Golding - Mental Wealth: An Essential Guide to Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental WEALTH

A MANAGERS GUIDE TO

Workplace Mental Health
and Wellbeing

E MI G OLDING
and P ETER D IAZ

NEW YORK

LONDONNASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

Mental WEALTH

A MANAGERS GUIDE TO

Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing

2020 E MI G OLDING and P ETER D IAZ

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Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James is a trademark of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission.

All inquiries should be made to the author.

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

ISBN 978-1-64279-366-6 paperback

ISBN 978-1-64279-367-3 eBook

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018913758

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Before you read further, there are some things you need to know.

1. This is a business book dealing with the sensitive topic of mental health at work. However, unlike other books you might read on the subject, it pulls no punches, because the most effective way to remove a Band-Aid is speedily and decisively.

   In a world where we are seeing increasing rates of mental health problems, increasing workplace stress, and increasing rates of suicide, this is vital. We need to make some changes and we need to make them yesterday.

2. At times, we use strong language to get across both the meaning and feeling of what we are trying to say. We hope you can forgive our language and understand that, working in the world of mental health, it is pretty common to come across some colourful turns of phrase. When people feel frustrated and trapped, its pretty normal for them to use strong language in an attempt to express the extent of their emotions. Its not personal.
3. This is neither a medical book nor a scientific treatise. Nor does it purport to be either. We will refer to so-and-so study here and there, and there are countless academic articles to back up what we will tell you. But this is not an academic thesis. We dont want to write one and we believe very few of you actually want to read one. If you are interested in exploring the science behind the concepts in this book, we will point you in the right direction, and we enthusiastically encourage you to do your own research.
4. This is not a book about therapy. And its not a book to be used in a therapeutic setting. If you are suffering from a mental health problem, there are many other books that will be far more useful for you. We encourage you to pick up one of those instead. Having said that, as a manager or leader who wants to improve the mental health and wellbeing of your workforce, you might just find that some of the concepts within are also useful personally. In fact, thats what many people who attend our courses tell us all the time.
5. This book has been written specifically for managers. If you are a manager, or aspire to be one in the near future, then congratulations! What you are about to read will revolutionise the way you lead. If you arent a manager leave a copy somewhere for one to discover.

What we want for this book, and what we aspire to in our education programs, is to give managers the tools, skills and understanding to confidently and compassionately handle a range of mental health situations in the workplace. In the process, we help them become better communicators, with a more sophisticated understanding of workplace dynamics. By doing so, we hope to clear their path towards the success, enjoyment and fulfilment that comes with leading a high performance team.

Lets get started.

Yours in mental health,

Peter Diaz & Emi Golding

Directors

Workplace Mental Health Institute

by Steve Anderson

Workplace mental health issues have been swept under the proverbial rug for too long.

As a business owner or manager, one of your responsibilities is to take care of your employees so they can take care of your customers. There is a lot of talk today about employee engagement and finding and retaining good employees in a challenging hiring environment. How your organization responds to mental health issues in your workplace affects your employees more than you know.

I have spent 40 years in the risk management and insurance business. I have seen firsthand the consequences of employee mental health problems: higher worker injury rates, decreased productivity, an increase in employment-related lawsuits, and in extreme cases, employee violence. Organizations of all types and sizes face real financial costs when they ignore this issue.

Of course, there are risks when you take action. When you do anything, theres a certain amount of risk involved. But Ive also learned that if you dont act (hoping if you ignore the problem it will eventually go away), the risks that supervisors, managers, and the organization face could be even higher.

As a business or organization, are you at risk for a harassment or bullying claim being brought by the employee? Mental Wealth will help you understand how to manage that risk effectively.

Are you afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing? The Mental Wealth book will help you understand how to take the best approach for both your employee and your business.

Are you accountable for what you do (or dont do) regarding the mental health of your organization? Mental Wealth will help you look at both the physical as well as the fiscal responsibilities of creating a healthy organization and healthy, productive workers. It seems obvious, but prevention is more cost-effective than managing a crisis because when unaddressed, reaction to a problem after its happened is the most expensive way for businesses to manage mental health.

Not taking proactive steps to address mental health issues that are in your workplace right now (and we all have them) could actually be the riskiest decision you make.