Mental Health In our Workplace - So far to go but the journey forward starts with our small steps

https://www.mhanational.org/mind-workplace

One of a million emails flying around cyberspace every minute in corporate America, any of them could easily go to the spam folder or be deleted to free up inbox space. Thankfully that didn’t happen here. I am constantly amazed with all the data flying around us and in our heads that we are doing so well. But we are far from well, need a push in the right direction in small and large ways. Here is one.

FW: Incident reported in the industry

fyi – I am not sure if this reached anyone at your company, but there is a suicide that happened at the Serralles distillery in Ponce recently. This shows the importance of considering the mental health and well-being of all of our employees, helping and supporting each other, working to understand the unique struggles any of us may have. Very sad. Attached is information I shared with my team today.

That was the title and content of an email I sent to my wife, something I may not have done at any other point in my life. Something that was just a few minutes of my day, but small actions can bring about something significant and special. Hell I know I wouldn’t have done anything like this at any point in my life when I look back. Not because I’m callous and cold, don’t care, probably because I was too wrapped up in the war inside my own head.

Working in these times is not easy, for anyone; with the pandemic, the pressures all around us sans pandemic difficulties, things moving around and spinning faster and faster by the minute. Corporate America will never slow down, expectations continue higher – we won’t stop until earnings are infinite. Our mental health is stumbling through these times at best. Recently there was a sobering sign of just how tough it can be and how devastating the pressure in your head can be. A different inflationary pressure at work. Without a rupture disk in most instances.

At a distillery in Puerto Rico, a rum-producing factory, just like so many factories and manufacturing facilities of various types across the planet, where hundreds of blue-collar workers clock in and out to earn a living wage every day. At the Serralles factory, this was not a routine day, a 42-year-old employee hung himself and was found by co-workers. This tragedy occurred in Ponce, Puerto Rico on Tuesday February 8th, and is another sign of the significance of mental health issues in our society. Another sign of someone who felt alone, could not escape what was inside their head and made a fatal decision to end their suffering. As a member of the site leadership team at my company, notes of the event were sent to me along with a few others for awareness, for Puerto Rico is a small island and the manufacturing community even smaller. And surely, in our factories at my site just like many others on the 110 x 35 mile island, there are dozens if not a hundred people walking around each day carrying something debilitating inside. Mental illness is a spectrum to say the least, issues come in a wide variety of magnitude and flavors. Yet most are invisible or nearly invisible. The prevalence of mental health issues is much greater than we openly acknowledge and we commonly let the harsh reality go unnoticed, we are silent on this. In society and especially factories where the manufacturing mentality is all about being robust and strong, we always deliver and achieve, we are reliable and unwavering – a machine plain and simple. Nobody wants to flinch or expose their humanity, weakness, or their true self, sometimes out of fear, the feeling of a lack of support, or a myriad of other reasons logical, founded or not. But on the flip side of the coin we do see progress, slow progress as times are starting to change. Perhaps we will even reach the tipping point soon.

After reading of the terribly sad news at the Ponce distillery, I took a deep breath. I thought of the horror of finding something like this at my workplace, the family that is forever changed and broken, the thoughts in the victim’s mind leading up to this last action. These are things I have thought of quite a bit, but where I am now, I broke away from the dark thoughts and focused on finding a positive light in this. No matter what happens, there is learning and opportunity, no matter how far-fetched that may seem.

Instead of just shaking my head and moving on to the many tasks of the day, I stopped. I put together some stats on mental health (which I had very handy from my own research and journey) and shared that with my team, face-to-face, taking a few minutes in our staff meeting that afternoon, trying to break the stigma around mental health in my own way. Statistics on mental health are very dire, but with simple actions and conversation we can make a positive impact. You never know how big that impact can be. Small, insignificant action, immeasurable impact.

My goal was to begin talking about the tough topics we usually avoid, hoping we can recognize the support we need from each other, day in and day out. We talk about culture and being a stronger team, managing a more dynamic and agile environment, well this discussion and topic, in my opinion, is a component of the many ways we can achieve those goals. The conversation started out with looks that I have never seen in any of my staff, they looked lifeless and in shock consumed by the news of the death that occurred. But as I went through the transition from grim reality, horrific event to mental health as a general topic and empathy target we can spotlight and make a difference for everyone at our workplace, the mood shifted. Participation ensued; we had a more than real conversation. A beautiful breakthrough that was birthed from death.

