There are proven things that leaders can do to create and enhance robust work cultures in challenging times. It is also very easy to be distracted and have practices that destroy organisational energy.

Many people confuse busyness with effectiveness, and hours worked, as a measure of productivity. Multi-tasking is standard practice. Research by David Meyer shows that switching tasks increases the amount of time it takes to finish the primary task you were working on by an average of 25 percent.

In short, juggling activities is incredibly inefficient and ultimately weakens a culture.  This juggling contributes to extraordinary levels of unhealthy stress. The recent RUOK?atWork survey showed that 40% of Australian workers” typically feel stressed out every day with 12% experiencing extreme stress.

Extreme stress leads to suboptimal performance and for some, depression and/or an anxiety disorder. A recent Medibank report reveals that 34% of all lost productivity can be attributed to the absenteeism and presenteeism (people at work but not fully productive) related to depression and anxiety disorders.

Having carefully weighed up the evidence, I believe that these 5 things are critical to having a robust and resilient work culture that thrives.

1. We trumps me

Ideas workers are motivated by purpose. Knowing how their work contributes to the greater good is essential for an energised work force. Leaders who can communicate their mission in a compelling way will increase their employee’s energy levels. No I’m not talking about “Our mission is to maximize shareholder value” but something that let’s everyone know your raison d’être. For example Ramsay Healthcare’s (RHC) “People caring for people”.  Most organisations have these statements framed on the on the wall, it quite another for leaders to consistently “walk the talk”. If it is done well it will pay dividends. In the last 10 years RHC have returned 2500% to shareholders versus 147% for the ASX.

Only 27% of highly stressed employees in the RUOK?atWork Survey agreed with “my organisational purpose energises me” compared to 66% of employees with low levels of stress.

2. Acknowledge Progress and Setbacks

In a surprising study summarized in Harvard Business Review (May 2011), researchers Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer interviewed over 12,000 employees – particularly knowledge workers and members of project teams - to discover what motivates them. Respondents said employee recognition is the least effective way to motivate them. Yet, 95% of managers surveyed said they believed employee recognition was the most important way to motivate employees.

In their research, the authors conducted an analysis of daily diaries kept by teammates on a variety of projects. Their conclusion is clear: what motivates people on a day-to-day basis is the belief they are making progress – successful steps forward to achieve a goal.

So, as a leader, what specifically can you do to motivate your team members by supporting their progress?  It is not hard to see where coaching fits in here. However the authors go on to highlight a couple of interesting areas on which to focus introducing the concepts of Catalysts and Nourishers, Inhibitors and Toxins.

It is also essential that supervisors learn to identify and develop employee’s strengths and utilized these to coach and mentor.

Mastering the art of asking “Are you OK?” is essential to stop little problems turning into big ones.

3. Encourage physical wellbeing

In the recent RUOK?atWork Survey only 42% of highly stressed employees said their employer encouraged physical wellbeing compared to 73% of low stress employees. Physical wellbeing can be encouraged by having walking or standing meetings, enrolling employees in the Global Corporate Challenge, having flexible work arrangements that allow time for exercise, gym subsidies.

Interestingly, when we asked employees what were the most effective strategies for reducing harmful stress “doing more exercise” rated second after “speaking to someone at work”. All other strategies nominated were very expensive for a business, such as “take days off” and “look for a new job”. Other elements of wellbeing include knowing and practicing how to relax.

4. Focus on outputs not inputs

Despite extensive research in Daniel Pink’s book “DRIVE: the surprising truth about what motivates us” showing that autonomy and mastery motivate employees, many employers still operate with Industrial Age thinking. For example, most legal firms operate on the billable hour method where employees are asked to account for every 6 minute interval. They are evaluated by how many hours they bill. Lawyers also have the highest levels of depression, substance abuse, and anxiety levels of any profession. This obviously has massive implications for the systems and processes that are utilized by organisations. Do they encourage or inhibit flexibility and mastery?

5. Invest your time wisely

Jennifer Aaker and Melanie Rudd from Stanford University published “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, Consider Time,” in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2011. They discuss how happiness is indeed a consequence of the choices people make. So what can people do to increase their happiness? Their answer is surprisingly simple: invest your time wisely.

Although happiness is clearly relevant for individuals, businesses should also pay attention. Building a workforce of highly qualified, hard-working, and loyal employees is an essential aspect of staying competitive in today’s global markets. Therefore, being concerned about employee happiness is not just a moral thing to do, but it makes smart business sense as well.

