Tools for Managers to Help Employees with Their Mental Health Challenges

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2023

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s a reality that more employees are discussing their mental health in the workplace. And proactive leaders can serve their teams better by listening and responding. At the same time, managers can’t play the role of a therapist or the HR department. Counseling psychologist Kiran Bhatti and University of Cambridge leadership professor Thomas Roulet argue that following the basic practice of cognitive behavioral therapy can serve managers well. The researchers explain the mental-health first-aid tool, how managers can help employees address emotional distress and negative behavioral patterns, and how that can strengthen the work culture and ultimately the business. Bhatti and Roulet wrote the HBR article, “Helping an Employee in Distress.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	So you got the job. Now what? Join me, Eleni Mata, on HBR's new original podcast, New
0:08.1	Here, the Young Professionals Guide to Work, and how to make it work for you. Listen for
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0:30.0	Welcome to the HBR Idea Cast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Kurt Nickish.
0:43.1	One of the most market changes in the workplace in recent years is the increased willingness
0:54.1	to talk about mental health. That's partly due to the pandemic and how hybrid work has
1:00.3	changed the relationship between work and home. There's also new research out that supports
1:06.1	it. And also a generational shift. More workers today have gone to therapy and many have
1:11.9	different attitudes about mental health than previous generations. This leaves managers
1:17.9	with a challenge. It's their job to support employees, but you don't know what's in
1:22.5	someone's mind or what's happening in their lives. What's more, you're not a therapist.
1:27.3	You have neither the relationship with that person nor the training for it. Instead, today's
1:32.7	guests talk of something more like first aid. The manager has an initial line of defense
1:38.0	for employees dealing with mental issues like anxiety, mood, or depression. Kieran Batty
1:44.4	is a counseling psychologist based in Cambridge in England. Thomas Roulet is a professor at
1:49.5	the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School. Together, they wrote the HBR article
1:55.2	helping an employee in distress. Hi, Kieran. Hi. Hi, Thomas. Thanks for coming on the
2:00.7	show. Hello. How have you seen mental health, more front and center and something that
2:14.0	needs to be talked about and dealt with in the workplace?
2:17.2	I have been studying mental health in the workplace for the last seven or eight years. There
2:23.0	has been a massive shift with hybrid work. What we saw during the pandemic is that our mental
2:29.2	health really suffered from the difficulties to really separate work and our personal
	...

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