people are also dealing with andgoing through, because I always
(09:25):
say if you listen to theprogram, you will have heard.
We are humans, we are notrobots.
So when your people show up towork remotely or in the office,
they are bringing everything tothat job, everything to that
interaction, everything to thatteaming, and that could be the
(09:46):
good, the bad, the ugly that isgoing on in their world, and so,
as leaders, we have to payattention to whether or not our
team members are healthyphysically, mentally and
emotionally, and the way we dothat is by paying attention and
knowing signs and acknowledgingthe signs that may be indicating
(10:07):
that someone's struggling.
They are coming disgruntled,they are coming with a bad
attitude, they are coming tired,they are coming stressed out,
they are coming agitated.
They are coming without reallyshowing up like they typically
do on a day in, day out basis,and we need to pay attention to
(10:27):
that and then be intentionalabout wanting to engage and try
to help.
To figure up anyone Nearly half45% of the United States
employees experience burnout.
(10:50):
The World Health Organizationreports that depression and
anxiety results in 12 billionlost work days annually, which
costs the global economy $1trillion each year.
Now, employees with poor mentalhealth report approximately
four times more unplannedabsences nearly 12 days annually
(11:14):
compared to those with goodmental health.
Costs in the US economy anestimated $47 billion in lost
productivity every year.
But let's kind of call thisdown and say, okay, so what if
we did pay attention?
What if we did have programs?
What if we did address mentalhealth?
Well, for every dollar investedin mental health programs,
(11:35):
there is a return of $4 inimproved health and productivity
.
So think about that If we justbecome a little bit more
conscious, a little bit moreaware, a little bit more
attentive to how our people areshowing up each and every day,
that fall outside the norm oftheir typical behavior, then we
(11:56):
could not only be saving thenumber of days that they're out
sick as a result of that anxiety, that stress, that burnout as a
result of that anxiety, thatstress, that burnout, that
exhaustion, that mental fatigue,but at the same time we could
be also saving and increasingtremendously the productivity
and the health of our teammembers, which only puts more
(12:19):
money in our pockets, both at acorporate level but also at an
individual level, based on beingable to have a healthy team and
a high functioning team thatcan pursue and achieve the
business goals Make sense.
So we really want to understandwhat the challenges are that
contribute to one's poor health,because we can't just simply
(12:44):
say, well, there's a lot ofchaos going on around our people
, around ourselves, and it's allexternal.
Well, if you really look at itand you really talk to your
people, a good amount of thestress and exhaustion and
burnout and anxiety that's beingcreated is actually happening
(13:05):
internally within the company,but more specifically within
your team.
So let's outline a few of thetriggers that might cause
someone to be stressed, burnedout, exhausted, and the first
thing that's going to come topeople's mind is well, it's so
busy, the workload is so crazy.
(13:28):
May be able to handle anextreme, stressful, long list of
(13:52):
a workload, while others don'thave that capacity.
They would be weighed down,they would be stressed, they
would be disgruntled over theexhaustion of that same workload
, and so, as leaders, we reallyneed to pay attention to ensure
that we're really optimizing theability of our team members to
(14:17):
where we're not blindly givingthem a workload that is just
going to cause them more painthan gain.
At the same time, leaders, thisis when it really becomes
critical that you getlaser-focused on helping them
and working with them toprioritize what that workload
(14:40):
looks like.
Now you might have to give thema laundry list of tasks to do,
but not every one of those tasksare critical.
Not every one of those tasksare important.
Not every one of those tasksmust be done today, within the
next three days, let alone aweek, and so you could actually
(15:02):
be helping your team members andyourself by working with them
to get very laser focused on thepriorities, the deadlines and
the must-haves or nice-to-haves,to where they can then feel
there's room to breathe andthere's room for them to take
care of themselves.
Now, besides the workload, youalso have the number one
(15:26):
complaint of employees to theirmanagers, and that is
micromanaging.
That is, once you assign them atask, you don't let it go and
let them handle that task forcompletion.
You're standing over them,you're questioning them, you're
(15:47):
pressuring them, you're pushingthem, you're making them feel as
if there's this additionalweight on them completing a task
than just the deadline and thepriority that you gave it.
What's going to weigh them downeven more is when someone
assigns someone a task but thenthey latch on and they don't let
(16:11):
go and they don't allow theirteam member to work on that
until it's completed and oruntil they hit a wall and they
need to come and ask questions,whatever the case might be.
Until they hit a wall and theyneed to come and ask questions,
whatever the case might be.
But that's going to just createa sense of distrust.
You don't trust them to do thework.
You don't trust that they havethe skills.
(16:35):
You don't trust that they arethe expert, you don't trust that
they can solve their ownproblems and therefore the
micromanaging is also creatingthis weight, this burden of
distrust, and that is evenuglier than the laundry list of
to-dos that they have to getthrough before the end of the
day.
So you really need to work onyourself when it comes to from
(16:56):
the workload perspective timemanagement, productivity,
prioritization, delegation.
When it comes to themicromanaging, trust, giving
them the responsibility becausethat's why they're there and
allowing them to complete it,even if they screw up, and then
(17:17):
the two of you can work togetherto ensure that it's done to the
way it needs to get done.
You don't need things likedistrust burdening your team
members, who are alreadyoverburdened, and that leads to
the lack of autonomy, the lackof trusting your people.
In whatever work environment,in whatever work process, in
(17:40):
whatever workflow, in whateverstructure, they feel that they
can accomplish that goal.
The minute you start creating abox for them that they have to
exist in, they have to work in,and that box goes against
everything that they are about,that makes them productive, that
(18:01):
makes them efficient, thatmakes them high-performing, that
in itself will also just startdiminishing their productivity,
their attentiveness, theirenergy, their excitement, their
enthusiasm, everything, andit'll start beating them down to
where they just don't want todo anything.
(18:24):
And so you need to not only, aswe discussed, help to prioritize
and delegate the workload, thenyou need to give it to them and
trust that they're going totake care of it and not
micromanage them.