I told my wife about the story that evening and she asked me to share the information with her, the images and the statistics that were shared so she could pass the information along to her team at another company on the island and use it to bring awareness to mental health. We didn’t have the typical bland dinner conversation over a bland meal that night, the dialog was spicy, spicy like the pumpkin soup she had made (which was delicious). We do this now, something we haven’t done for the first 18 years of our marriage, mainly because I was wearing a mask, countless layers of paint hiding my true self. I regret that it took so long, but I know there is so much ahead that will make up for the lost time and missed opportunities.

Our conversation landed on her being motivated to take action also. She also works at a manufacturing site and with over 2,500 employees there, from a purely statistical, robotic standpoint, surely others were feeling mental anguish and needed help. And from our hearts and observations, we know that is the reality. Many employees are also unaware of the programs and support available to aid their mental health journey, because we are fortunate to work for companies that are making a difference, beginning to understand that health, inclusion, culture and optimal working conditions include active caring and considerations for mental health. We have counseling programs, other avenues for staff to seek help and my wife’s hope was that the appropriate human resources professional at her company would advertise those resources and catch someone’s eye. Or perhaps open others up to the conversation as a first step. This was not about advertising the horror to everyone, but a call to action at her site leadership team level to drive action and focus on mental health. Sure we’re doing great, but can always do more. The right thing from every angle. So my wife went a step further, as she always does following through, which I also love dearly about her, she shared the story with her team and they in turn sent out communications to everyone in their building about mental health and assistance programs. One most critical step further, her people managers shared a simple two or three minute discussion about mental health and available programs to all of their teams in the building’s 24/7 operation.

The mega drug manufacturing factories constructed of tons of concrete, millions of feet of stainless steel piping and valves, of hundreds of employees are made up of small shift teams in different work areas that form a tight bond beyond just getting the work done. The message about mental health at a shift change meeting easily could have been displaced or delayed by the priorities of the day, other business news, training, etc. but that didn’t happen. The conversations were had, to varying degrees of effect. Yet at the top of the pile of those discussions, was a needle in the haystack as those few minutes of discussion led to one person speaking up to their colleague later during their shift on a Saturday night, a routine night of operations in the factory. This person confided in her teammate, her ally, opened up courageously and spoke of having a difficult time in her personal life, that she was very depressed and had been considering harming herself, considered ending her life. The person she confided in was supportive and consoling, then also took the next step to notify their supervisor. Help was asked for, the most courageous and difficult step, the first step and then help was given. Immediate action was taken from there, rallying together. By the next day the person dealing with significant mental health issues was getting treatment at a professional facility and their life potentially saved. They are still undergoing treatment and we don’t know what happens from here, we never do, and will never be cured or the problem solved, but we are certain that something beautiful happened that ordinary Saturday night, from just a few very small actions. From forwarding an email and asking a few questions, speaking up about the taboo topic that must become more common in our vocabulary and conscious a life may have been saved, many others changed and our sense of community and understanding elevated greatly. These small actions and change show we can reach the tipping point.

I have a lot of regrets in my life, the worst are tied to not speaking up and not taking action, but this is one of the proudest moments of my life. I could have easily done nothing with the information I was given, I could have continued the stigma of mental health and gone about my daily business, silent. I could have just shook it off and said, wow that is sad and nothing more. But I took an action, and since then we’ve seen other benefits - I’ve had the most meaningful conversations at work in my 21-year career with my team. I will never forget members of my team opening up as we talked about mental health and we have continued the conversation since, identified ways to connect across our teams on another level. We are making a conscious effort to actively care for each other, not that we didn’t care in the past, but now we are more focused and attentive, and participating in the conversations - not holding it in to let the pressure build. We are promoting the simple ways to work together that can improve our collective mental state, because not everyone is in a dire situation, and we can all benefit by making our environment, work and day just a bit easier and brighter. At the same time, we know things can change quickly if we allow drift or miss weak signals and keep things inside, the pressure can build until a gasket is blown. Simply speaking about anxiety, empathizing, taking 1-2 minutes each day to stop and take a deep breath together, find our center and balance, more consciously asking each other how we are doing, show our human side to one another, is a powerful shift. This is a topic we will give attention to every day and be attentive to one another every day. I hope more will do the same, I am very hopeful – lets find the tipping point to drive positive change.

One act, a simple act can make a world of difference for someone who is close to you, someone you know just casually, or someone you don’t know at all. Consider that and be more thoughtful, join the war against mental health. We need everyone to pitch in, even in the smallest ways.