They conclude that the activities that generate the greatest wellbeing are spending time with people you like, work on projects that energize you (these usually allow you to use your strengths), enjoy experiences without actually doing them, focus on the here and now.

What has been your experience? I would welcome your comments/suggestions/questions.

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: anxiety at work, depression at work, graeme cowan, mental health at work, resilience, robust cultures, thriving cultures, work stress, workplace mental health

In 2000 I was the Joint Managing Director of a Management Consulting Firm. It was also the year I crashed and burned and descended into unimaginable 5 years of hell which my psychiatrist described as the worst depressive episode he had ever treated. It’s hard to imagine that over that period I tried 23 types of medication, had 20 treatments for ECT (or shock therapy), was hospitalized 3 times and made a number of suicide attempts.

I was fortunate that my organisation was quite supportive, but I was on my own to navigate EAP services, Income Protection Insurance, Rehabilitation consultants, GP’s, psychologists, psychiatrists, “independent” psychologists and psychiatrists, Superannuation Trustees, Advisors to the Trustees, 3  Trustee Adviser Administrators, private detectives, forensic accountants, and Group Insurers. When you are in the black hole of depression clarity is impossible. I’ll let you in on a secret; I was the only one who had the vaguest idea what was going on. If I showed you the goat track of a process map that outlines how all these parties work together you would just shake your head in disbelief.

But enough about me…….

The World Health Organisation says that depression is the most disabling illness in the western world today. A recent study by Medibank Private shows that depression, bipolar, and anxiety disorders account for around 35% of all workplace productivity loss. In research I did in 2007, only 9% of people with depression were comfortable discussing it with work colleagues. We have the biggest cause of lost productivity in the Australian workforce, and only 9% of those affected feel comfortable talking about it. The ultimate pink elephant in the room. What is even more astonishing is that a study done by the University of Queensland, found that for every $1 spent on a program focussing on early intervention and treatment, over $5 in incremental productivity gains were realized versus a control group. Proposals that offer a 500% ROI never come across board tables for consideration, so why is reform “in the too hard basket”?

Industry superannuation funds representing over 6 million employees have banded together to form SuperFriend, so that a cohesive plan can be established to address this madness. It’s time for HR Managers to also show some chutzpah and in the spirit of Peter Finch from the movie Network start shouting from the windows “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more”.

EAP is a dinosaur

EAP can be a valuable service to those that are struggling but at best they only address the tip of the iceberg. Conducting “Resilience” and “Worklife Balance” courses can also be helpful, but as the seminal global study conducted by VicHealth called “Workplace Stress in Victoria” revealed, only a systems approach which incorporates prevention and early intervention strategies yields the best results for both the employee and employer.

To understand what is meant by a systems approach it is worth looking briefly at the legal industry.

A study completed by the Brain and Mind Research Institute in 2008 showed that 31% of lawyers have a high to very high emotional distress level compared to the general population of 16%.  To their credit, Australia’s 5 largest law firms have jointly established a group called “Resilience in Law” to start to address these disturbing figures. They have prepared an excellent video where a brave group of employees (including a couple of partners) have discussed living with a mood disorder. They are also endeavouring to train their employees to be more resilient. Admirable initiatives, but the systems approach requires a much deeper understanding of the root causes of depression. In my view, it’s hard to envisage any significant progress in the legal profession, when the insidious “billable hour” dominates. It is a system that rewards long hours and ineffective work, dominates Performance Management and Remuneration, and creates a culture of “fudging” to meet revenue targets. It’s  not congruent with good personal wellbeing. The system is contrary to all evidence, on the requirements to engender an engaged and motivated workforce in the knowledge economy.

What we can learn from Chairman Mao?

Addressing systemic problems requires a long term perspective, and considerable will. What can we do right now? In 1965, Chairman Mao, became frustrated by the inertia from the Chinese Health Ministry in addressing rural health problems. He sent many of the Western trained doctors to work in the rice paddies and replaced them with carefully selected villagers, who were trained in the basics of epidemic prevention, hygiene, sanitation, wound care and good nutrition. At first glance, this would seem to be another of the disastrous strategies of the Cultural Revolution, but a strange thing happened. These “barefoot doctors” came from the local villages and were chosen because of their credibility and influence in the community.  The simple preventative health changes they recommended were much more readily adopted than if they had been mandated from Peking. The World Health Organization regarded the barefoot doctor program as a “successful example of solving shortages or medical services in rural areas”.

