In a competitive talent climate initiated by unprecedented times, staff retention is key – though it’s important to remember that retaining team members involves psychological factors as much as it does professional considerations. In other words, how supported your employees feel is a significant contributor to their sense of belonging, safety and dedication to your organisation.
In support of ‘R U OK?’ Day on September 8, Recruitment Marketing Magazine spoke to Rachel Clements, Co-Founder and Director of Psychological Services at Centre For Corporate Health and Resilia. Her expertise lies in working with organisations and HR teams to create safety and wellbeing at work. She leads an expert team of consultants who are focussed on assessing workplace wellbeing, tailoring intervention services and strengthening employee resilience.
Rachel shared some insights into why connection is important in the workplace, and how we can foster meaningful connections as employers to be able to ask our teams “R U OK?” today and every day. Read her responses below.
Why is connection in the workplace important – and what can healthy connection look like?
We spend so much of our time at work, so it’s essential that we feel connected to our colleagues and leaders. So much of our wellbeing at work is predicted by the quality of our relationships, especially with our direct managers. People who experience a strong connection with their colleagues are generally more engaged at work and feel less stressed.
The healthiest of connections in the workplace occurs when there is a culture of psychological safety. This means that people feel they can bring their whole selves to work without feeling judged. In these types of team cultures, informal debriefing after stressful situations is common, R U OK? chats are an everyday practice and help-seeking behaviours are not stigmatised.
What are some of the signs to look out for that might signal that someone needs support?
We wear many different hats when it comes to our daily lives, whether it is as a parent, partner, friend, employee, manager or carer. With these different hats come unique compounding factors that can take a toll on our wellbeing. Adding in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected how we live our “normal” lives, it is a lot to cope with.
Often, we don’t like to admit when things aren’t going well. We tend to mask the signs that might indicate we are not travelling well, such as working longer hours, increasing our caffeine or alcohol intake or even making excuses for changes in behaviour. This makes it trickier for those around us to identify when we may be struggling to cope. With all that is happening in the world right now, the chances that someone close to you is experiencing difficulties coping, whether they are telling you or not, is high.
For those around you, it is about noticing a change in behaviour or mood. Are they not acting as they normally would? Are they usually immaculately presented but are looking a bit disheveled? Are they usually the one organising get togethers but haven’t done so in a while? Is your neighbour usually gardening in their front yard when you get home from picking the kids up at school, but lately you haven’t seen them? Noticing these changes is your warning sign that it’s time to ask ‘R U OK?’.
How can we ask someone ‘R U OK?’ in a respectful and constructive way?
There is no need to overthink how to ask “R U OK?” – there is no qualification needed to ask the question and then listen without judgement. Here are some starting points to encourage someone to open up to you about how they are feeling.
- “I’ve noticed a few changes in what you’ve been saying/doing. How are things for you at the moment?”
- “I know there have been some big life changes for you recently, how are you coping?”
- “You don’t seem yourself lately – want to talk about it?”
- “Just checking in, to see how you’re going?
- “With everything that’s going on, you’ve been on my mind lately, how are you?”
- “You’ve got a lot going on right now. How are you doing?”
If you have noticed someone isn’t travelling well, however your “R U OK?” question is met with “I’m fine”, you could try the double ask.
“R U OK?”
“I’m fine”
“You’ve got a lot on right now, how are you really going?”
If someone still says they are fine, you can tell them that you are always there if they want to chat. Remember your role is not to have all the answers, it is to listen and then work with them on some ideas for what might help get them back on track. This could be helping to connect them in with some professional support, a GP, their EAP at work or a psychologist.
What are some common barriers (personal, professional, organisational) to people asking for help?
When experiencing mental health concerns like anxiety or depression, the symptoms that follow can make it difficult for someone to reach out for help; these are things like feeling lethargic, experiencing feelings of helplessness and not wanting to burden others with their problems. This is why asking R U OK? is so important as it shows people you care and can be just the thing that sets them on the road to recovery. Professionally, suppose a workplace does not have a psychologically safe culture. In that case, people can feel deterred to reach out for support, fearing repercussions to their career or being stigmatised as unable to cope.
This is why it is so important for leaders to establish a wellbeing culture, one where wellbeing and mental health is openly and regularly discussed, where leaders show vulnerability that they too experience times when they need support. If organisations do not actively promote wellbeing support services and ‘R U OK?’ conversations are not commonplace, this inhibits help-seeking behaviours and not only impacts employees negatively but also results in absenteeism, presenteeism, an increase in sick days and an increase in psychological injury claims.
What features and attitudes do workplaces with high workplace belonging and wellbeing rates have in common?
Psychological safety is a term used to describe a belief amongst members of a group that it is safe for them to voice opinions, bring their true selves to work, ask questions and admit mistakes without fear of a negative reaction or repercussions. At work, this means that employees feel emotionally secure to share their views and ideas, take risks, and provide feedback. It is also a workplace where team members are encouraged and feel safe in seeking support and guidance with regards to their mental health and wellbeing.
In a mentally healthy workplace:
- people look out for one other and ask colleagues or team members if they’re ok
- leaders and team members understand mental health and have open and authentic conversations about it
- people know how to draw upon their resilience during challenging times and workplace actively try to manage psychosocial risks
- employees know their early warning signs and seek help early
- employees with mental health issues are supported in their recovery.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in need of support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Rachel is the Director of Psychological Services at the Centre for Corporate Health, which she founded with Tony Bradford, Managing Director, in 1999. As the principal psychologist, Rachel is a sought after conference headliner, requested to speak on all things mental health, resilience and wellbeing. Rachel’s training programs and keynotes offer a new lens through which employees and executives alike can shift their attention inward and sharpen their focus on what they can do to create psychologically safe workplaces.