Destigmatizing Mental Health Issues

There has been an increase in mental health issues causing organizations to increase their mental health benefits. However, if the workplace culture does not support mental health and continues to contribute to its stigma, employees won’t use the benefits and will continue to decline mentally. Here are three tips to support mental health issues:

1. Be vulnerable. Everyone has their “off” days. Share your personal experiences with mental health issues. Be honest. Letting people know that you’re having a bad day reflects humanity and encourages others to be more open.

2. Demonstrate mentally healthy behavior. Demonstrate healthy work-life boundaries. For example, tell your employees that you won’t be responding to emails after a certain time. It is one thing to emphasize the importance of taking a break, but unless the leader takes their own advice, employees won’t feel free to do the same.

3. Check on your employees, but don’t pry. Be proactive about checking in on your employees, but also be careful to not jump to conclusions. If someone seems off, it could be a sign of depression or they could just be tired. Instead of assuming something is wrong, name what you are noticing and ask open-ended questions like, “You seem down. Is it anything that we can talk about?” Don’t pressure someone into disclosing information they don’t want to, but do open the door so that they can talk and you can suggest options.


  • Dear Dr. Mimi – Frustrated

    Dear Dr. Mimi, I trained a new employee about a month ago, but they still don’t seem to be getting it. They mess up almost every task I give them. What can I do to fix this? Should I just fire them? —Frustrated Dear Frustrated, It can be tricky working with new employees. If you…


  • Dear Dr. Mimi – Overwhelmed

    Dear Dr. Mimi, My spouse and I now both work full-time jobs and have a three-year-old. I had been home full-time while my spouse worked. Our son is in day care and seems to love it, but I am unsure how to balance having a family, being an employee, and doing well in both jobs.…


  • Monitoring Productivity

    It may be daunting to look at your schedule for the coming months. Here are a few tips to help you stay on task and monitor your productivity: Clarify the vision. What do you hope to achieve? How will you accomplish this? Get specific! Define the milestones you aim to reach. Sit down and devote…