And then you need to also takethat trust one step further and
set them up for success in themode of operation, the workflow,
(18:45):
the process, the structure, thework environment remote, at
home, in a cube, in an openworkspace, whatever the case
might be, that makes them thebest producer possible.
Because what you need to befocused on is the result, not
how they got there.
And so I challenge you to askyourself if the result's the
(19:10):
same, do you care how they gotthere?
Because you caring and notreally considering what works
best for them is causing thismental health, this anxiety,
this stress, this pressure thatyour people are feeling, and you
might be feeling it from yourown experience and with your own
(19:33):
circle of influencers that arealso directing your workload and
your way of getting the workdone.
Don't practice what's happeningto you.
You need to, you know, decidewhat type of leader you want to
be to get the best out of yourpeople.
And you get the best out ofyour people, that's going to
(19:55):
bring the best out of you, andmental health and well-being
will not even be in question.
All right, this may lead you toasking yourself why is it that
many leaders don't prioritizemental health and well-being?
Well, there's a number ofreasons.
One is the fact that theyhaven't created the safe
(20:16):
environment for their people tocome to them when they are
struggling, when they needsupport.
And maybe it's because youdon't feel safe and comfortable
going to your managers and yourpowers to be to talk about what
it is that you might be dealingwith and realize there's a big
(20:38):
difference between an employeecoming to you saying I don't
feel physically well and I needto take some time off, or I have
a family situation that I'mdealing with that I need a day
or two off.
Then them coming to you andsaying I am really personally,
emotionally, spiritually,mentally struggling and I don't
(21:03):
know how to get out of this hole, or, let alone, I have found
myself self-medicating and Ineed help and I need support.
So it's incredibly imperativethat you start with yourself as
(21:24):
a leader, let alone theorganization, to create a safe
space for your employees to cometo you when they are dealing
with some mental health andwell-being type of issues, of
(21:46):
issues.
And you can start with workingon the fact that many of your
employees don't even feelcomfortable to raise up issues
and critical feedback, and thatshould indicate to you that
there is a degree or a lack Ishould say a lack of
psychological safety amongstyour team.
So you could start there andthen work your way into creating
that space where they can comeand they can knock on your door
(22:09):
or pick up the phone and say Ineed some help, I need some
support.
I wonder if we have resourcesfor this.
Then, of course, many employeeshesitate to do that and
hesitate to come to you becausethey don't want to appear weak
or appear less than or appearuncommitted or appear as if
(22:33):
they're a problem child andraise the HR red flag.
Just think of it yourself.
Why wouldn't you go to yourboss, right?
And the higher level you are,the more of a threat it feels
that if you were to discloseanything really personal, that
(22:56):
that could jeopardize yourcareer trajectory, and that type
of attitude, that type ofexistence, is not healthy for
anyone, and so you can createthat safe space, make it
comfortable for people to cometo you for support and for help,
and you can work your way intothen finding the resources for
(23:17):
them.
At the same time, you can helpthem to not be afraid or not to
believe that they'll appear weakor uncommitted or a problem
child.
The other big one, too, is manymanagement teams are not
well-equipped.
They're not trained to reallysupport the whole conversation
(23:42):
around mental health andwell-being.
They don't know the resources,they don't know the support
systems.
They might not even know whatthe organization already
provides, and a lot of timesmanagers will be like well, why
don't you just call Joe over inHR and ask him Well, there's a
reason why they didn't go to HRdirectly and there's a reason
(24:04):
why they're coming to you, andso your job as a leader is to
know what's available to yourteam members to support all
aspects of their being, not justthem getting the job done, so
they know the resources for anyapplications or software or pins
that they need, but also whatare the other programs available
(24:26):
to them to really get thetraining and the support and the
well-being that they need.
Now one that often concerns mewhen I hear it is and I don't
hear it a lot, but is leaderswill feel that if they start
putting an emphasis on mentalhealth or well-being, that it
discounts any type ofaccountability.
(24:47):
It makes accountability lookweaker because of someone
struggling, because of someone'sissues, and so there's this
conflict between well, thisperson's dealing with stuff, and
yet I do have performanceissues.
I need them to be addressing,and again I will say that that
(25:09):
is a lack of training, is a lackof skill, is a lack of
understanding of how to balancethose two or how to even find a
blend of those two, because youstill need productivity, you
still need efficiency, you stillneed effectiveness from your
team members, and so don't allowyourself or the organization to
use the excuse of a lack ofaccountability if they all of a
(25:32):
sudden introduce programs thatare going to make your people a
lot more efficient, optimized,effective, productive and high
potential, to where you don'teven have an accountability
issue if they are well takencare of and they are optimized
in their performance, right.
(25:53):
So just be aware of that though, just in case it's an
undisclosed or unconscious biasof your own is if we have these
programs, it'll discount beingable to, you know, hold someone
accountable.
And then, of course, just likethe lack of training and the
lack of programs, companies arereally very structured to have
(26:17):
those type of initiatives, thosetype of programs, those types
of incentives.
I remember when I was incorporate and this is going to
go back to like early 2000s andwe were given incentives to take
part in certain health programs, certain well-being programs.
(26:38):
At the time it was more likefitness programs on taking care
of ourselves, quitting smoking,for instance.
So there's a lot of differentways that you can be structured
with well-being and mentalhealth programs without feeling
as if you're jeopardizing theoverall performance of your team
(26:58):
.
I would rather have you focusedon the benefits and the impact
and the return on investmentthat you gain as a result of
taking care of your people, thatyou say you care for their
well-being.
Well, then, ensuring that theyknow what the resources are,
they know what the supportsystems are, they have a safe
(27:19):
environment to bring up any typeof issues that they're having
and struggles that they needsupport on, and they know where
to go, including you as theleader.
That is where I would preferyou to be really focused on.
Now let's talk about what youcan do.
