Mental health issues are one of the biggest challenges facing people in the workplace today. Both for employees who are struggling to cope with anxiety, depression, burn out, financial and other concerns while trying to remain focused at work. And for managers, who are trying to often achieve more with less, support their team while being transparent and fair and also getting work done, and while possibly being burnt out themselves.
In some our recent HR workshops, HR teams have shared they are trying to find solutions and ways to support both managers and employees with these challenges. And one of the challenges HR teams have seen, is that it can be uncomfortable to discuss mental health.
As an employee you might not be comfortable trying to explain to your manager that you’ve woken up with a sense of dread, and anxiety and really can’t face working today. As a manager you might not be comfortable asking what’s wrong if someone says they’re sick but clearly there’s more to it.
So we have a method that you might want to try.
And fruity comes into it.
There’s a concept out there, which is about having ‘safe’ words when you’re doing something out of your comfort zone but need a quick way to say you’re scared, or uncomfortable. This might be doing some extreme sports, it might be when you’re discussing personal issues and it also gets used if you’re trying out some new sex moves!
But it can work for mental health issues too.
Here’s how it works:
As a manager, if you sit down with your team and explain that not everyone might feel comfortable discussing their mental health, so as a team, if everyone is happy to, you’re going to agree on some ‘code’ words to use when you need to raise something but you might not be in the right headspace to discuss it rationally.
- Strawberry might mean that you need day off due to anxiety or depression
- Prickly pear might mean that you need to work remotely or do some work at unusual hours this week as you’re feeling a bit up and down
- Oranges might mean you are upset, and just need to go out for a couple of hours for a walk, and get some space
Now this may seem silly, but when you’re not coping, having to try and explain these things can cause more stress. Instead an employee might text their manager and say “I really need a strawberry day today”. No other explanation needed! Or “Could I work prickly pear hours this week?”
There are a few parameters that you’ll need to discuss:
- Go over your company sick leave policy. Discuss how much sick leave people get, and what happens if they run out (e.g. can they take a day’s annual leave for a strawberry day, or if they’re run out of sick leave, will this be unpaid).
- If you’re going to allow unpaid sick leave, how many days is okay? Talk about when you might have to review this and discuss other options (e.g. if someone has had all their sick leave and 5 unpaid days in a 3 month period). And discuss those options (EAP, stepping down from their role for a period of time, working part time, or even looking at moving into a different role).
- Discuss how much information you’re sharing with the team. For example if Peter calls in for a strawberry day, what will the rest of the team be told? Just that he’s sick for the day, or will you use the code word and say Peter is having a strawberry day?
You need to make sure that you have created an inclusive culture where people feel safe to discuss these types of issues, however using fruit (or something else) as a set of ‘code’ words, could give you all a way to lessen the stress and anxiety about being stressed and anxious.
We’d love to know if anyone has tried this or a method like it, and what results they’ve got. Or share your thoughts on this below. Maybe it’s time to find some different ways to handle mental health.
Mental health is also one of the topics we’re covering at the OD (re) Design Conference in 2023.
Elephant Group 