The discussions stemming from the Serralles rum distillery suicide and subsequent mental health spotlighting further motivated my team to speak more, identify other actions we can take – one of my staff opened up about how she has had conversations with her teenage daughter who has recently closed off. That was beautiful to hear, especially considering the pain of hearing her talk in the future about a darker situation if inaction or inattention continued between she and her daughter. Her daughter has thin skin, literally, she has the condition of albinism and that must bring huge additional pressures on her daughter. Teens are nasty, mostly due to a lack of understanding of the impact words can have on one another. I also think we need to teach our children early on about mental health – why do we have wood shop class and home economics, sex education, but never have I heard of a mental well-being or mental health education class – you have to get to college to even understand that psychology is something you can study and get a book about. Another blind spot we must combat.

How many bullying events would not take place if we educated each other on mental health as part of early education? How many lives would be changed positively if we stopped focusing on making sewn bookbags or wooden trinkets in school and focused on how to maintain our minds properly? And at home, why does the dinner table conversation always revolve around the activities of the day, why not talk about how we feel about the day? Many small shifts and changes can collectively make a profound impact. Start small and local, do your part and you will be amazed just as I was.

Looking ahead - Next week is a week of wellness at my company and I am proud and fortunate to be part of such a thoughtful organization. I hope more can say the same.

Correction - I am immensely fortunate, blessed and thankful for the work that I do, the great company and colleagues I am surrounded by in my profession. Our mission to bring forward cures and treatments for illness and make medicine is a privilege and endlessly motivating responsibility. We know that all companies in our industry have the equipment, the physical tools and resources to be effective, and in many cases we have the same in the tangible elements. In my opinion, to move into higher levels of achievement and advance our mission further we must focus on the team and culture, environment that we create to yield optimal performance. That culture, the values and fabric of the company is critical for engaging thousands of workers in global organizations to have that necessary common purpose, alignment, to have a common anchor and rally point, and we talk so much about building out values and inclusion, diversity in the 21st century corporate America.

We commonly say our people and talent is our number one, most critical resource. If that is true, why don’t we do more to strengthen that precious resource, ensure proper monitoring, maintenance and consider all aspects inside and out – if our people were a critical machine in the factory, we would have 50 gauges and alarms, real-time parameter monitoring, a detailed preventive maintenance and care regimen to keep the machine working at top condition - without potential to fail or sputter. For just a minute of sub-optimal performance or worse, a breakdown and repair, is very very catastrophic when you are making life-changing and life-saving therapies. And we do everything possible to extend the lifetime of the machine as best we can, get the most out of it from a daily uptime perspective as well. Some machines are custom or one-of-a-kind and cannot be easily replaced physically, from a long lead-time or significant capital cost. With nearly all equipment being automatically controlled with complex automation recipes and computer systems, we often have to upgrade the software, off-load the data to free up bandwidth, build in shutdowns to perform maintenance. We even control the environment with specific temperature and humidity ranges, airflows, we have back-up servers, control systems and uninterrupted power to ensure operations continue seamlessly when the unexpected blip occurs. But we don’t think of our people in this way, sure we have training and ergonomic considerations taken care of, we monitor performance and provide feedback, guidance and mentoring, so we are not disregarding our people, to the contrary, but we are missing a critical part of the overall health of the woman/man machine – the control system, the computer on our shoulders that is processing millions of actions and thoughts every second.

I feel this is another great example of the mental health blind spot and stigma all around us - we don’t openly spend the time and thought this topic deserves. Simply from a capitalist mindset, which had the highest probability of driving change, think of how much lost productivity and errors result from poor mental health. Sustained success in the culture arena is strongly tied to mental health, even simple aspirations of eliminating human error, which can result in millions of dollars of bad product down the drain, that is also tied to mental health. Imagine trying to work on a computer that is overloaded with clutter and low on memory, the fan and hard drive barely functioning. Now that would be frustrating enough to drive change wouldn’t it. Why not have everyone work with typewriters again for a week to get the point across.

When we talk about building the best environment for success, having a truly connected team, being confident to bring all of yourself and identify to the workplace, knowing we all have support and allies, we are talking about all the right outputs but missing one of the most critical inputs. Collaboration and the environment we want is a direct corollary to the state of wellness in each employees mind and feeling truly part of an inclusive and supportive environment. In the healthcare industry, with highly scientific and highly capable people, it is truly ironic that we are still reluctant to discuss mental health. But I am taking my role and opportunity to change that, we must advance forward and have those difficult conversations today to have more comfortable ones tomorrow and in the future. This is a challenge and a great opportunity everywhere I look.