Speaker: Leigh McKay
Why is having Mental Health conversations at work important?
Leigh McKay: Having mental health conversations at work is so important for so many reasons, there is still a stigma attached to this topic. So as long as we remain silent and we don't have these conversations that's going to feed that stigma also. For many people, the workplace is their only source of support and possible help. So being able to have these conversations create an environment where you can have these discussions so helpful to so many people.
For managers, what are the biggest inhibitors to starting these conversations?
Leigh McKay: We've shared the mapping mental health for managers training extensively now across the world. And there are some common inhibitors that are fed back to us from managers as to you know what stops you from having this conversation around mental health in the workplace. One of many is now start this conversation and I get this information. What do I do with that information or what happens if I ask a question and I open a can of worms, then what also for many managers, people come to you because they want solutions and they want you to fix things. And that can be quite overwhelming in the context of mental health. That's so not your role. We leave that to the professionals, but you are really well positioned to initiate a conversation and do that with confidence and then sign post a person to appropriate help and support and that can make a massive difference to an individual.
As a manager how can you make a difference?
Leigh McKay: As a manager, there is so much that you can do to make a very big difference. And that is about knowing your people. So being able to recognize and watch out for signs, it's about being able to create opportunities to have this discussion, but also having these discussions with confidence. So within our training, we share with you four steps, so four step framework and this will help to give you that confidence and that knowledge in order to have these conversations.
