Mental Health Week 2016
Transcript
Today, to mark mental health week, our theme is the experience of women and promoting mental health.
I think really in the workplace what distinguishes women from men on the question of mental health is the fact that women still bear a disproportionate percentage of caregiving responsibilities, which creates additional stress in the so-called work-life balance.
Women tend to put ourselves last—we will know our loved ones’ health more than our own health. Keep your appointments, keep your check-ups and check in with yourself. It’s very, very, very important.
Now, mental health is part of public debate. It is discussed in workplaces, on television and in promotional campaigns. When you think about it, ten years ago, it was nothing like that.
Managers as a group of people actually experience higher rates of depression than either employees or the very senior leaders. I think that the steps one goes through when one feels very stressed at work apply no matter where you are in the system. It’s just sometimes a little harder for you to think about yourself.
Now, it’s possible to hope for a normal and productive life. People never got that message 10 or 15 years ago. At the very least, it was much less present. But now, with the work that’s being done, people can be diagnosed and they can have hope. Not only can they hope; they must hope to lead a productive life and be included in society.
Find a mentor in your organization. That person that - wow, how do you do what you do?! And make time to make an appointment, have a chat. Listen, listen and be open to what you hear from your mentor. Those informal mentorships can be life‑saving. Be kind to yourself and be kind to each other. Everybody’s going to have bad days. Everybody’s going to have experiences of distress. And just be kind to yourself and each other.
It speaks so loud that you took time from your very busy schedule to be here and let’s continue the ELLE conversations. Thank you.