Notes on Mental Health

Transcription of the first Bonus Episode of the podcast Hardly Working

Work cultures have often been weary of weakness. In the past, mental health issues were also seen as a form of weakness. While books and TV shows are increasingly nuanced in their portrayal of mental health issues, it’s still very black and white in most organizations.

The idea of a 24x7, ultra-productive, life-hacked, side-hustle filled culture is good for a LinkedIn profile, And a high pressure, high stakes, long hours at the office way of work might be the way to nab that promotion. But they both put a high strain on your mental health. The constant barrage of social media is creating a constant need to succeed, or more importantly to be seen as successful, and it just builds pressure on anyone who’s just trying their best to make it, and sometimes just trying to keep their head above the water.

On today’s bonus episode we’re going to be talking a little bit about mental health, as this seemed especially poignant in the wake of rising suicide rates.

Nishanth:
Work cultures seem to abhor this idea of weakness. Do you agree, and if so, what would you say is considered to be a weakness?

Maulik:
Yes. Especially work cultures that are almost obsessed with results. Especially individual results as compared to team and company results. The moment you’ve built that kind of culture, any time that you aren’t spending working towards targets starts to be seen as slacking off.

That leads to a pressure cooker type of situation, where stress slowly builds, as everyone is trying to be more productive than everyone else. Everyone is trying to show better results and everyone is fighting for that promotion.

Nishanth:
That’s so true. And it’s such a contrast in the creative environments that I’m used to working in. In general, you might spend a lot of time collecting information or looking for inspiration, iterating, experimenting with new tools or techniques to help, or occasionally just battling writer’s block. But these types of creative environment also tend to be more collaborative, so they can absorb some of that pressure. The focus is also rarely on pure results, as no one is measuring the number of iterations you produce, but is looking at the effectiveness or creativity of the best one.

Maulik:
Yeah. You’ve touched upon one of the biggest differences. The collaborative vs the competitive environment. The moment there’s that element of internal competition, that’s where these ideas of weakness comes in. And it can become cyclical. Senior employees will create that kind of environment for their juniors as that’s the kind of environment they grew up in and had to deal with. You must have heard of the saying “managers behave the way they were treated by their bosses.”

Nishanth:
So, “weakness”. It seems like the moment something is seen as a weakness, no one wants to talk about it. No one wants to address it. But this can be really damaging. Some of these mental health issues are clinical, and can affect any one of us, and these kinds of high stress environments just exacerbate them. I think that’s something that needs to change. After all, you want your employees to perform their best for as long as possible, not just until they are burnt out.

Maulik:
I think that’s our first point. That mental health shouldn’t be seen as a weakness. We need to let people know that it’s okay to open up, that it’s okay to seek help, and that we’re not going to see them as any weaker for it.

Even when people do open up, we speak so little about such issues, we really don’t know how to react, or how to deal with it.

Nishanth:
Yeah, For example, I’ve heard a lot of people say things like “What does he or she have to be depressed about?”. And I have two problems with that. The first is, why don’t you ask them? Listen to them? Understand them. And the second is that people seem to misunderstand depression.

Depression isn’t sadness. It isn’t something that can be cured or go away. You can’t just cheer someone up and make everything better. People need to accept the fact that it can’t be fixed especially by a boss or coworker. It can be treated however. Therapy and medication can help immensely, but you also need to find the right doctor.

Maulik:
And depression often isn’t like a switch. It’s not that you have it or you don’t. There’s an entire range or spectrum. And depression is just one problem. There are many more disorders, each of which are incredibly nuanced.

That’s our second point I guess. That it helps to learn more about all of these. Especially if you have a friend or co-worker with these issues. Learn as much as you can. That doesn’t mean that you should replace a doctor or therapist, or give them advice on what to do. No. You should be learning about it, so you can better empathize with them and their condition. So you can be a better listener. In fact listening goes a long way. So you can encourage them to seek professional help, and can help them find the right medical professional.

Nishanth:
The other aspect that’s often seen as weakness is self-care. I’ve heard this a lot in work environments, and it blows my mind every time “Why do you need time off, you’re not sick. Or You don’t look sick.”

Just like your body needs time to relax and recover, so does your mind. It’s so important to take time off, spend time on hobbies and refresh your brain cells. When you get back to work. You’ll return refreshed and more productive and creative than if you try to just keep working through it.

Maulik:
Yeah. I think you highlighted an interesting case there. All too often, senior leadership assumes that if they can work so hard, why can’t their employees. Managers and employers also need to realize that not everyone lives the same life or has the same responsibilities as them. People are different. They have different thresholds. They might have other commitments and responsibilities outside of work that are playing on their mind. Again, they need to be able to empathize with their employees. After all, work should remain a part of life, and not consume it. Once a upon a time there was work-life balance. Today the line is so blurred. Home-work, and work from home seem to almost overlap with each other. We’re increasingly defined by our work. And that’s not necessary. We can be the individuals we are, and not be siloed by our jobs.

Nishanth:
I think this is a good time for people to look at both their own behavior, and their organization’s approach to some of these issues. We’ve come a long way in our understanding and approach to mental health issues, but there’s still a long way to go. And learning more about it, understanding what we’ve been doing wrong, creating a culture that’s open to discussions, and being able to empathize with people is what will help us better appreciate each other’s problems, and grow as a society.

Maulik:
Mental health is a vast topic, and one we’ll be exploring in more depth and detail on future episodes of the podcast.

Nishanth:
We’ll be back with our regular episodes on Company Culture, so if you haven’t already, get subscribed. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

The World Economic forum has a great article that visualizes how India sees mental health issues.

For those looking for help, Ranjani Venkatakrishnan has helpfully rounded up a number of resources, including doctors, schools and foundations.

That’s it from us. This time, let’s take some time to think about how, and more importantly why, we work.