What can you do to ensure thatyou're putting attention and
(27:41):
focus on the mental health andwell-being of yourself as well
as your people?
First, one would be share yourexperiences, share the struggles
that you have had or that youmight be dealing with, to let
others know that they're notalone, not in that same
situation, but just the factthat you, even as a leader,
(28:03):
struggle you have, you know,mental, physical, emotional
stresses, strains, pains attimes, and therefore they should
not feel as if they're on anisland by themselves, because
everyone has pains as well asjoys in their life.
So share your experiences.
(28:25):
If you show your vulnerability,if you show your trust in being
able to disclose very personalaspects of your life, others
will as well.
And that's a great way to startbuilding that psychological
safety and trust within yourteam, let alone the organization
(28:48):
, to where mental health andwellbeing is not an afterthought
or a nice to have, but more ofa business imperative.
At the same time, model itModel, healthy behavior Model,
taking care of yourself Model,taking breaks Model, setting
boundaries, model, making sureyou are taking your vacations
(29:09):
and you have a life outside theworkplace and that there's
well-being programs that you'retaking part in.
Again, you model that Otherswill want to mirror that or copy
that and therefore do it forthemselves and ensure that
you're normalizing these type ofsensitive, intimate
(29:30):
conversations.
You could be doing check-inswith people Now.
Remember I mentioned at thevery beginning you don't want to
just check into where they'relike, oh you know, I'm okay, and
you accept that and dismiss thefact that they're saying that
when they're looking down andnot even paying attention to you
, or they're saying that astheir mouth is trembling with
(29:53):
emotion.
They're saying that with alittle bit of anger or agitation
in their voice or their postureis showing some aggravation.
Ensure that you're askingopen-ended questions to get some
feedback from them, truefeedback as far as how they're
doing and if there's anythingthat you could be doing for them
(30:15):
or is there any direction youcan point them in to get the
support that they need.
Don't accept one or two wordanswers I'm fine, all's good.
Make sure that you're reallypaying attention and even
training yourself and yourpeople to recognize the signs of
(30:36):
burnout, stress, anxiety thatyour team members are having,
because if you're experiencingany of it, you're going to want
someone else to notice it tooand potentially reach a handout
for you to help you and hold youup.
So do the same for your people.
Now, addressing the workload,you really need to reassess the
(31:04):
depth of workload and theexpectations that you have.
Of course, if it's a lack ofresource issue, all of the
workload activities areimperative.
They're not going away.
They may not need to be donetomorrow, but eventually they
all need to be done.
That is fine.
That's life.
However, what you really needto ensure that you're doing for
(31:26):
yourself and your people is isthe list of tasks all number one
priorities.
I'm going to challenge you andsay no, there's not no such
thing as two number onepriorities, because eventually
that would have to be brokenthat tie by saying all right, so
we have these two number onethings that have to get done.
I'm only one person, whichone's most important, and
(31:49):
eventually some decision makersare going to say this one over
that one, done at the same timewith the same deadline.
Then who are you going toassign this other task to?
Because this individual can'tdo both.
You have to be an advocate foryour team members, but team
(32:11):
members, you have to advocatefor yourself.
You need to ensure you'reputting together the business
case or the argument as far aswhy you're not going to be able
to accomplish the goal that theyhave for you because of X, y
and Z.
Really, be sure that theworkload, the prioritization
that you're giving your teammembers is realistic.
(32:33):
And then ensure that theexpectations that you're giving
them are very clear, are verywell understood and are
realistic.
If a project that is typicallytakes four weeks and you're
asking if to be done in twoweeks or even three weeks, is
that really fair?
Is that going to set your teammember up for success?
(32:55):
I would argue no.
But at the same time, you couldbe having those discussions
with your people to ensure thatyou're both in alignment and
agreement to whatever workload,goals and expectations are set.
And then there is the investingin well-being programs, mental
(33:17):
health programs, and you couldadvocate to have a program just
for your team if you're not ableto or willing to advocate it
for the whole organization.
There's nothing to stop aleader from saying, well, I have
a training budget and thereforeI'm going to allocate some
monies to get some support, getsome resources, get some
(33:39):
training for my people.
So really ensure that you areconsidering and being strategic
in thinking about what type ofprograms can you be providing
your people, beyond leadershiptraining or skill training, to
really address the mental healthand well-being of your
individuals?
Now, at the same time and thisis a touchy subject for many but
(34:02):
at the same time, you as aleader also need to consider the
work environment that yourpeople are working in and what
works best for individuals, ifnot groups of individuals.
Meaning that if you're focusedon the end state the result,
(34:23):
versus how they get there, thenyou could be having flexible
work hours.
You could be having flexiblework environments, remote, in
the office, hybrid.
You could be open to theworkflows that they use.
It doesn't have to be yourworkflow, it doesn't have to be
your process.
(34:43):
If they can get to the end goalby the expectation set, do you
really care how they got there,as long as the result is what
you're expecting, and so that initself and that doesn't cost
any money it just costs prideand it costs letting go of your
ego and letting go of thecontrol to really meet your
(35:05):
people where they are and givethem the flexibility to do their
job at their peak performancein the mode that works best for
them, and then we come fullcircle, in that you definitely
want to be touching base andassessing the well-being of your
people.
It goes beyond the check-insthat we talked about.
(35:25):
It goes beyond the one-on-onesthat we talked about.
Now this should be a consistent, persistent process to where
you're regularly assessing thehealth and well-being of your
people, that they have what theyneed, that they are happy with
(35:45):
how they're able to performtheir job.
They find that the leadershipyou're providing is effective.
They're satisfied with thecompany.
You know you call them focusgroups, call them engagement
surveys, call them whatever youwant, but you definitely want to
(36:06):
be checking in on a regularbasis and assessing and
measuring and tracking howemployee satisfaction, employee
effectiveness is over time.
And then you could be usingthat information to either build
a business case for mentalhealth and well-being programs
or you could be adjustingpolicies and procedures and
programs based on what thecurrent information is telling
(36:29):
you.
