In this article, you will learn how to help prevent stress among your employees by creating a shared understanding of mental health.
Psykolog, specialiseret i pædagogisk psykologi og formidling.
Psychologist, specialized in educational psychology and communication.
As a manager, you can increase well-being and prevent stress among your employees by creating a shared language for mental health. A shared language ensures that you and your employees don't talk past each other when you talk about what it means to thrive, when you talk about feeling pressured and when you talk about stress.
A shared understanding of mental health prevents stress among your employees in two ways:
But how do you create a shared language for mental health and stress? Read on for a guide on how.
Let's start with the practicalities.
I would recommend that you set aside at least an hour - either as part of a staff day or at an extended staff meeting. If you spend less time, that's fine too. As long as employees feel they are being heard.
The purpose of the hour you set aside is to lay the groundwork for a common language on mental health. It's not about you telling them how you think you should talk about wellbeing and stress. It's about setting the framework and asking the right questions to get your employees talking as much as possible. After all, the more ownership they have over your common language, the more likely they are to use it.
So how do you get your staff to talk about a subject that can be a bit difficult to talk about?
First of all, talk about what they get out of talking about well-being. One thing is that you as an organization will have fewer sick days, but to get employees engaged in the conversation, they also need to feel that they are getting something out of it. That's why it's a good idea to emphasize that you're talking about wellbeing, so that every employee feels comfortable asking for help in times of pressure.
Then it's about curiosity and acceptance. <hl>Your employees should sense that you are curious about how they experience pressured periods at work<hl>. At the same time, it is important that you accept the different perceptions of mental health that your employees have.
Although mental health and stress are becoming more and more part of everyday conversation, and although it is something most companies have a policy about, the way we each talk about it is still very different.
One of your employees might say that he has a lot on his plate when he has many tasks at the same time. Another, in the same situation, will say she's busy. While a third will say he's stressed. <hl>We all experience peak workloads differently. At the same time, the words we use to describe those pressured periods are different<hl>.
So when you're helping to create a common language for mental health in your department, it's important to know the words your employees use to describe being under pressure.
To get to know their language, you can use the following questions, based on some of the words most often used to talk about stress.
What does it mean to be in a hurry?
Do you see being in a hurry as good or bad?
When would you say you are under pressure?
When are you stressed?
What does it mean to be stressed?
I would recommend that you let your employees discuss the questions in small groups of two or three to start with. This ensures that all your employees have a chance to say something. Then it's a good idea to gather in plenary to get all the different understandings to the surface.
When you talk about it in plenary, there will typically be disagreements among your employees about when they are 'just' busy and what they think it means to be stressed. Disagreements are not dangerous. In fact, <hl>as long as your employees feel heard, disagreements can create a more nuanced understanding<hl>. So make sure you give everyone a chance to have their say.
Once you've discussed the issues - and everyone has had a chance to chime in - it's a good idea to end the lesson by passing the ball to them. Instead of you doing your own summary of your talk, let them define what's most important to take on board in your further work on mental health. Here you can use the following three questions:
What do you take away from today?
What are the three main takeaways from today?
How do we remind each other of the things we talked about today? For example, by writing them down.
<hl>When you give your employees the opportunity to decide how you talk about mental health in the future, you give them ownership of the process<hl>. You're not the one pulling something over their heads. They define what their shared language on mental health will be. Not only will they understand each other better - they'll be better able to support each other in difficult times.
