Change your perspective to boost employee wellbeing
Mental Fitness is what’s needed for future fit teams it's not enough to just have good mental health.
Have you ever learnt a new sport like learning how to ski?
Eleven years ago my family and I decided to take up this sport and learn how to ski, my youngest son was just 8 years old and his brother was 14 we went with friends to Bulgaria on a package holiday which included ski lessons. We were all very excited to be going on this new adventure, having watched the skiers on the winter Olympics it all looked amazing. Reality was very different.
The slow side stepping up the nursery slopes and snow ploughing down left us aching, frustrated and bruised from the number of times we feel down, on the second day we were all about in tears with my youngest son in actual tears. What had we done? This was supposed to be a fun holiday, what a huge mistake! We could have given up and spent the rest of the holiday having fun on sledges and snowball fights but we persevered for one more day and something amazing happened, one by one it just seemed to click for each of us and suddenly we were having some fun with a sense of accomplishment.
I believe many organisations are just learning how to ski when it comes to mental health in the workplace, with many of them stuck at just being able to snow plough rather than ski properly and because they are just about covering their safety requirements they stay here. I have found that the organisations that view their employees minds as a critical asset that they need to not only look after but help to flourish don’t look at employee mental health but mental fitness. Supporting their employees to grow and practice their mental agility to reach peak performance. This article looks at the difference between mental ill health and mental fitness.
There are 5 states to mental health, from mental disorders to mental fitness let’s explore what each state is and the impact on individuals, workplaces and the statistics;
Mental disorder - a diagnosed mental condition that affects their everyday activities. When someone is at this state they are suffering, their focus is on survival and can find it difficult to see a way out. The statistics for Australia and the world are concerning with 20% of Australians suffering Mental Ill health per year, with suicide rates at high levels with 65,000 attempts every year and 3,000 dying from suicide (Australian Bureau of Statistics). With the right support it is possible to move out of this state but while here the focus is on survival. It’s like when we are strapped to a stretcher being airlifted off the ski-slope to hospital our focus isn’t on anything but staying alive. It’s important to note that someone diagnosed with a mental disorder and is supported by medical professionals they do not stay here they can reach the top level of mental fitness the same as everyone else.
Mental Ill-health - episodes of illness or strain on our mental capacity often due to depression, stress and anxiety. The focus is on recovery and taking each day at a time with future planning being very difficult to achieve. If these episodes are prolonged they can become a mental disorder however if treated recovery is possible, in fact 80% recover from mental ill health if they seek professional support (National institute of Mental Health). With many of us experiencing some symptoms of ill health in our lifetime, in fact 45% of Australians, the impact for individuals and organisations are significant with 21% of Australians saying they have taken time off work due to mental stress, this rises to 46% when they also report their workplaces to be mentally unhealthy. Mental Ill health is the leading cause for work absence and long term work incapacity in the developed world with anxiety and depression the most common causes. (Actuaries Institute 2017 Green Paper). The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) most organisations use to demonstrate their support for a mentally healthy workplace is like the ambulance waiting at the bottom of a ski slope to take you to hospital, it’s near impossible to access if you are injured and only offers you help once you are in need rather than keep you fit and healthy. I’m always reminded of an English saying ‘it’s like a chocolate fireguard’ EAP’s are pretty useless from keeping you from getting burnt!
Mental Health - cope with everyday stresses where we experience satisfaction and have sufficient energy levels but we still hope that tomorrow will be better, because today we are not still not at our best. Our energy levels are often adequate but we struggle to have the energy to do all that we want to, leaving us with that feeling of just getting by. As work pays the bills we can have a tendency to prioritise it leaving us with little energy to spend quality time with family and friends or to exercise. The workplace plays an important role in our mental health both positively and negatively. The research tells us that 80% of people don’t feel they can be their best at work (Gallup poll), with 44% of professionals like Human Resource Managers reporting that work has a negative impact on their Mental Health and only 26% saying it was positive (The CIPD). 91% of us feel that Mental health is important but only 52% say that their workplaces supported it (The state of workplace Mental Health in Australia ). Continuing on with the skiing metaphor having mental health is like when you have mastered how to ski but only using the snow plough to stop. You have some comfort you can stop if needed but daren’t go too fast incase you get out of control, occasionally you have the thrill of pleasure but it is fleeting and you are often exhausted after a day of skiing.
Mental Wellbeing - happy and content at home and work, life is good and we have good consistent energy levels allowing us to spend quality time on the important aspects of our lives including family, friends and work. We have often found a role in life that links to our purpose and we feel we are contributing to our community and society in a positive way. The role we have in our community is often linked to our work but it’s important to remember that it doesn’t always have to be found there, there are many roles in society that are essential none more so than being a parent in my opinion in addition the great contributions made through volunteering can give you meaning in life if it’s missing in your work. But consider how great it would be if you were able to combine both and be paid for the work you do that gives you a strong purpose and mental wellbeing. The positive impact isn’t just for the individual organisations benefit too in fact in organisations where they invest in employee wellbeing and have happy and engaged workers experience on average; a 41% reduction in absenteeism, 70% drop in safety incidences, 10% improvement in customer ratings, 24-59% lower turnover rates and 10% higher than average shareholder return (AHRI The wellbeing lab 2018 ) plus 2.3 ROI for every dollar they spend on workplace Mental Health initiatives. So having a workforce that experience Mental Wellbeing is a win win experience, we can enjoy the view from the top of the mountain and the thrill as we ski down it too!
Mental Fitness - anything is possible if only we can imagine it, we are fulfilled, our energy levels are bountiful allowing us to flourish and follow our purpose with vigour. We are often engaged in work that allows us to fulfil our purpose allowing us to spend our leisure time with friends, family and projects that keep us fit and healthy both physically and mentally. Life doesn’t get any better than this. Of course if you have a workforce full of people who are in this state of mental fitness the impact of the organisation is amazing, people who understand their impact work 57% harder and are 87% less likely to resign and have; satisfaction and pride in their work, enjoy and believe in the work that they do, feel valued and put in extra discretionary effort. The impact on our health as we age is also significant if we can attain and maintain mental fitness are a study by ‘The proceedings of the national academy of sciences’ found we are 35% less likely to die in the next 5 years. It’s like mastering skiing and then feeling you can try something you never imagined doing like night skiing like I did last year when skiing in Japan!
Organisations I work with have moved beyond focusing on just doing the minimum required to meet their legal obligations. OHS legislation requires workplaces are safe and healthy for all workers and do not cause ill health or aggravate existing conditions both physical and mental. Organisations need to avoid discrimination with the disability discrimination legislation requiring that people with a mental illness are not harassed or discriminated against (An article by Raw HR goes into detail the full legal requirements or organisations). However this doesn’t provide individuals and the organisations they work for the full benefits of mental fitness and wellbeing.
So the more we all focus on our mental fitness, recognise the different states we all can pass through at different times of our lives the greater positive impact we can have on our own and others mental state. Seize the moment and make 2020 and the next decade the best for your organisation where your employees experience fulfilment and flourish in the your workplace - contact me today.
0423360507
Email me for links for all the studies on sarah@sarahbass.com.au
