Show Notes
Historically, the unspoken organisational culture meant that your personal issues and any mental health challenges you are experiencing were expected to stay at home. Today, it is increasingly accepted for employees to be more open about their mental health and wellbeing needs in the workplace. However, with the increasing prevalence and severity of mental illness in the community, this presents new challenges for HR and managers to know how to navigate these conversations empathetically while maintaining a focus on the organisation’s performance.
Barry biography: In today’s episode, we want to focus on our HR audience, and so we have invited special guest host HR professional Lisa Young, who will be interviewing Clearhead’s clinical lead and clinical psychologist Barry Kirker, together they will unpack all the complexity surrounding employee mental health. Barry has 30 years’ experience working with individual clients and organisations across New Zealand and Australia. He undertakes complex mental health assessments, including fitness for work, forensic, and compensation/mental injury assessments, with a thorough understanding of both the clinical and legal aspects involved.
In this episode, we dive deep into answering the following thorny questions.
00:00 – Introduction 01:50 – Lisa introduction 03:50 – Barry introduction 05:30 – What is being covered 08:40 – Definition of mental health 10:00 – What to do when an employee self discloses their mental health challenges to you 13:55 – What to do if you don’t feel equipped to have the conversation? 14:30 – Are there things you shouldn’t say 17:45 – How to assess the safety risk of someone who discloses they have suicidal thoughts 22:00 – What if you can feel your own emotions taking over 23:00 – When to seek professional help 24:00 – How to tell if someone needs more support 25:20 – What to do when you notice someone struggling with their mental health 28:05 – Should you bring up performance issues in a mental health conversation 29:50 – What if the person lacks insight and is dismissive of your concerns 33:50 – Why it’s important to be proactive in having the mental health conversation 34:25 – When an employee blames their mental health at a performance or disciplinary meeting 39:20 – How do you know if a mental health disclosure is genuine 42:00 – What to do when an employee says a performance improvement process negatively impacted their mental health 45:00 – When should you breach the confidentiality of what an employee shared with you 47:00 – How do you deal with the subsequent loss of employee trust 49:40 – How do HR practice self-care and set boundaries on the mental load of supporting others 54:10 – Barry and Lisa’s final takeaway
Learn more about our guest host Lisa Young: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-young-exceedhr/
Helpful resources: Resource 1: Meeting Crisis with Care. How HR Can Navigate Mental Health Challenges https://www.myclearhead.com/blog/meeting-crisis-with-care-how-hr-can-navigate-mental-health-challenges/ Resource 2: Mental Heatlh Conversations: Guidance for Leaders: https://www.myclearhead.com/blog/mental-health-conversations-guidance-for-leaders/ Resource 3: Frameworks to Support Difficult Conversations at work: https://www.myclearhead.com/blog/frameworks-to-support-difficult-conversations-at-work/
Learn more about Clearhead https://www.myclearhead.com/
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