I strongly believe if a similar strategy (in the context of a systemic approach) was followed by organisations it would also yield substantial benefits. In any organisation there are people that have tremendous influence which often has no correlation to where they sit on an organisational chart.

Imagine if these barefoot doctors were trained to help identify someone who may be experiencing extreme stress, and encourage them to visit a local GP or Psychologist with rigorous mental health diagnostic skills. Imagine if they knew that recovery from depression and anxiety wasn’t just dependent on taking a pill and seeing a psychologist but also depended on getting regular exercise, the emotional support of family, friends, and work colleagues, and learning how to relax. Imagine if they knew the importance of following up to see if the person had taken action and was following the proposed treatment plan.

Register for RUOK?atWork – Thursday Sept 15, 2011

RUOK?atWork is a not for profit initiative created to build a nation of barefoot doctors in the workplace to stop little problems turning into big ones. Last year almost 700 organisations including the CBA, Rio Tinto, Optus, NSW Fire Brigade, and Queensland Police participated. They invited their employees to reach out to someone they were concerned about – whether a loved one or work colleague – and ask “Are you OK?”. User friendly materials encouraged a 3 step process, Breaking the Ice, Asking Non Judgemental Questions, and Encouraging Action. Even more importantly, the resources provided simple guidance on how to find expert help. Ninety five percent of those that participated last year said they planned to do so this year (with 5% undecided).

Register for Free at www.RUOKday.com.au to access “How to ask RUOK?”

 

Tags: depression at work, mental health at work, mental illness at work, wellbeing at work

As some of you would know, I am also the leader of a GROW group. GROW is a 12 step support group for people with mental health issues - see www.grow.net.au . I remember being in my first group five years ago and thinking that I would never recover. Sure, some people may be able to overcome their depression, but they obviously don’t know how bad my depression is.

I am always reminded of those days when a new person comes for the first time who is really struggling. We had a person last night who had been in hospital for 9 months and was really struggling to come to terms with their future. My advice in this situation is always the same:

1. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself - just try setting weekly goals. Initially these goals should be around exercise (30 minutes 6 times per week) and contact with family and friends (2-3 visits per week) You should then schedule these activities and then live your life in day tight compartments.
2. Make sure you find a competent doctor and/or psychologist and follow their advice. 
3. If you aren’t currently working, explore voluntary work
4. Review these goals at the end of each week and set ones for the following week.

I would welcome your thoughts on this approach or you may have a different approach that works for you. I look forward to your post.

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: , adversity, anxiety, depression, hopeless, mental health at work, overcoming depression, psychiatric hospital, stigma, stress

In Australia we have made considerable progress in increasing awareness of depression in society which is fantastic. I remember when I had my first really bad bout of depression 20 years ago I had no idea what depression was. I had been to university but never knew that this was a clinical condition. I felt such shame going to a psychiatric hospital that I insisted my wife tell work that I had a really bad “virus”. That whole episode was kept a close family secret for so long because of my shame.

Fast forward to today, and as highlighted previously, there has been some progress. Unfortunately, the discussion of mental illness at work is still largely taboo. When doing research for my book “Back From The Brink” I asked people if they had personally experienced depression. Sixty five percent said they had experienced strong or very strong stigma. To try and find out where that stigma occurred I asked people how comfortable they were discussing their depression with various people. 61% said they were comfortable talking with their General Practitioner, 50% with their partner, 41% with their close friends, 28% with family, and 9% yes 9% with work colleagues. So 9 out of 10 people with depression don’t feel comfortable discussing it with work colleagues.

With the World Health Organisation saying that depression is going to be the second most disabling condition facing the world by 2020 pretending that mental illness doesn’t happen at work in absolute lunacy for both individuals and the organisation.

I am in the final stages of preparing a free ebook called “Best Practice in Managing Mental Illness in the Workplace” where I have pulled together information from around the world and looked at some of the recent successes in this area. It will be launched on Wednesday when John Brogden speaks at an AIM forum about mental health in the workplace. It will also be discussed the same day at a forum for Equal Employment Opportunity professionals.

We have to start standing up and talking about these issues openly. I look forward to any comments.

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: , anxiety, depression, hospital, mental health at work, overcoming depression, psychiatric, stigma, stress