Words: Amberleigh Jackson
By the time Jessie* resigned from her job almost a decade ago, the stress of her workplace had resulted in anxiety and an inability to sleep. Even now, thinking about the company “still makes me nervous”, she says.
For many of us, the workplace can feel like a second home. The commute, after-hours emails and late-night panic over forgotten deadlines take a massive chunk of our lives.
It’s no surprise our workplace and mental wellbeing are often so intertwined.
Add the Covid-19 hangover, economic uncertainty, and general unease to the mix, and the phrase “survive ‘til 25” was feeling all too real last year.
It was a bleak slogan, though, says Humankind director of people and culture Anna Muir, and not particularly helpful.
When it comes to the workplace, your boss can’t be expected to “fix” your mental health, says Muir, but they can make sure the workplace is, “conducive to people being able to flourish”.
Jessie was prone to anxiety and depression, but rather than making her workspace safe, her manager clashed with her, excluded her from team meetings and get-togethers, and nitpicked or blamed Jessie for situations that weren’t her fault.
The final straw was when Jessie was pulled into a meeting about her attire. She says her clothes were “laughed at” and that “they had printed out photos off the internet of what would be acceptable dress in the workplace and offered to take me out shopping for new clothes”.
The head of HR and CEO later confirmed her clothes were office-appropriate, yet Jessie felt unsupported throughout the conflict. She wasn’t told about employee assistance programme services until the week before she resigned.
Jessie’s situation was relatively extreme. Still, as Nicole Griffiths and Nichola Gold, co-directors of Spice HR, point out, managing health and safety risks associated with mental health and stress is a legal obligation for employers.
Thriving on pressure
That’s not to say they need to make the office stress-free. Anyone who’s faced deadlines, high-pressure roles or worked in retail over Christmas knows sometimes it comes with the territory. Plenty of us thrive on the adrenaline.
But there are tools available to businesses, such as employee assistance programmes (which offer free counselling and tools to staff) and behaviours managers can adapt to lead from the front – for example, ensuring holidays and breaks are taken.
It is recommended to keep after-hours messages to a minimum, even if you’re not expecting a response. Griffiths and Gold praise email scheduling as a great tool. It can be challenging to feel okay about ignoring the boss if they call while you’re catching up on the latest Netflix show.
Some businesses have taken workplace wellbeing a step further in recent years, tailoring programmes to specific needs.
Pacific Media Network made headlines in 2022 for offering employees 12 menstrual leave days every year, and AIA NZ launched a menopause toolkit to raise awareness and support employees.
“AIA New Zealand believes all people in Aotearoa should feel safe to bring their whole selves to work and speak up without embarrassment or fear – and that starts with our own company and people,” says Brynlea Hunter-Morpeth, AIA New Zealand chief people and culture officer.
She explains that more than half of AIA employees identify as women and over 56 per cent are older than 40, so the company has made a conscious effort to accommodate the changing needs of women in this life stage. This includes flexibility in hours to accommodate insomnia or sleep disturbances, desk or USB fans, employee assistance programme and counselling support, adjustments to temperature control, access to quiet space at work and menopause support networks.
Gender at Work Community also sells a menopause toolkit to Kiwi businesses keen to commit to being menopause inclusive. In 2022, Kiwibank introduced employee wellbeing days – a personal leave day available four times a year.
Loneliness at work
One major contributor to declining mental wellbeing is workplace loneliness, says Muir. Recent hybrid working trends have exacerbated the issue, but it can also be felt if connections aren’t made in the office setting.
For Jessie, that loneliness started with being excluded from team meetings and got worse when she confided in colleagues, only to be told she shouldn’t have “friends” in the office.
“I got told off for telling my friends what had happened … and [my boss] was like, ‘No, we don’t have friends. We have colleagues.’”
Strong workplace connections are vital to mental wellbeing, says Fiona McCracken, counsellor and Instep service manager of Skills Group, which provides EAP services to businesses.
The World Health Organisation compares the effect of social isolation and loneliness on mortality to smoking and obesity, so it’s essential to foster relationships but also be aware of signs people are struggling.
“They could be people becoming more short with their colleagues at work. They could become isolated, like they might pull away and not talk about their work so much,” says McCracken.
Building those connections can be as simple as showing an interest in your staff and making sure employees feel a sense of purpose, says Muir, so they “actually feel that sense of accomplishment, and that they’re part of something bigger”.
Is it all a pipedream?
Creating a culture of mental wellbeing in the workplace may seem like a pipedream if you’re a small business without HR teams, EAP programmes or the budget for special leave, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do, says McCracken.
She recommends looking to the community for what’s available and engaging with local organisations for help or advice. Some EAP partners and HR companies also have packages tailored to smaller businesses, so it’s worth trying a few to see what’s offered.
Other small or industry-specific options are available, depending on your needs, say Griffiths and Gold, who cite the charity Mates in Construction as a huge resource for anyone running a building site.
In 2018, a BRANZ mental health in the construction industry study found that construction had the highest suicide rates of any industry in New Zealand. Now, the Auckland-based not-for-profit aims to reduce that grim statistic, offering mental health and suicide prevention programmes across construction workplaces.
Xero has also implemented free access to its XAP programme to users, which allows any Xero customers, their staff and families, free access to two counselling sessions.
Having mental health first-aiders in the organisation can also be huge, say Griffiths and Gold, and encouraging someone on your team to complete the Hone Hato St John mental health first-aid course could benefit the company.
St John mental health and wellbeing lead Jordan Shearer says the course “provides practical strategies so people can feel more confident in helping others deal with everyday difficulties right through to crises, and how to eventually guide those people towards professional help”.
“When we put the time and energy into mental health and wellness, there are huge returns. It creates increased performance and productivity and builds better relationships within the workplace,” she says.
Bringing it up with the boss
If you’re still overwhelmed or even approaching burnout at work, raising it with the boss can be intimidating. Griffiths and Gold say that already having open lines of communication is a huge help.
Even so, McCracken suggests taking advantage of EAP services to assess your situation and suggest possible solutions (which may be as simple as not taking enough breaks or needing a holiday) before setting aside time to talk to your manager.
Whether you’ve got the best (or the worst) manager, none of us are immune to feeling a bit overwhelmed. And while your workplace has its share of responsibilities, that doesn’t absolve you of the need to take steps where you can, too.
McCracken recommends keeping what she calls a “wellbeing inventory”.
Take note of your stress levels and day-to-day habits. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating well? How much alcohol are you drinking? What’s your exercise routine?
“As an individual, you can kind of go, ‘I’m drinking a bit more lately,’” she says, and reducing your intake may be enough.
‘Life is too short’
But if forgoing the post-work drink isn’t enough, taking advantage of your work’s EAP programme can help with coping tools and next steps.
You’re also absolutely entitled to use sick leave for mental health and stress reasons, say Griffiths and Gold, and – if you’re not comfortable – you don’t have to explain your sickness; just be genuine with it. (It may help your state of mind to spend the day at the races, but if your boss isn’t aware of what’s going on, it could cause more stress than it’s worth.)
If things are bad, says Muir, there’s nothing wrong with assessing your situation and deciding it’s time to
move on.
Leaving a role can be scary and often difficult when finances are involved, but finding a role that brings you joy can make a huge difference.
Or, as she succinctly says, “Life’s too short.”
Jessie’s decision to leave led to starting a small company, where she “worked my hours, wore what I wanted… I was completely free.”
She’s since started a new role with a “team around me that has supported me completely for the last five years”.
It’s not without stress, but “with the stress comes all the good shit as well”.
*Name has been changed
