2024 Mental Health Summit: The importance of mental-health training for people leaders

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Managers are likely to be the first to notice when a direct report is experiencing a change in their mental health and are ideally positioned to check in with them. They also often have an important role to play in supporting employees when they take a mental health-related disability leave and reintegrating them into the workplace upon their return.

They can also help reduce stigma in the workplace, including by making colleagues aware of words or phrases that can be unintentionally harmful and cause employees with mental health challenges to be less willing to come forward. “[Managers are] in a really great leadership position. You have the opportunity to influence the workplaces that you work in.”

It’s important that people leaders are able to direct employees who are struggling toward resources in their benefits plan. Bellows recommended leaders become familiar with not just the employee assistance program, but what employees can expect when they call the hotline. They can also connect employees with the employer’s human resources department or with external resources that may be appropriate, such as Canada’s new 988 suicide crisis line.

Read: Telus training managers to recognize signs of employees experiencing mental-health struggles

While there are signs to look for that might indicate someone’s mental health is suffering, it’s important to not rush to conclusions. She also stressed that people leaders shouldn’t ignore these signs out of discomfort or apprehension. Changes that indicate someone is experiencing challenges in their ability to work tend to show up in four domains, including shifts in mood, thoughts, cognition and physical appearance or interaction.

“Someone might be experiencing a change in their mood . . . but the reality is what we’re looking for is how does that impact their ability to do their work. Those effects are the things we’re going to document and going to want to talk to the person about.”

Someone who is having more difficulty communicating with people, is more willing to engage in conflict or is avoiding conflict more than usual could be experiencing mood challenges. Decreased motivation or lack of engagement can speak to a change in someone’s thought pattern, while reduced productivity, increased errors or poor decision-making could indicate cognition challenges like poor concentration or memory problems. Someone taking excessive breaks, being late more frequently and neglecting their personal appearance may be dealing with low energy and changes in their sleep.

Read: Scotiabank increasing mental-health coverage, providing leadership training 

Bellows recommended leaders establish regular, private check-ins where employees can discuss how they’re doing and what’s going on in their life and where leaders can make them aware of available resources and offer accommodations if necessary. “We want to always schedule follow-up meetings and we want to keep checking in . . . to make sure those relationships are established and they’re really secure.”

She stressed the importance of letting employees know that any conversations are confidential and that the leader came directly to them with their concerns. If an employee needs to go on disability to address their condition, she recommended checking with them beforehand about how they want to be communicated with to ensure they don’t feel isolated from the workplace.

Read more coverage of the 2024 Mental Health Summit.