You can get a full picture ofjust how healthy your teams and
organization is by consistentlytouching base and assessing that
well-being and mental health ofthe teams.
There's a couple of keytakeaways I want you to walk
(36:50):
away with, and that is mentalhealth and well-being is not a
nice-to-have, it is a must-have,it is a business imperative, it
is a business priority and, asI mentioned at the very
beginning, for every dollarinvested in those programs, you
(37:10):
get $4 in return throughimproved productivity and
improved health, and the valueof those two things is then
you're not having the degree ofabsentees, the degree of
internal conflicts, the degreeof dissatisfied employees,
(37:44):
non-financial programs, such aswhat we talked about in regards
to one-on-ones and check-ins,and having flexible work
arrangements that doesn't costanything to you to address those
immediately.
And then more of the investmentaspect, where you are advocating
for your team or theorganization to have programs
have resources, support systems,individuals available to team
(38:07):
members to get the help thatthey need to be productive in
their workplace and productivein their home place.
Lastly, I do want to mentionI'm not personally affiliated
with them, but I wanted toensure to provide some go-tos
resources, but you can check outresources like BetterHelpcom,
(38:30):
which provides online therapy.
It's almost like an on-demandtherapy app that you could be
using, as well as Calmcom.
It's also an app where itprovides opportunities to just
reflect, meditate, prayer, soforth and so on, to where you
can get really centered andgrounded and release any stress
(38:55):
or anxiety or exhaustion thatyou might be feeling.
And then, of course, you couldbe reaching out to your HR
department to ensure you areaware of the programs, the
policies, the procedures tohandle that for yourself and for
your team members.
So they are well aware of justwhat's available to them and or
(39:17):
what isn't available within theorganization, but maybe they too
have resources that they canpoint you to.
Okay, if you enjoyed thisepisode, please share it with
your team members and others sothey can learn what it really
takes to ensure you are having avery healthy culture and a very
(39:39):
well cared for team.
And be sure to follow us.
You can go toballofirecoachingcom forward
slash podcast and subscribe onany one of your favorite podcast
streaming services and or watchus on YouTube on our Shedding
the Corporate Bitch TV channel.
Until next time, I look forwardto having you right back here
(39:59):
for another episode of Sheddingthe Corporate Bitch.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Bye.
Thank you.
Right back here for anotherepisode of Shedding the Bitch
YouTube channel.
Want to dive deeper withBernadette on becoming a
(40:24):
powerhouse leader?
Visit balloffirecoachingcom tolearn more about how she helps
professionals, hr executives andteam leaders elevate overall
team performance.
You've been listening toShedding the Corporate Bitch
with Bernadette Boas.
Until next time, keep shedding,keep growing and keep leading.
Let me ask you something when you have an
employee who is struggling toshow up fully to their job maybe
they're disgruntled or justhave a bad attitude do you rush
into disciplining their behavioror their performance, or do you
take your time to seek out whatis causing their behavior,
personally or professionally?
(00:22):
Do you know the questions youshould be asking to uncover the
real cause of their performance,versus a surface answer they're
going to give you just so thatyou go away and then you accept
that answer.
Well, I wish I did, becausewhen, at the beginning of our
careers, a very good friend ofmine and co-worker took his own
(00:43):
life very good friend of mineand coworker took his own life.
Your employees are not dealingwith just pushing through their
exhausted, stress or evenburnout just to meet your
deadlines or hit their targets.
They are being pummeled bysocial, economic and internal
pressures and stressors.
Workplace burnout and mentalhealth struggles are at an
(01:04):
all-time high.
Yet many companies still treatwell-being as an afterthought,
as a nice-to-have.
They go right to discipliningthe surface behavior and not the
underlying issue.
And that is the role of leadersis to meet their employees
where they are and give themwhat they need to be successful.
(01:24):
But here's the truth Ignoringmental health just doesn't hurt
the employee.
It kills productivity, killsinnovation, kills retention and
potentially kills the businessif it's not made a business
imperative.
I'm Bernadette Bowes and ontoday's episode of Shedding the
Corporate Fedge, we're divinginto why mental health and
(01:46):
well-being must be a businessimperative and not just a
nice-to-have.
We'll discuss the realchallenges leaders face, the
cost of neglecting employeewell-being and, most importantly
, how you can build ahigh-performance culture without
burning your people out.
Leaders often tell me that theycare about the well-being of
(02:08):
their people.
Let's be sure that covers theiremotional, mental and physical
state, and here's your chance toprove that out Take care of
your people and drive resultsall at the same time.
Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch, the podcast
that transforms today'smanagers into tomorrow's
powerhouse leaders.
Your host, bernadette Boas,executive coach and author,
brings you into a world wherethe corporate grind meets
personal growth and success ineach and every episode.
With more than 25 years incorporate trenches, bernadette's
own journey from beingdismissed as a tyrant boss to
(02:42):
becoming a sought-afterleadership coach and speaker
illustrates the very essence oftransformation that she now
inspires in others with her tips, strategies and stories.
So if you're ready to shed thebitches of fear and insecurity,
ditch the imposter syndrome andstep into the role of the
powerhouse leader you were bornto be, this podcast is for you.
Let's do this.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I was considering having this conversation at a
later date, specifically May,since May is Mental Health Month
, so make a note of that foryourself.
But I thought that, with all ofthe chaos going on in the world
and from my own personalexperiences over the last
several months, which I want toshare with you, I thought it's
(03:30):
never the wrong time to talkabout mental health and
well-being of yourself and ofyour people, of your friends and
family, family, just ensuringthat we're all paying attention
to what other people areexperiencing and going through
and whether or not they needhelp and they need support.
(03:51):
So a couple of stories thatwoke me up to the whole idea of
mental health and well-being isnot only the one I mentioned
very briefly in regards to adear friend of mine and coworker
in my mid-20s who, on theoutside, seemed as if they had
(04:11):
everything going for them.
