The Mental Health at Work Index
Employed adults spend more of their waking hours engaged in work than in any other single activity. In the best of circumstances, work is not only a source of income, but also purpose. As Sigmund Freud said, “love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.” The problem is that
Women, Work, and Mental Health
The need to make work work for women is not a new issue. What does a recent study from McKinsey and LeanIn.Org suggest about US workplace efforts to evolve the way we work so that work supports women’s mental health? 1. Women are Exiting the Workforce in Droves. The 2022
WHO Releases New Guidelines on Mental Health at Work
About a decade ago, a large multinational corporation invited me to speak to their employees around the world about mental health. The catch: I could not use the words “mental health” or “mental illness.” At the time, these terms were too stigmatizing, too provocative, and too triggering in the world
Mental Health at Work
In recent years, and accelerated by the pandemic, employers are recognizing that mental health matters at work. Of course it does. We don’t leave our mental health at the door when we enter the office regardless of whether we are physically going to our workplace or signing in to work
Vacay!
It is that time of year! As this Five on Friday arrives in your inbox, I will be starting vacation. For many of us, myself included, this summer tradition looks very different from years gone by. For better or for worse, the pandemic has catapulted us into a new way
Mental Health and Work
When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and marched his troops south to establish the new Roman Empire, there was no going back. I dare say we have crossed our own Rubicon with the campaign to address mental health at work. Reaching the c-suite of companies around the globe, corporate leaders
The Confess Project
Hair. It’s a major strand in the braid of our pandemic stories. Women have gone gray. Men have gone from crew cut to ponytail. People are cutting and coloring their own hair (at their own peril). Some have feverishly tracked daily public health notices, jumping at the first available appointment
Who Heals?
When we are patients in the hospital, we know that doctors and nurses will be poking and prodding and taking our vitals with every intention of employing their professional training to restore our health. But what can someone who is not a healthcare provider do to help us feel better
Vacation Anyone?
I tried earlier this summer to take vacation. I started with two weeks. Before the first day of the scheduled time off, I had already made a few exceptions to the plan and agreed to join several work calls for some time-sensitive projects. Without other plans in place, I checked
An Apology Please
Our public leaders are also our teachers. This week, Representative Ted Yoho delivered a paradoxical lesson on apologies. It reminded me of the “opposite game” I played with my kids when they were little. We picked a topic and said the opposite of what we thought and felt to be
Happy Interdependence Day
Tomorrow is Independence Day in the United States. Signed in 1776, the Declaration of Independence put forward a bold vision on a profoundly flawed foundation that included only white male property owners. This vision and exclusion set the future for what would become the United States of America. In 2020,
Men, Mental Health, and Tech Meet Ups
With this Sunday being Father’s Day and June being Men’s Mental Health Month, I have been thinking about men and mental health. Often, the discussion about men and mental health focuses on how bad things are – high rates of mental health problems, particularly substance use disorders and suicide – and low
