Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing

In July I was invited by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) to give one of their Round Table talks on Zoom on Mental Health and Wellbeing.

I am not an expert on Mental Health but I am passionate about keeping it at the forefront of people’s minds, especially when it comes to the Diversity and Inclusion agenda and in particular through living with COVID-19.

Mental Health a protected characteristic in UK legislation, but it plays a major part in the whole diversity agenda — being different, feeling excluded and being on the outside affects our mental health. This is why inclusion is so important.

In the wake of the pandemic, the British Medical Association reminded us about the severe impact COVID-19 was having on our mental health - so why is the Mental Health and Wellbeing agenda so important?

As a reminder here are some recent statistics from the Mental Health Foundation:

• 1 in 4 people experience a mental health problem each year
• 1 in 6 people in the workplace
• Almost 13% of all sickness absence days are attributed to mental health conditions
• Better mental health support in the workplace could save in the region of £8 billion per year
• As a result of COVID-19, it is believed more than half a million more people could be affected

Challenges in the Workplace

It is worth always remembering that all of us experience mental health, all of the time, whether that is good mental health or poor mental health.

Mental health issues do not just happen to other people. It is very easy to present a view that it is everyone else who is affected and that somehow we are weak if we feel under mental health pressures ourselves.

Personally, I like the terminology “Mental Wellbeing”, because like physical wellbeing, it is clear we all have it and it becomes more obvious that we can take positive steps to improve our own wellbeing without allowing ‘stigma’ to get in the way.

Good, positive, mental wellbeing can be linked to positive engagement, motivation, performance and productivity. Resilience, the ability to bounce back is often associated with higher levels of mental wellbeing.

The impact of COVID-19

For many individuals, those who would claim to have good, positive mental health, COVID-19 has raised many issues:

• Isolation and loneliness during lockdown
• Stress and Burnout during working from home and being unable to escape the ‘workspace’
• Insomnia, poor sleeping habits, poor physical health due to the stresses during those early months of April, May, June
• Fear of the virus itself and fear for loved ones
• Fear of new lockdowns
• Financial insecurities, being furloughed, being made redundant
• Childcare commitments, homeschooling and now returns to school and impact on our children including taking exams and getting exam results
• Sense of identity

plus many more.

There have been many challenges in working from home, bringing people back to the office and still there is uncertainty as we face a new potential second wave of the virus, increased infections across many areas and what that might look like over the coming winter months.

One of the most important things I believe in is recognising we are all different, we have different personalities, we have different circumstances which will lead to different experiences.

A close friend of mine had difficulties during lockdown because she was extrovert and loved to be out socialising. I, on the other hand, was comfortable being at home with my family and my dogs and actually found it harder coming out of the lockdown. My first drive out felt almost agoraphobic. Those who are alone will have very different experiences than those surrounded by family members and young children.

There is no right or wrong, only different experiences…

What someone believes about their experience may not be the same as you would experience in the same setting. Two people can experience the same conversation and interpret it in very different ways. How you may respond to the pandemic, most likely will not be the same as the person sitting next to you.

I, therefore, have an invitation to each of you…..

Whether we are CEO’s or Board members, leaders of large numbers of employees, line managers, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters or friends, please remember the theme from Mental Health Awareness Week this year was ‘Kindness’ and it starts with ourselves:

Be Kind — firstly to yourself!

• We don’t know everything
• We don’t have all the answers
• We can’t take responsibility for others and solve their problems
• We will get things wrong
• We will also experience poor mental health from time to time
• We may experience stress, burnout, fears and insecurities

It is OK to be human and it is important to “Put your own Mask on first”

And finally, how can we be there for others.

The late Stephen Covey said in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Habit 5:

Seek first to understand, then to be understood — Listen, really listen. People want to be understood, valued and affirmed.

If we want to improve our mental health, we should see it like physical health, taking vital steps to improve, practice empathy and gratitude for others, reduce stigma, build inclusion which has a positive impact on mental health.

• Make the invisible visible
• Listen and be authentic
• Promote inclusion
• Understand and help others work towards motivation, resilience and mental wellbeing

We can all play our part.