HR How To: Mental Health in the Workplace

It starts with understand psychological safety. So what exactly does psychological safety mean?

Paraphrased from multiple sources such as Forbes, Predictive Index, and Gallup, psychological safety in the workplace describes an environment where people feel included and safe to contribute, to learn and to challenge, without fear of being rejected, ridiculed or humiliated when asking for help or speaking up, and which creates a sense of mutual trust and respect.

Every interaction we have with our boss, our peers, or those who report to us creates the environment around us, therefore having an impact on our mental health. It could be the eye-rolls you receive after expressing a new idea, the gossip you hear after a co-worker went out on leave, or even the resistance to feedback you have given. We pick up on these cues that tell is “what you did was not ok” when in fact, it’s a completely necessary part of business.

One of HR’s responsibility is to ensure there is an environment where all people can do their best work, which includes addressing psychological safety in the workplace. So, how do we do that?

First, we take a deep breath and make a commitment. Making positive change in such a heavy topic is not an easy feat. Therefore, we intentionally commit to the cause as a lens we need to look through every day, so we can begin to see new opportunities to make a positive impact. Then, we dive in to the work.

Here are 10 things HR Pros can dive into:

1. Advocate for mental health

Advocating for mental health means learning and discussing trends on mental health with the right people to influence the right change. It also means identifying real opportunities to positively impact mental health (even if for just one person), using both organic and/or programmatic approaches. Here, the vision is big, but the goals are small. Advocating for anything takes one conversation at a time to make a difference.

2. Be persistent

Having one conversation at a time requires persistence. Change can be slow and exhausting, which is why we commit to the cause up front. Multiple conversations will need to occur with the same people, but they need to be well-positioned and intentional. This article explains why repetition is important so adjust your expectations to stay focused as these conversations will be uncomfortable and likely met with resistance, at first. Your impact starts with leaning in to the discomfort.

3. Understand employees’ needs to be heard, supported and respected

We’ve all heard the ultimate goal of having ‘happy employees’ but this is not entirely accurate, or achievable. Employees will experience a variety of emotions so our goals should be to ensure employees feel heard, supported and respected throughout their experience. Just like anything in life, there will be ups and downs, joys and disappointments, wins and losses and how employees navigate those moments is what matters.

4. Look at interactions and do something about it

What are you seeing occur throughout the workforce? How are leaders interacting with their teams? How are employees engaging with each other? Address the poor behaviors and reinforce the good behaviors in the moment and remember, actions speak louder than words.

5. Actively listen to genuinely understand

Truly listen to what employees are telling you. Pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues as you may have to read between the lines when they express a concern; or they may be pretending ‘everything is fine’ when it’s really not and what they need is an advocate. Try understanding all perspectives to come to objective and actionable conclusions and ensure those involved feel respected and understood.

6. Coach leaders on how to deal with uncomfortable situations

Many poor behaviors are not dealt with simply because we don’t like uncomfortable situations. Yes, they’re uncomfortable, but avoiding the situation is not the answer. If not dealt with, the behavior continues or becomes worse (and becomes worse for you as a leader!). Lean into the uncomfortableness, one awkward conversation at a time, and help leaders learn how to do the same.

7. Incorporate persistence, resilience and boundary setting

Persistence, resilience and boundary setting are important skills for all of us to learn and we want our employees to feel encouraged to work through tough situations and to use their voices in productive and meaningful ways. Develop your employees in ways that build them up emotionally, encouraging people to find their own voice (even if it’s shaky) and to support each other.

8. Encourage esteem boosters and meaningful recognition

It’s easy to call out when someone does something wrong, but when was the last time you recognized someone for doing something well? Meaningful recognition refers to how we uniquely support others on a daily basis. The general forms of recognition are not enough. Employees want to be recognized in ways that are important to them, so get specific.

9. Understand ever-changing employee needs

There are general needs all humans have such as being respected, trusted and included. For specific needs supported through programs such as employee assistance programs or paid time off, survey your employees, review utilization data of existing programs or consider offering wellness programs as proactive support.

10. Lead by example

Leading by example means having the difficult conversations, showing genuine support to others, being open to feedback, and working to build up your own persistence, resilience and boundary setting. It requires continual risk-taking and learning and showing others what the right behavior looks like.

Every day provides an opportunity to improve psychological safety in the workplace. The commitment you made earlier applies to your own mental health just as much as it does to your employees. So, if you don’t do it for them, do it for yourself.