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Tag Archives: Workplace Mental Health

Managers set up to fail

Are Managers Being Set Up to Fail?

05/03/2015

I probably don’t have to remind you that leading a team is a tough gig.

We place huge expectations on our leaders to meet budgets, hit deadlines, come up with creative solutions to keep demanding clients happy… The list goes on.

And I often question whether we’re doing enough to set our leaders up for success.

A leader gets things done through their people, and you’ll know that the best leaders create teams of high performers. Teams that keep coming up with the goods even when the odds are against them.

But as the pace of change and the market intensifies, it’s getting harder to do that. Team members are under constant pressure – they’re stressed, they’re exhausted, and in increasing numbers developing or suffering through with a mental illness.

The problem is, even as we expect our leaders to produce a great team effort, we aren’t giving them the tools to manage anxiety, depression and substance abuse-related mental conditions in their teams.

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How do they deal with the, at times, irritable, or withdrawing behaviour of a mentally ill team member?

What do they do when an employee tells them they’re considering suicide?

How do they return the team to high performance without being insensitive, or without the risk of harassing or bullying an individual, or ostracising them, or making their mental state worse?

We know that 1 in 5 employees has a mental illness, and research around the world is telling us a worrying fact:

Individuals are hiding their symptoms because they don’t have faith that their leadership will treat them well.

The Workplace Mental Health MasterClass for Leaders is our answer to this problem. Over an intensive 1 day format, leaders will receive the practical skills from qualified workplace mental health professionals, to address mental health in their teams.

They’ll know the warning signs to look for, how to positively address the behaviour and performance of a mentally ill team member, and they’ll know how to handle the ongoing conversation on mental health matters within their teams.

Click here to see what you’ll learn in the Workplace Mental Health MasterClass for Leaders or please share this blog to a colleague who may benefit from these skills.

Author: Peter Diaz
Peter Diaz profile

Peter Diaz is the CEO of Workplace Mental Health Institute. He’s an author and accredited mental health social worker with senior management experience. Having recovered from his own experience of bipolar depression, Peter is passionate about assisting organisations to address workplace mental health issues in a compassionate yet results-focussed way. He’s also a Dad, Husband, Trekkie and Thinker.

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When Work Becomes A War Zone

When Work Becomes A War Zone

28/04/2014

It’s been all over the news. Marcos Ambrose has punched Casey Mears after the race. These are role models to many people. And the racecourse is their workplace.

What makes people think that it’s ok to bring violence, of any kind, into the workplace? At what point does a person ‘lose it’ and lash out at another? This happens all too often. Violence and aggression is rife in many workplaces. As to why this happens, well that’s the topic of another blog. In Australia, in most workplaces, overt violence is not tolerated. That’s appropriate. But what about other types of violence? Most of us have been on the receiving end of ‘passive aggression’ at some point. The irony is that there’s nothing passive about it. Yet, in many workplaces passive aggression is either tolerated or nothing is done about it.

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Sadly, some people are really good at it and some others are remarkably good at it to the point of sociopathic behavior. But these types of behaviours can have a deep impact on the psychological wellbeing of the workplace and its members. How many people need to be harmed before it impacts on your team?: only one. That can be the start of the downward spiral into workcover claims, low morale, low productivity, etc. In circumstances like this, it’s important to rip out any roots of distress and discontent asap. Leaders need to send the clear message that these types of aggressive behaviours will not be tolerated. There is no room for aggression in a highly productive team. Commit to stamp out all aggression or violence from your teams. Where do you start? ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is a good rule of thumb.

 

If you want to check out the Marcos story go to https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2014/04/26/marcos-ambrose-punches-casey-mears-after-richmond-race/8239235/

Author: Peter Diaz
Peter Diaz profile

Peter Diaz is the CEO of Workplace Mental Health Institute. He’s an author and accredited mental health social worker with senior management experience. Having recovered from his own experience of bipolar depression, Peter is passionate about assisting organisations to address workplace mental health issues in a compassionate yet results-focussed way. He’s also a Dad, Husband, Trekkie and Thinker.

Connect with Peter Diaz on:
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Mental-Health-First-Aid

The Importance of Mental Health First Aid

28/10/2013

We have a colleague who is a senior HR professional in a high pressure industry. Some weeks ago an employee came into their office and admitted they were considering suicide, largely because of the pressure at work. While this is a confronting situation for anyone, that was our colleague’s third incident that year.

Everyday, two hundred people in Australia attempt suicide and, in any given year, one out of every five Australian adults develop some type of mental health problem. Until now, mental health issues have remained in the dark, heavily stigmatized and often forgotten about. Recent events you may have seen in the media from the shockingly tragic to the desperately sad have brought the issue of mental health problems into the forefront. No longer able to push the issue aside, many people are starting to step up to the plate and are willing to help but just don’t know how to go about it.

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In order to thrive as a community we need to be mindful of the people we come into contact with in our daily lives. We need the knowledge to recognize when someone is in need of help, the confidence to stay calm in an emergency and wherewithal to be able to contact needed resources and reach out for help when needed.

Mental health “first aid” means being able to help a person who is developing a mental health problem while professional help is found or the crisis clears. Learning MHFA empowers community members to actively identify those in need and train them to be able to help until professional help can be arranged.

As mental health problems are so prevalent, MHFA skills are important for anyone to learn. However, it may be especially important to obtain MHFA training if you are public service provider of any kind (police officers, medial staff, teachers, volunteers, etc.). If you work daily with the general public you are in a key position to recognize the early warning signs of people developing mental health problems. Your quick action might be able to stop a future tragic event from taking place.

The more people that take the time to learn about Mental Health First Aid, the more the stigma on mental health patients will fade. Currently it is more common for a person with developing warning signs of mental illness to be avoided or ignored rather than helped. Because mental health issues are often misunderstood by the public, the person suffering from the illness is less likely to reach out for help on their own.

MHFA training will allow you to become a vigilant observer, a person that has empathy for others, and will give you the confidence you need to follow through with a plan of action. Through outreach such as this, a difference will be made in the lives of people suffering from mental illness.

Author: Peter Diaz
Peter Diaz profile

Peter Diaz is the CEO of Workplace Mental Health Institute. He’s an author and accredited mental health social worker with senior management experience. Having recovered from his own experience of bipolar depression, Peter is passionate about assisting organisations to address workplace mental health issues in a compassionate yet results-focussed way. He’s also a Dad, Husband, Trekkie and Thinker.

Connect with Peter Diaz on:
Facebook-logo Podcast Icon LinkedIN-logo