'A leader is someone that raises and lifts others up,' says expert
Many senior HR leaders have spent much time and effort trying to deal with employee mental health in the wake of COVID.
When it comes to figuring out how to address this growing issue, it begins with a recognition that mental health challenges need to be addressed within an organization, says one expert.
“First, we need to have an awareness that it’s real, and not chalk it up to something that is just a condition of working hard, and it’s acceptable. Leaders have to make a decision on what’s acceptable or not in their organization, so accountability on that decision first,” says John Stix, chief of staff and brand at Fibernetics in Cambridge, Ont.
Stix is one of the featured speakers at the upcoming HRD Wellbeing Summit Canada that will take place on Feb. 28, at Arcadian Court in Toronto, and he shared some thoughts about the topic of his panel discussion around burnout.
While the mental health of many around the world has been negatively affected by recent events such as war and the pandemic, a major U.S. report recently highlighted one aspect of this, and it’s important for HR leaders to become educated about the outcomes, says Stix.
“If you look at what the U.S. Surgeon General’s released, loneliness is their number one concern. Isolation and loneliness go hand-in-hand and isolation and loneliness is a big factor in burnout,” he says.
“When there’s loneliness and isolation, then all of the weight of all their personal decisions, and everything that they need to figure out can become very heavy, in certain cases and situations, which can lead to burnout.”
Another HRD Wellbeing Summit panellist recently shared insights on how to ensure success in rolling out a comprehensive wellbeing program.
Signs of employee burnout
So what should company leaders be on the lookout for to recognize employee exhaustion?
“The early signs are where we see behavioural changes that are very different from what we’ve grown used to in a teammate. That can be language has changed; actions, behaviours have changed [and] the way they interact or don’t interact with the community. If they’ve all of a sudden been pulled away from the community and not interacting with their teammates, that’s a trigger,” says Stix.
“It’s really important for leaders to be able to develop their own ways of being able to identify triggers or pull-aways, breakaways and different behaviours and language that’s being used that might indicate that someone is experiencing burnout.”
Those who are in charge at the organization have a “responsibility” to look after the wellbeing of the workforce, he says.
“I view leadership as almost that we’re blessed to be in a position of being able to caretake, shepherd — whatever word you want to use — a group of people that are moving towards a common vision and so, by nature, a leader is someone that raises and lifts others up.”
When a strong culture is already in place, this enables leaders to perceive organizational burnout more easily, according to Stix.
“For me, it boils down to the fact that if you’ve invested in your culture and you’ve ingrained values as being something more than a poster on a wall, and your values that you’ve developed actually are your language and behaviour, and your organization lives by them, then the values become the greatest indicator for changes that have occurred in an individual based on the history of their interactions.”
What can HR do for organizational wellness?
For HR, leaning into organizational wellness is the best way to face the problem, he says.
“We don’t want to walk away or turn away, we want to turn towards it and what can we learn from this: is it systemic or is it isolated? And then map out anything that seems to be systemic and then look at that as points of improvement and then develop a plan that creates a solution for as best as we can for that systemic condition.”
This way of approaching the issue was embodied by a new initiative put in place during the early days of the COVID lockdown at Fibernetics, says Stix.
“I created an online huddle: we shut the company down every three weeks, we all get together, and half of the huddle is to talk about and ensure that everyone knows what’s going on in multiple divisions. The other half is about growth mindset: self-development, faith, community. We facilitate chats for people able to share and this helps us find a community together even though we’re virtual.”
