Canadian HR Strategy

25 mental health issues as a normal part of daily life. Recently, em- ployers have been forced to take stress seriously as a result of growing feedback from employees, the impact on sick time and workers' compensation claims. Perhaps there has been an increase in stress in our daily lives, but the reality is individuals have always experienced stress — either inside or outside the workplace — that impacts perfor- mance. In the past, mental health issues were either glossed over or dealt with as a character fl aw. ese are no longer acceptable options for organizations or society at large. One of the greatest barriers to organizational performance is the stigma attached to mental health issues. But why? It's viewed as weakness: Individuals are embarrassed or try to hide behaviours related to mental illness. ey either don't know or don't believe support is available or eff ective in address- ing their problems. ey believe they should or are actually told to "suck it up" or "tough it out." It's viewed as a character fl aw: We all have diff erent per- sonalities and personal characteristics. But o en signs of men- tal health issues are swept away and ignored by phrases such as " at's just the way he is" or "She's a stress bunny." When moods go beyond a normal range of fl uctuation, it is a signal there may be an underlying illness. It's viewed as happening to someone else: Even those who can recognize mental health issues in others may not be aware of their own issues and how these issues impact others. Mental health is a continuum from normal fl uctuations in mood to various degrees of depression, panic, aggression or possibly addiction. Being aware of behavioural indicators, and degrees of escala- tion in the signal behaviours, helps to address self-denial and point to appropriate responses. It's viewed as a personal, not a performance, issue: Unlike other illnesses, managers hesitate to address how the illness im- pacts performance and what adjustments are needed to support performance. Managers are afraid of becoming involved in the personal aff airs of employees. Yet unaddressed mental health issues are more than "person- al." Unaddressed issues can degenerate into more serious forms of illness that adversely impact a person's ability to perform as- signed duties and potentially the performance of others on the team. What organizations can do to adapt ere are a number of steps organizations can take. ese in- clude: Increase awareness of mental health issues: Celebrities have begun to "come out the closet" about their own mental health issues. Olympic medallist Clara Hughes, who has shown the courage to "start a conversation" about mental health, re- minds us that "it is not only the joy that brings us together but the struggle." "Because I have shared both ends of my spectrum now, and have been on the receiving end of how people connect to this sharing, I can say in all honesty that there is no diff erence be- tween the two. Because, a er all, we are all human beings who experience highs and lows, struggle and bliss," she said. Organizations need to educate their employees that mental health issues are not an indicator of weakness or a character fl aw. Promote self-awareness in terms of a mental health con- tinuum: Teach people in the organization how to recognize symptoms of eroding mental health in their own behaviour and how to address issues before they escalate. Promote resiliency: Provide all employees with basic self- management skills to increase self-confi dence and self-control. In the model used by the Canadian Armed Forces, this includes: •goal-setting •visualization •self-talk •arousal control. Provide a framework for incidents: Provide a framework for looking at specifi c incidents in a factual, structured way. e framework should be widely known in the organization and could be used by an individual as self-refl ection, and by col- leagues or a manager as part of a performance discussion. Redefi ne what "caring" means: Provide resources and sup- port to encourage people to seek help. Create awareness that avoiding, making light of or ignoring problems is not consid- ered caring. For example, not calling a person a er noon because they habitually have a "liquid lunch" does not demonstrate caring for the overall well-being of the individual or the organization. Develop and educate colleagues and managers on how to deal with situations in a professional and caring way. Help managers manage: Teach managers how to deal with mental health issues in performance terms. Help them separate personal and performance aspects so they can be clear on performance issues, and approach resolu- tion in a supportive way that is responsive to the individual and responsible in terms of managing the organization. Keep it simple: To eliminate stigma, there must be wide- spread awareness and conversation across the organization. is means the messages and tools need to be accessible and easy to understand and remember. Organizational culture can adapt to eliminate the stigma of mental health issues and accept they are simply part of the real- ity of working with human beings. e key is to be open, clear, simple and consistent. As culture change goes, this change has a good potential of going "viral." A er all, we all have a stake in the outcome. Karen Gorsline is SCNetwork's lead commentator on strategic capability and leads HR Initiatives, a consulting practice focused on facilitation and tailored HR initiatives. Toronto-based, she has taught HR planning, held senior roles in strategy and policy, man- aged a large decentralized HR function and directed a small busi- ness. She can be reached at gorslin@pathcom.com.

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