You would never have expectedthat he was dealing with any
internal demons personally orprofessionally, and yet a couple
of years into knowing him andworking with him, I learned that
he was found in his car in agarage, with the car running.
It woke me up to the idea thatthe masks that we often wear I
(04:36):
wore one very solidly for yearsis not always our true selves
Obviously not, because it'scalled a mask and therefore that
smile someone's wearing or thatlaughter or that energetic,
enthusiastic personality may bemasking a lot of things
(04:58):
underneath the covers.
And he definitely made mereally consider what point they
must reach if they make thedecision to take their own life.
But then I forgot about it.
(05:19):
Life goes on myself in a statewithin my last few years of my
corporate career where I wasextremely unhappy, extremely
unfulfilled, extremely, not onlystressed out and burned out and
exhausted and disgruntledaround the work that I was doing
(05:40):
, the people that I was doing,with the people I was hanging
out with, and even myself beingvery, very unhappy with myself,
feeding those insecurities,those fears, those unhappiness,
those holes with over-drinking,over-eating, even over-working
(06:02):
animals.
And it really didn't wake me upto the fact that I obviously
was having my own mental healthissues as a result of that.
I was not only projecting thisunhappiness, this feeling of
being unfulfilled, this feelingof insecurity and posture
(06:25):
syndrome.
Can you relate to any of that?
But then what I was doing is Iwas medicating it and I was
soothing it with over-drinking,over-eating, even over-working
out and going out.
That was my salvation, to kindof this miserable state of mind
that I had been in.
And I can only, you know, thankGod, literally, that I had that
(06:49):
wake-up call that kind of gotme to the point where I just was
miserable, being miserable andI said I have to do something
different.
And I didn't necessarily go andseek help, which I would
recommend to anyone but I knew Ineeded to do something
different and fortunately Ifound my way out of that and
through that.
(07:10):
But then I found myself, justthis past year, in a different
state.
I found myself where I amextremely happy, where I am
extremely happy, extremelyfulfilled, I feel very valued
(07:31):
and very cherished in all theareas of my life family, friends
, work with my clients, with mycommunity, with my activities,
with my social life, whateverthe case might be.
And yet I found myself earlyNovember in the ER and then
eventually, overnight in thehospital because I was having
what they were considering panicattacks, because I could not
(07:54):
get my heart rate under controland we discounted every type of
procedure that you can imagineand therefore any physical
reasons why my heart was racing,other than stress, other than
anxiety.
And I thought to myself, geez,outwardly, I don't feel stressed
(08:17):
.
But then, when I really thoughtabout it, when I sat down and
considered what was reallytriggering me, what was really
causing me to get irritated oragitated, it had nothing to do
with my family, friends and workand my social life.
It had to do with more social,economic type of political type
(08:39):
of scenarios and I thought tomyself now that's ridiculous
that I would find myself in ahospital as a result of this.
My point being is twofold.
One is we, as individuals, needto be focused on ourselves when
it comes to what is going onwithin ourselves emotionally,
(09:02):
spiritually, mentally,physically in order to ensure
that we aren't damagingourselves unintentionally or
intentionally.
But as leaders and what it isthat we wanted to talk about
today we also need to ensurethat we are focused on what our
people are also dealing with andgoing through, because I always
(09:25):
say if you listen to theprogram, you will have heard.
We are humans, we are notrobots.
So when your people show up towork remotely or in the office,
they are bringing everything tothat job, everything to that
interaction, everything to thatteaming, and that could be the
(09:46):
good, the bad, the ugly that isgoing on in their world, and so,
as leaders, we have to payattention to whether or not our
team members are healthyphysically, mentally and
emotionally, and the way we dothat is by paying attention and
knowing signs and acknowledgingthe signs that may be indicating
(10:07):
that someone's struggling.
They are coming disgruntled,they are coming with a bad
attitude, they are coming tired,they are coming stressed out,
they are coming agitated.
They are coming without reallyshowing up like they typically
do on a day in, day out basis,and we need to pay attention to
(10:27):
that and then be intentionalabout wanting to engage and try
to help.
To figure up anyone Nearly half45% of the United States
employees experience burnout.
(10:50):
The World Health Organizationreports that depression and
anxiety results in 12 billionlost work days annually, which
costs the global economy $1trillion each year.
Now, employees with poor mentalhealth report approximately
four times more unplannedabsences nearly 12 days annually
(11:14):
compared to those with goodmental health.
Costs in the US economy anestimated $47 billion in lost
productivity every year.
But let's kind of call thisdown and say, okay, so what if
we did pay attention?
What if we did have programs?
What if we did address mentalhealth?
Well, for every dollar investedin mental health programs,
(11:35):
there is a return of $4 inimproved health and productivity
.
So think about that If we justbecome a little bit more
conscious, a little bit moreaware, a little bit more
attentive to how our people areshowing up each and every day,
that fall outside the norm oftheir typical behavior, then we
(11:56):
could not only be saving thenumber of days that they're out
sick as a result of that anxiety, that stress, that burnout as a
result of that anxiety, thatstress, that burnout, that
exhaustion, that mental fatigue,but at the same time we could
be also saving and increasingtremendously the productivity
and the health of our teammembers, which only puts more
(12:19):
money in our pockets, both at acorporate level but also at an
individual level, based on beingable to have a healthy team and
a high functioning team thatcan pursue and achieve the
business goals Make sense.
So we really want to understandwhat the challenges are that
contribute to one's poor health,because we can't just simply
(12:44):
say, well, there's a lot ofchaos going on around our people
, around ourselves, and it's allexternal.
Well, if you really look at itand you really talk to your
people, a good amount of thestress and exhaustion and
burnout and anxiety that's beingcreated is actually happening
(13:05):
internally within the company,but more specifically within
your team.
So let's outline a few of thetriggers that might cause
someone to be stressed, burnedout, exhausted, and the first
thing that's going to come topeople's mind is well, it's so
busy, the workload is so crazy.
