What Does ‘Recovery’ Mean?
Often, when I deal with health professionals and people in training, I get a range of responses when they learn that people can recover from mental disorder. Some are surprised, some intrigued by the concept since they’ve
Tips
‘Work-Life Balance’ is a trap
A colleague of mine was putting together some guidelines for her company about how to minimize workplace stress, and stay mentally and emotionally well at work, and she asked me to have a look over it and provide some feedback. Looking at the list of strategies her company had
What kind of father is worse?
I grew up with a father who loved me but was incapable of saying it. I knew he loved me because he’d discipline me very harshly and tell me it was for my own good, but in 50 years he was never able to say it. Even when I said it at the end of every phone call. Now, this is not strange.
Why do so many workplaces fail at mental health?
There seems to be this idea floating about in the business world that in order to be profitable and productive, one needs to be hard and tough. Yet another contradictory idea seems to be that mental health is fluffy, soft, weak. Many people’s idea of…
A dummy in each hand and one in the mouth – values and the smart manager
This morning as I reached into my pocket I felt a weird, clunky thing. I didn’t know what it was but then it hit me, a dummy! My son’s dummy (“pacifier” for our international audience) How cute…
3 little known things that are making people’s mental health worse
The mental health in the workplace is in crisis. Yet most people, even clinicians, don’t understand the depth of the problem. Here, we briefly reveal some problems in current approaches.
Few people have problems acknowledging that, as a society, we are over medicated.
Top 3 Tips for HR Managers
Statistically, once a person has been absent due to stress of mental ill-health for more than 3 days, the likelihood of them returning to work is very slim. We know staying at work is better for their mental health. And for the business, when someone has gone home…
Not At the Top of Our Priority List
The client sounded worried on the phone. We’d just been getting to know each other for the past few weeks; discussing the very real, and worrying, mental health needs of their staff, and today’s call was about setting up some dates for training. To my surprise…
We didn’t do anything wrong, but somehow we lost
Remember Nokia? I had a couple of their mobile phones once upon a time. One of my favourite phones, in fact. It was small, sleek, silver. Easy to carry. Easy to use. And stylish. It was perfect until…smartphones came on the scene. Why do I tell you this?
3 Occasions Managers Should Not Be Trained in Mental Health
Even though there’s enough evidence now pointing to the fact that managers are key to an organization’s mental health, and that having good mental health in the workplace actually contributes to the bottom line, this doesn’t mean all managers should be trained in mental
3 simple things managers can do to improve the emotional health of their teams
In my last blog, I explained how people need to feel valued, loved and wanted. I also explained that it’s normal for people to create situations to fulfil these needs. If managers do not work in tandem with these needs people will usually manufacture drama…
What If People Do Not Want Love?
I was talking to a group of Aboriginal leaders recently and one of them, in the break, asked me, tongue in cheek, this question, ‘What if people don’t want love?’ And because my message is always centred around compassion, this is relevant. I encourage managers to use
Building a Mentally Healthy Workplace: 3rd Pillar
A lot of managers ask me ‘Peter, how can we tell if someone REALLY has got a mental illness?’ They want to know if they are being manipulated and taken advantage of. Have you ever walked away with the feeling that someone was taking advantage of you in this area? It’s possible. And today I will show you how…
Building a Mentally Healthy Workplace: 2nd Pillar
Workplace mental health is a growing concern for many managers. Many of the traditional approaches to addressing mental health at work, are simply not working, and in some cases, are even making things worse! In this video series, the 7 Pillars of a Mentally Healthy Workplace, we…
What’s The Real Impact of Toxic Workplaces?
There seems to be general consensus on this one: some workplaces are a haven to work in and many others are toxic. Having a workplace where people can thrive is good business, and helps avoid a litany of problems. But, this is not just a one sided topic. Even in mentally healthy workplaces…
5 Signs You May Have a Mentally Ill Team Member
A certain amount of stress is normal, even desirable, in the workplace. But there are some red flags that point to a mental illness. These behaviours not only affect the performance of the person, but they cause disruption and conflict in the team.
Warning – Post Holiday Downers About!
What’s happening is post-holiday-downers. No, it’s not a new diagnosis or symptom. It’s simply physics. We’ve pushed ourselves emotionally, spiritually, physically and financially onto the high of Christmas and New Year and now our bodies and psyches are returning us to our ‘normal’.
Managing Work Stress Prior to Christmas
It’s a time when managers and HR professionals notice an increase in the number of employee complaints, performance issues, absenteeism and team conflict. In the counselling and psychology professions, Christmas / New Year is also when we see a sharp increase in the number of people reaching out for help.
Unlocking The Mysteries Of Workplace Madness – Part 3
What is it that makes certain workplaces mentally healthy while others toxic? In this last part of Mary’s interview, Mary talks about: What do you think? What, in your opinion, is the key ingredient to a mentally healthy workplace?
Unlocking The Mysteries Of Workplace Madness – Part 2
Good mental health at work can be tricky. The workplace is a place where rules of behavior need to be observed. So, what room is there for madness at work? Is there any? Mary O’Hagan made the point that madness should be respected. But how?