Mental health affects our ability to be at our personal best
By Mimi Lee, Founder, Meiava
World Mental Health Day 2023 which happened this week on 10 October is a global campaign by the World Health Organization to remind us how good mental health is vital to our overall health and well-being.
One in eight people globally are living with mental health conditions that can impact their physical health, their well-being, how they connect with others, and their livelihoods.
Each of us may experience higher levels of anxiety and stress at different periods of our lives that take us off balance. It may cause symptoms such as lack of focus, extreme mood changes of highs and lows, withdrawal from friends and activities, significant tiredness, low energy, and problems sleeping.
In the workplace, mental health is becoming less of a taboo topic. Mental health impacts productivity. Globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity.
Poor working environments pose a risk to mental health. Factors that contribute to mental health issues include:
Excessive workloads or work pace;
Limited support from colleagues or authoritarian supervision;
Microaggressions at work;
Low job control;
Job insecurity;
Discrimination, inequality, and exclusion;
Organizational culture that enables negative behaviors;
Harassment or bullying; and
Conflicting home/work demands.
Do you recognize some of these?
As resilient as I am, unfortunately, I have personally experienced a number of these. It took a heavy toll on my mental health and physical wellbeing with a long recovery time. I am not alone. I have supported others whose mental health and wellbeing have been negatively impacted by microaggressions and bullying at work and faced leadership inaction which perpetuates an unhealthy work culture. And it’s not just women who are suffering, but also men who face mental health challenges from stressful and poor workplaces.
We spend so much time in our day at work. Employers have a critical role to provide safe work environments where people can thrive and feel supported. An important step is removing the stigma for people to come forward to their senior leaders or talent / HR to disclose that there is something impacting them or a colleague’s mental and overall well-being. They need empathy and support which may include adjustments in their work, and access to resources. Also, to not fear reprisal in speaking up or bias in their performance reviews.
Mental health and wellbeing affect our ability to be at our personal best. To deal with the high anxiety, what has worked for me are two things:
Change the pace: I slow down and step back (sometimes retreat or take a hiatus from things) as much as I can to regain perspective and heal from the situation. While this may not be easily done with all the work life demands, taking measured steps can help you to rise again.
Get outside and move: I go outside to run or walk to relax and relieve the physical build up of stress that can be crippling. When you have depression or anxiety, exercise often seems like the last thing you want to do. But once you get motivated, exercise can make a big difference according to Mayo Clinic.
What we are building at Meiava is more than just a HR technology, but a community unlocked by technology to support women to be at their personal best. The idea behind Meiava Elevate is to start with making it easier to connect with a diversity of people for advice, including peers and role-models, and provide access to resources around career and life topics. The plan is to add curated wellbeing content and resources for women. We are just getting started and it is a long road ahead to realize this vision.