(13:28):
May be able to handle anextreme, stressful, long list of
(13:52):
a workload, while others don'thave that capacity.
They would be weighed down,they would be stressed, they
would be disgruntled over theexhaustion of that same workload
, and so, as leaders, we reallyneed to pay attention to ensure
that we're really optimizing theability of our team members to
(14:17):
where we're not blindly givingthem a workload that is just
going to cause them more painthan gain.
At the same time, leaders, thisis when it really becomes
critical that you getlaser-focused on helping them
and working with them toprioritize what that workload
(14:40):
looks like.
Now you might have to give thema laundry list of tasks to do,
but not every one of those tasksare critical.
Not every one of those tasksare important.
Not every one of those tasksmust be done today, within the
next three days, let alone aweek, and so you could actually
(15:02):
be helping your team members andyourself by working with them
to get very laser focused on thepriorities, the deadlines and
the must-haves or nice-to-haves,to where they can then feel
there's room to breathe andthere's room for them to take
care of themselves.
Now, besides the workload, youalso have the number one
(15:26):
complaint of employees to theirmanagers, and that is
micromanaging.
That is, once you assign them atask, you don't let it go and
let them handle that task forcompletion.
You're standing over them,you're questioning them, you're
(15:47):
pressuring them, you're pushingthem, you're making them feel as
if there's this additionalweight on them completing a task
than just the deadline and thepriority that you gave it.
What's going to weigh them downeven more is when someone
assigns someone a task but thenthey latch on and they don't let
(16:11):
go and they don't allow theirteam member to work on that
until it's completed and oruntil they hit a wall and they
need to come and ask questions,whatever the case might be.
Until they hit a wall and theyneed to come and ask questions,
whatever the case might be.
But that's going to just createa sense of distrust.
You don't trust them to do thework.
You don't trust that they havethe skills.
(16:35):
You don't trust that they arethe expert, you don't trust that
they can solve their ownproblems and therefore the
micromanaging is also creatingthis weight, this burden of
distrust, and that is evenuglier than the laundry list of
to-dos that they have to getthrough before the end of the
day.
So you really need to work onyourself when it comes to from
(16:56):
the workload perspective timemanagement, productivity,
prioritization, delegation.
When it comes to themicromanaging, trust, giving
them the responsibility becausethat's why they're there and
allowing them to complete it,even if they screw up, and then
(17:17):
the two of you can work togetherto ensure that it's done to the
way it needs to get done.
You don't need things likedistrust burdening your team
members, who are alreadyoverburdened, and that leads to
the lack of autonomy, the lackof trusting your people.
In whatever work environment,in whatever work process, in
(17:40):
whatever workflow, in whateverstructure, they feel that they
can accomplish that goal.
The minute you start creating abox for them that they have to
exist in, they have to work in,and that box goes against
everything that they are about,that makes them productive, that
(18:01):
makes them efficient, thatmakes them high-performing, that
in itself will also just startdiminishing their productivity,
their attentiveness, theirenergy, their excitement, their
enthusiasm, everything, andit'll start beating them down to
where they just don't want todo anything.
(18:24):
And so you need to not only, aswe discussed, help to prioritize
and delegate the workload, thenyou need to give it to them and
trust that they're going totake care of it and not
micromanage them.
And then you need to also takethat trust one step further and
set them up for success in themode of operation, the workflow,
(18:45):
the process, the structure, thework environment remote, at
home, in a cube, in an openworkspace, whatever the case
might be, that makes them thebest producer possible.
Because what you need to befocused on is the result, not
how they got there.
And so I challenge you to askyourself if the result's the
(19:10):
same, do you care how they gotthere?
Because you caring and notreally considering what works
best for them is causing thismental health, this anxiety,
this stress, this pressure thatyour people are feeling, and you
might be feeling it from yourown experience and with your own
(19:33):
circle of influencers that arealso directing your workload and
your way of getting the workdone.
Don't practice what's happeningto you.
You need to, you know, decidewhat type of leader you want to
be to get the best out of yourpeople.
And you get the best out ofyour people, that's going to
(19:55):
bring the best out of you, andmental health and well-being
will not even be in question.
All right, this may lead you toasking yourself why is it that
many leaders don't prioritizemental health and well-being?
Well, there's a number ofreasons.
One is the fact that theyhaven't created the safe
(20:16):
environment for their people tocome to them when they are
struggling, when they needsupport.
And maybe it's because youdon't feel safe and comfortable
going to your managers and yourpowers to be to talk about what
it is that you might be dealingwith and realize there's a big
(20:38):
difference between an employeecoming to you saying I don't
feel physically well and I needto take some time off, or I have
a family situation that I'mdealing with that I need a day
or two off.
Then them coming to you andsaying I am really personally,
emotionally, spiritually,mentally struggling and I don't
(21:03):
know how to get out of this hole, or, let alone, I have found
myself self-medicating and Ineed help and I need support.
So it's incredibly imperativethat you start with yourself as
(21:24):
a leader, let alone theorganization, to create a safe
space for your employees to cometo you when they are dealing
with some mental health andwell-being type of issues, of
(21:46):
issues.
And you can start with workingon the fact that many of your
employees don't even feelcomfortable to raise up issues
and critical feedback, and thatshould indicate to you that
there is a degree or a lack Ishould say a lack of
psychological safety amongstyour team.
So you could start there andthen work your way into creating
that space where they can comeand they can knock on your door
(22:09):
or pick up the phone and say Ineed some help, I need some
support.
I wonder if we have resourcesfor this.
Then, of course, many employeeshesitate to do that and
hesitate to come to you becausethey don't want to appear weak
or appear less than or appearuncommitted or appear as if
(22:33):
they're a problem child andraise the HR red flag.
Just think of it yourself.
Why wouldn't you go to yourboss, right?
