Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP’s Post

Mental health issues will decrease when and if employers decide to (are forced to, through unionization or severe worker shortages) pay living wages, provide flexibility and benefits that matter, and not overload employees with unrealistic tasks. Some HR folks do understand this reality, and advocate for fundamental radical change in the workplace, including dismantling hierarchies and challenging the whole "leader as God" myth. HR: We reduce stress by creating humane democratic workplaces for the staff we serve.

I love this video and for the progress that has been made so far with many employers. It is especially important for HR to prioritize their own mental health so they can be in a better place to support their employees.

Bringing awareness is a great first step, providing a variety of viable solutions is a necessary next step. Not necessarily what is the easiest like a meditation app. It’s a nice to have but not the answer for all. It’s a long time coming that contributors in a company are recognized and valued. Now is the time to support them. You have no company without them. It will run smoother and more profitable when they are supported with healthy choices.

Our colleagues have expressed so much gratitude for the work put into our employee resource dedicated to mental health. We have monthly peer-to-peers to discuss a variety of mental health topics and I provide weekly messaging with tips and quotes. The connections made at all and across levels of the organization has been incredibly moving.

This is a great question, and one that I’ve seen businesses grapple with over the course of the pandemic. However, this is not a new question, but one that has been on the mind of employees far before COVID-19 came into play. The REAL question should be, “how will the mental health of your employees be strategically supported AND how will you maintain and track its effectiveness based on actual data and employee necessity?” One training on mental health is not enough. One workshop on stress reduction is not enough. Offering an EAP is not enough. One mental health awareness month celebration is not enough. Add these all together and you have a start. Only once you take the time to figure out what your employees ACTUALLY need based on data, research and employee preference (not what the company determines important) will a company foster thriving employees, thus a thriving company.

#HR and executives often are among key instigators and fuelers of employees ' mental health problems, Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP How many average employees here have joined conversation like this here? And when some do, dare they post anything other than ingratiating comments lest being black marked by hiring power on here? When #HR catering to executives in proliferating nepostism (a form of discrimination / racism in multi-ethnic working environment sold as diversity, equitable, inclusive by companies like Applied Materials and its subcontractor Sanmina), labor laws violations, #OSHA violations, scapegoating employees via communication intended to place blames on subordinates (usually the illiterate US-born or immigrant workers) and going as far as fabricating lies to put in employees' employment files to scapegoat employees, #HR and executives (Omid A. for example - read my report on Sanmina) deliberately cause employee mental health and exacerbate it. #SHRM certification does not keep its holders adhering to its ethic codes (ex. Maria Sabater, PHR, SHRM-CP).

Thank you for your leadership!

Part of the reason we have challenges with mental health and other concerns is because how society depicts those challenges. We support movies like #thejoker and believe the narrtaive and then wonder why we don’t have empathy. We say thank you for your service to our veteran population but are afraid to hire because of the war movies that depict the realities behind the "thank your for your service." We need to learn from and support organizations like American Association of People with Disabilities and Boulder Crest Foundation (Post Traumatic Growth) to get at the root of what drives this negative narrative and have the courage to uproot it. Thanks for the post Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP

Great post! Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP what are some of your favorite ideas that promote good mental health??