By Rachel Feintzeig
Are you OK? Your co-worker wants to know.
Companies are training employees to recognize when colleagues
might be having mental-health struggles and to serve as a listening
ear if needed. Some companies, such as Alphabet Inc.'s Google, are
turning to the Mental Health First Aid program, a sort of CPR
protocol for emotions. Others, like American Express Co. and
consulting and accounting firm Deloitte, are devising their own
online courses and campaigns.
The goal: break through stigma, catch issues like depressive
episodes early and keep workers happy and productive. Still, even
executives acknowledge that not everyone wants their colleagues --
and potentially their human-resources department -- involved in
their mental health.
Tending to employees' emotions has taken on extra urgency as the
novel coronavirus spreads across the U.S., sowing fear and anxiety
in its wake. Job security, pay, health and caregiving have been
upended, and companies face a fresh challenge: rallying and keeping
tabs on overwhelmed employees, often isolated at home.
"The mental toll of it is adding up," says Jaime-Alexis Fowler,
the founder and executive director of Empower Work, a San
Francisco-based confidential hotline for difficult job
situations.
More workers have been reaching out for help in recent weeks,
she says. Some talk of suffering from anxiety intense enough to
make them nauseous. They fear getting sick at work, if their job is
something they can't do from home, or if the boss won't let them
log on remotely. Some fear exposing immunocompromised family
members. Those who had been trying to get new jobs worry about the
hiring landscape.
"A lot of times, employees just want to feel heard," Ms. Fowler
says. "There's a huge opportunity for employers to be human and
thoughtful and supportive."
Graphika, a social-media-analysis firm based in New York,
recently introduced something called "Worry O'Clock," a
twice-weekly video call where folks can log in and collectively
"wring our hands," says Sarah Braver, vice president of people. The
idea is to share issues in a supportive space designated for airing
anxiety without fear of "killing the vibe" of other meetings, she
says.
Companies have been paying more attention to how employees feel
for a while. Younger workers, many of whom attended colleges with
beefed-up counseling services, are already comfortable talking
about things like therapy and workplace accommodations, and expect
their employers' support. An always-on culture has left some
employees prone to burnout, while a hot job market led many
employers to show they cared.
The number of companies offering Mental Health First Aid
training for their employees is already at 80 this year, compared
with 58 for all of last year, according to the nonprofit National
Council for Behavioral Health, which administers the program. The
training explains signs and symptoms of such conditions as anxiety
disorders and depression, noting examples like a punctual colleague
who suddenly starts missing deadlines, or a meticulous worker whose
reports are now littered with errors.
Trainees are taught to express their concern and to try to find
out if the person has contemplated suicide. If the issue seems
serious, they are advised to alert managers, human resources or
designated peer-support contacts, says Tramaine EL-Amin, who helps
create and conduct the training sessions, which last four or eight
hours.
The coronavirus outbreak has prompted some companies to delay
in-person training, says Betsy Schwartz, vice president of public
education at the council, but the organization is working on
shifting to online-video training. Meanwhile, nerves and stress are
creeping into workdays as employees increasingly deal with such
regular occurrences as working at home without child care, or even
just experiencing the shock of seeing empty grocery-store shelves.
Ms. Schwartz says individuals need to be extra compassionate and
learn to use their support skills over the phone or in a video
call.
"All of that is more important now than ever," says Ms.
Schwartz. "At the time when we're all really vigilant about washing
our hands constantly, we also need to be vigilant about taking care
of ourselves emotionally."
At Google, employees can take Mental Health First Aid training
or enroll in the company's "blue dot" program, where workers affix
a blue sticker to their employee badge or laptop to show they are
open to talking about mental health. They can also take a 45-minute
"compassionate listening" course that certifies them as someone
their colleagues can talk to about their problems.
"People are looking for empathy. They're looking to feel like
they are being seen and heard in the moment," says Amy Costello, an
employee who works on Google Cloud and runs the blue-dot program.
She says colleagues reach out to her several times a week to talk
about everything from conflict with their managers to issues with
friends.
At marketing agency Rapp, seven employees in the U.K. offices
serve as "mental health first aiders." The team offers an email
address for questions and concerns during this period with
everybody working from home.
"We want the mental-health first-aiders to help uncover, 'Is
this something serious?' " says Leigh Ober, global chief talent
officer at Rapp. "We don't want to brush it under the rug or ignore
it. We want to be a part of helping you work through it."
Rapp solicited volunteers for the positions and says it selected
people it deemed trustworthy, available and not prone to
gossip.
When employees first transitioned to remote work, they were
energized and mostly focused on logistical issues like whether
their Wi-Fi was strong enough. Weeks in, it is now hitting some
that this could be the new normal for a long stretch, says Ursula
Marchese, head of talent for Rapp's U.K. operations.
Single people are starting to feel isolated, parents are
overwhelmed, and many workers feel helpless and worried about older
or immunocompromised family members, Ms. Marchese says, adding that
she's concerned the Easter holiday might further exacerbate
feelings of loneliness for those who can't travel to see family and
friends.
"People are anxious. They don't know what to expect. They don't
know what they should be feeling," she says.
Some workers would rather keep their problems to themselves, or
fear overstepping when it comes to helping a colleague. At
Deloitte, where nearly 2,000 employees have taken the online or
in-person versions of a mental-health training that was first
offered last May, some worry about the ramifications of
intervening, says Jen Fisher, chief well-being officer.
The company recommends employees escalate more serious
mental-health issues to its human-resources department. People
don't want their direct bosses to know what they are struggling
with, Ms. Fisher says, adding, "There's a fear they may be judged
or it might impact their long-term career."
Employers can direct workers to keep an eye on colleagues
without running afoul of the law, but it is easy to overstep, says
Sharona Hoffman, a professor of law and bioethics at Case Western
Reserve University's School of Law. For example, if a boss tells a
worker she knows a specific person is struggling with a mental
illness and asks him to watch for signs, that could be a privacy
violation.
"Does it shift from being a support system to being a system
where everybody's talking about everybody?" Ms. Hoffman says. "If
you tell someone you're feeling a little down today, you don't know
if they are going to run to HR with that."
Another risk is that colleagues try to play doctor, says Jeffrey
P. Kahn, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell
Medical College. Mental Health First Aid leaders and corporate
executives say they are not teaching workers to diagnose
mental-health disorders. But Dr. Kahn fears the temptation for
armchair psychiatry is still there. He also doubts nonprofessionals
can effectively identify colleagues who are struggling with mental
illness.
"Significant emotional problems are often hard to notice," he
says. "People try to act professionally and hide their
problems."
Still, companies are trying to get workers to open up. At
American Express, signs around the office ask questions like, "Who
can you talk to when you suddenly, feel all the feels?" and "Is it
ok to NOT feel like the life of the party?" Thousands of workers
have taken a 30-minute online training session about recognizing
mental-health issues since the company made it available last year,
says Charles Lattarulo, the executive who oversees the company's
mental-health efforts.
Employees should be checking their colleagues' emotional
temperatures frequently to spot signs of trouble, Mr. Lattarulo
says, adding that early intervention is better for individuals and
the company because it reduces relapse rates and absenteeism.
"If you see something, say something," he says. "Tell that
person, 'You're safe here.' You support them."
Ms. Feintzeig is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New
York. She can be reached at rachel.feintzeig@wsj.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 02, 2020 08:25 ET (12:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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