And the higher level you are,the more of a threat it feels
that if you were to discloseanything really personal, that
(22:56):
that could jeopardize yourcareer trajectory, and that type
of attitude, that type ofexistence, is not healthy for
anyone, and so you can createthat safe space, make it
comfortable for people to cometo you for support and for help,
and you can work your way intothen finding the resources for
(23:17):
them.
At the same time, you can helpthem to not be afraid or not to
believe that they'll appear weakor uncommitted or a problem
child.
The other big one, too, is manymanagement teams are not
well-equipped.
They're not trained to reallysupport the whole conversation
(23:42):
around mental health andwell-being.
They don't know the resources,they don't know the support
systems.
They might not even know whatthe organization already
provides, and a lot of timesmanagers will be like well, why
don't you just call Joe over inHR and ask him Well, there's a
reason why they didn't go to HRdirectly and there's a reason
(24:04):
why they're coming to you, andso your job as a leader is to
know what's available to yourteam members to support all
aspects of their being, not justthem getting the job done, so
they know the resources for anyapplications or software or pins
that they need, but also whatare the other programs available
(24:26):
to them to really get thetraining and the support and the
well-being that they need.
Now one that often concerns mewhen I hear it is and I don't
hear it a lot, but is leaderswill feel that if they start
putting an emphasis on mentalhealth or well-being, that it
discounts any type ofaccountability.
(24:47):
It makes accountability lookweaker because of someone
struggling, because of someone'sissues, and so there's this
conflict between well, thisperson's dealing with stuff, and
yet I do have performanceissues.
I need them to be addressing,and again I will say that that
(25:09):
is a lack of training, is a lackof skill, is a lack of
understanding of how to balancethose two or how to even find a
blend of those two, because youstill need productivity, you
still need efficiency, you stillneed effectiveness from your
team members, and so don't allowyourself or the organization to
use the excuse of a lack ofaccountability if they all of a
(25:32):
sudden introduce programs thatare going to make your people a
lot more efficient, optimized,effective, productive and high
potential, to where you don'teven have an accountability
issue if they are well takencare of and they are optimized
in their performance, right.
(25:53):
So just be aware of that though, just in case it's an
undisclosed or unconscious biasof your own is if we have these
programs, it'll discount beingable to, you know, hold someone
accountable.
And then, of course, just likethe lack of training and the
lack of programs, companies arereally very structured to have
(26:17):
those type of initiatives, thosetype of programs, those types
of incentives.
I remember when I was incorporate and this is going to
go back to like early 2000s andwe were given incentives to take
part in certain health programs, certain well-being programs.
(26:38):
At the time it was more likefitness programs on taking care
of ourselves, quitting smoking,for instance.
So there's a lot of differentways that you can be structured
with well-being and mentalhealth programs without feeling
as if you're jeopardizing theoverall performance of your team
(26:58):
.
I would rather have you focusedon the benefits and the impact
and the return on investmentthat you gain as a result of
taking care of your people, thatyou say you care for their
well-being.
Well, then, ensuring that theyknow what the resources are,
they know what the supportsystems are, they have a safe
(27:19):
environment to bring up any typeof issues that they're having
and struggles that they needsupport on, and they know where
to go, including you as theleader.
That is where I would preferyou to be really focused on.
Now let's talk about what youcan do.
What can you do to ensure thatyou're putting attention and
(27:41):
focus on the mental health andwell-being of yourself as well
as your people?
First, one would be share yourexperiences, share the struggles
that you have had or that youmight be dealing with, to let
others know that they're notalone, not in that same
situation, but just the factthat you, even as a leader,
(28:03):
struggle you have, you know,mental, physical, emotional
stresses, strains, pains attimes, and therefore they should
not feel as if they're on anisland by themselves, because
everyone has pains as well asjoys in their life.
So share your experiences.
(28:25):
If you show your vulnerability,if you show your trust in being
able to disclose very personalaspects of your life, others
will as well.
And that's a great way to startbuilding that psychological
safety and trust within yourteam, let alone the organization
(28:48):
, to where mental health andwellbeing is not an afterthought
or a nice to have, but more ofa business imperative.
At the same time, model itModel, healthy behavior Model,
taking care of yourself Model,taking breaks Model, setting
boundaries, model, making sureyou are taking your vacations
(29:09):
and you have a life outside theworkplace and that there's
well-being programs that you'retaking part in.
Again, you model that Otherswill want to mirror that or copy
that and therefore do it forthemselves and ensure that
you're normalizing these type ofsensitive, intimate
(29:30):
conversations.
You could be doing check-inswith people Now.
Remember I mentioned at thevery beginning you don't want to
just check into where they'relike, oh you know, I'm okay, and
you accept that and dismiss thefact that they're saying that
when they're looking down andnot even paying attention to you
, or they're saying that astheir mouth is trembling with
(29:53):
emotion.
They're saying that with alittle bit of anger or agitation
in their voice or their postureis showing some aggravation.
Ensure that you're askingopen-ended questions to get some
feedback from them, truefeedback as far as how they're
doing and if there's anythingthat you could be doing for them
(30:15):
or is there any direction youcan point them in to get the
support that they need.
Don't accept one or two wordanswers I'm fine, all's good.
Make sure that you're reallypaying attention and even
training yourself and yourpeople to recognize the signs of
(30:36):
burnout, stress, anxiety thatyour team members are having,
because if you're experiencingany of it, you're going to want
someone else to notice it tooand potentially reach a handout
for you to help you and hold youup.
So do the same for your people.
Now, addressing the workload,you really need to reassess the
(31:04):
depth of workload and theexpectations that you have.
Of course, if it's a lack ofresource issue, all of the
workload activities areimperative.
They're not going away.
They may not need to be donetomorrow, but eventually they
all need to be done.
That is fine.
That's life.
However, what you really needto ensure that you're doing for
(31:26):
yourself and your people is isthe list of tasks all number one
priorities.
I'm going to challenge you andsay no, there's not no such
thing as two number onepriorities, because eventually
that would have to be brokenthat tie by saying all right, so
we have these two number onethings that have to get done.
