Advice to leaders

A variety of employees who experienced mental health challenges at work share their personal advice for leaders. This short video offers practical strategies to help you become more supportive.
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We can't do a cookie cutter approach because it further enhances the stigma and it'll say that everybody is the same.
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Marvin Burr, Social Worker. Logo, Working Through It
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And there's no variation and it's not taking into their personal narrative of what's going on with them individually.
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Bonnie Pedota, Peer Support Specialist
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We're all different and there's different things that resonate with different people. Just because I think counseling is really useful for me it doesn't mean other people, other people might find going to the gym, it's really therapeutic and useful for them or going for acupuncture or whatever it is. So I think different people have different things that really make a difference for them.
The
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Donna Hardaker, Management Consultant
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idea around how do we create safety for people who have mental health conditions in the workplace, safety health, so they can perform their best they can bring their best selves to work, it's about trust. So how do we build a trusting relationship with an employee, with all employees and maybe particularly with employees who are struggling. Part of that has to do with the manager being in a place of self-knowledge themselves.
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Ann Morgan, Psychotherapist
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I would say share your own vulnerability and humanness and share your own struggles when you're struggling. And model behavior of looking after yourself like don't stay at the office all kinds of hours, don't be sending emails on the weekend, right. Because you are setting up the expectations whether you realize it or not, you might think, Oh, it's just me the manager. No you're setting the standards and the norms for team behavior.
When
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Nyk Morrigan, Mental Health Coach. A person with hair combed up and to the side in magenta and turquoise, and wears a vest and tie.
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you have somebody who's in a manager role or director role or CEO role or whatever that is come and have authentic conversations with people at all levels then you create an atmosphere of safety where you matter.
If
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Melonie Long, Child & Youth Counselor
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I tell you I need to take a day off, I need to take a day off I don't want to feel like I'm going to be penalized because I'm not, I don't have a flu or a cold. I think that it is appropriate to-- if you see I'm not myself, I'm a very bubbly person normally high energy and when I slip into a depression or I'm sort of leaning that way I become quieter, I become less vocal and it's appropriate to sort of say can I just chat to you when you have a free moment and then come and say you know you don't quite seem yourself, what's going on is everything is everything OK, what can I do.
So when an employee is struggling it can possibly be very helpful for people around that person, including the person's manager to remind the individual of what they miss about the person. So for instance, suppose someone is now not contributing at meetings. Maybe sitting and just being quiet withholding of information and a manager is wondering why, a question could be, I'm wondering what's going on I really miss how you used to participate in the meetings, it was so important for me the way you participated, it helped us move ideas so quickly from visioning through to execution and I'm not quite seeing that new right now. Can you help me understand what's going on.