Episode 66. 3 Ways to Support the Mental Health of Your Team
Did you know 50% of Millennials and 75% of Generation-Z workers reported having left a job due, at least in part, to mental health reasons, as compared with just 10% of their Baby Boomer counterparts. A lot of people don’t know that. And because you - the TyePod audience - actually spans across all three generations I think it’s useful to call out. Mental health has moved into a strategic imperative. And not just for show - people genuinely want to create companies and be a part of companies that care. We want to bring our whole selves to the table and that includes our mental health.
In today’s episode, I want to spend some time talking about how you can make space for mental health in your company, whether you’ve got all W2 employees, contractors, or a combination of both.
A NOTE ON MENTAL HEALTH MEDICAL COVERAGE
Now before we dive into the three tips I’ve thought through for you - I want to address something on a functional level. W2 versus contractors. If you have W2 employees and you provide health insurance - mental health coverage is often included. I’ve got it on my list to do a full episode on that topic, but for now, my recommendation is that you check on the benefits package and find out what those policies are!
Okay, so besides that technical recommendation - the following tips apply to you whether you’ve got W2, contractors, or a combination! Let’s get into it.
NUMBER 1: CREATE A SAFE AND ACCEPTING COMPANY CULTURE
I talk about this all the time, but trust is the foundation of any successful team. Particularly when it comes to supporting mental health, it’s crucial. How else can we expect our team members to speak freely about any issues that arise personally or professionally? Even if your culture is positive on a surface level, if it doesn’t go any deeper than that - we aren’t creating opportunities to be transparent with one another. Have you ever gotten on a call with a team member and felt that something was wrong, but you didn’t know what to say or if you should even dig deeper? That feeling is normal. But it’s also indicative that there’s an opportunity to deepen the relationship.
NUMBER 2: UPHOLD WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND SELF-CARE POLICIES IN YOUR BUSINESS
Self-care! We promote this all the time as CEOs (most of us are recovering workaholics if we’re being honest). But how intentional have we been in ensuring our team members can maintain their own balance!?
Think about establishing a policy on not sending work emails on the weekends so your team members can present for their families, encouraging employees to take a full lunch, and by helping them ensure a balanced schedule --- even including some planning during your 1:1s if necessary.
NUMBER 3: ENCOURAGE TIME OFF!
Whether W2 or contractors, it helps everyone if your people have real-time off! Of course, there’s only so much you can do in this area but if you are able to offer your team PTO, you should consider a flexible PTO policy that will allow your team to take off when they need it without disclosing the reason why. Even if your company culture is understanding, there are always going to be people who want privacy when it comes to their health whether it be physical or mental. For your contractors, you’ll also want to allow for privacy if they let you know of their out-of-office schedule!
I get a lot of pushback on this and some genuine concerns that I want to acknowledge. For example, let’s say your company is launching or has a yearly event that is all hands on deck. It’s up to us as CEOs to give advance notice of these things and set that expectation early! Especially if you’re onboarding a new hire or planning a particular launch - put it on your checklist to confirm your team members will be available. And if it’s that critical that no one is out of office (unless there’s an emergency of course) make a note to block it as a “no-vacation” zone!