I'm only one person, whichone's most important, and
(31:49):
eventually some decision makersare going to say this one over
that one, done at the same timewith the same deadline.
Then who are you going toassign this other task to?
Because this individual can'tdo both.
You have to be an advocate foryour team members, but team
(32:11):
members, you have to advocatefor yourself.
You need to ensure you'reputting together the business
case or the argument as far aswhy you're not going to be able
to accomplish the goal that theyhave for you because of X, y
and Z.
Really, be sure that theworkload, the prioritization
that you're giving your teammembers is realistic.
(32:33):
And then ensure that theexpectations that you're giving
them are very clear, are verywell understood and are
realistic.
If a project that is typicallytakes four weeks and you're
asking if to be done in twoweeks or even three weeks, is
that really fair?
Is that going to set your teammember up for success?
(32:55):
I would argue no.
But at the same time, you couldbe having those discussions
with your people to ensure thatyou're both in alignment and
agreement to whatever workload,goals and expectations are set.
And then there is the investingin well-being programs, mental
(33:17):
health programs, and you couldadvocate to have a program just
for your team if you're not ableto or willing to advocate it
for the whole organization.
There's nothing to stop aleader from saying, well, I have
a training budget and thereforeI'm going to allocate some
monies to get some support, getsome resources, get some
(33:39):
training for my people.
So really ensure that you areconsidering and being strategic
in thinking about what type ofprograms can you be providing
your people, beyond leadershiptraining or skill training, to
really address the mental healthand well-being of your
individuals?
Now, at the same time and thisis a touchy subject for many but
(34:02):
at the same time, you as aleader also need to consider the
work environment that yourpeople are working in and what
works best for individuals, ifnot groups of individuals.
Meaning that if you're focusedon the end state the result,
(34:23):
versus how they get there, thenyou could be having flexible
work hours.
You could be having flexiblework environments, remote, in
the office, hybrid.
You could be open to theworkflows that they use.
It doesn't have to be yourworkflow, it doesn't have to be
your process.
(34:43):
If they can get to the end goalby the expectation set, do you
really care how they got there,as long as the result is what
you're expecting, and so that initself and that doesn't cost
any money it just costs prideand it costs letting go of your
ego and letting go of thecontrol to really meet your
(35:05):
people where they are and givethem the flexibility to do their
job at their peak performancein the mode that works best for
them, and then we come fullcircle, in that you definitely
want to be touching base andassessing the well-being of your
people.
It goes beyond the check-insthat we talked about.
(35:25):
It goes beyond the one-on-onesthat we talked about.
Now this should be a consistent, persistent process to where
you're regularly assessing thehealth and well-being of your
people, that they have what theyneed, that they are happy with
(35:45):
how they're able to performtheir job.
They find that the leadershipyou're providing is effective.
They're satisfied with thecompany.
You know you call them focusgroups, call them engagement
surveys, call them whatever youwant, but you definitely want to
(36:06):
be checking in on a regularbasis and assessing and
measuring and tracking howemployee satisfaction, employee
effectiveness is over time.
And then you could be usingthat information to either build
a business case for mentalhealth and well-being programs
or you could be adjustingpolicies and procedures and
programs based on what thecurrent information is telling
(36:29):
you.
You can get a full picture ofjust how healthy your teams and
organization is by consistentlytouching base and assessing that
well-being and mental health ofthe teams.
There's a couple of keytakeaways I want you to walk
(36:50):
away with, and that is mentalhealth and well-being is not a
nice-to-have, it is a must-have,it is a business imperative, it
is a business priority and, asI mentioned at the very
beginning, for every dollarinvested in those programs, you
(37:10):
get $4 in return throughimproved productivity and
improved health, and the valueof those two things is then
you're not having the degree ofabsentees, the degree of
internal conflicts, the degreeof dissatisfied employees,
(37:44):
non-financial programs, such aswhat we talked about in regards
to one-on-ones and check-ins,and having flexible work
arrangements that doesn't costanything to you to address those
immediately.
And then more of the investmentaspect, where you are advocating
for your team or theorganization to have programs
have resources, support systems,individuals available to team
(38:07):
members to get the help thatthey need to be productive in
their workplace and productivein their home place.
Lastly, I do want to mentionI'm not personally affiliated
with them, but I wanted toensure to provide some go-tos
resources, but you can check outresources like BetterHelpcom,
(38:30):
which provides online therapy.
It's almost like an on-demandtherapy app that you could be
using, as well as Calmcom.
It's also an app where itprovides opportunities to just
reflect, meditate, prayer, soforth and so on, to where you
can get really centered andgrounded and release any stress
(38:55):
or anxiety or exhaustion thatyou might be feeling.
And then, of course, you couldbe reaching out to your HR
department to ensure you areaware of the programs, the
policies, the procedures tohandle that for yourself and for
your team members.
So they are well aware of justwhat's available to them and or
(39:17):
what isn't available within theorganization, but maybe they too
have resources that they canpoint you to.
Okay, if you enjoyed thisepisode, please share it with
your team members and others sothey can learn what it really
takes to ensure you are having avery healthy culture and a very
(39:39):
well cared for team.
And be sure to follow us.
You can go toballofirecoachingcom forward
slash podcast and subscribe onany one of your favorite podcast
streaming services and or watchus on YouTube on our Shedding
the Corporate Bitch TV channel.
Until next time, I look forwardto having you right back here
(39:59):
for another episode of Sheddingthe Corporate Bitch.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Bye.
Thank you.
Right back here for anotherepisode of Shedding the Bitch
YouTube channel.
Want to dive deeper withBernadette on becoming a
(40:24):
powerhouse leader?
Visit balloffirecoachingcom tolearn more about how she helps
professionals, hr executives andteam leaders elevate overall
team performance.
You've been listening toShedding the Corporate Bitch
with Bernadette Boas.
Until next time, keep shedding,keep growing and keep leading.
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