How Social Issues Affect Mental Health at Work
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Do you avoid talking about certain topics at work with your employees?
If you’re nodding your head, don’t worry. You’re not the only one.
Most businesses and leaders don’t like to bring up current social issues because they know these topics are extremely sensitive for people (rightfully so with the way the world has been going). They’re also afraid that voicing their opinions might make waves and cause conflicts — so they completely avoid talking about it.
But the problem with this? Avoiding current social issues doesn’t make them go away.
In today’s world, we have easy access to the media so we’re constantly getting a play-by-play update of events — even if they’re not accurate. This never-ending stream of information influences our thoughts, beliefs, emotions, actions, and how we communicate with others — even when we’re at work.
Rather than avoid talking about these difficult subjects, it’s time to acknowledge and address these social issues — and their impact — in the workplace.
WHY DO EMPLOYERS AVOID TALKING ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES?
In the current environment, many employers, companies, and leaders default to not talking about social issues at work.
Why? Because it’s easier than trying to have a constructive conversation about current events — especially when so many people are upset and aren’t even willing to try to talk things through.
Many people take the route of conversation avoidance. They believe avoiding a subject means they’ll avoid problems among employees in the workplace, such as:
Disrupting team dynamics.
Offending a person or group of people.
Creating distrust or negative feelings.
Causing a disagreement that affects productivity.
Triggering HR reports or investigations.
No one wants to end up in hot water for saying the wrong thing or face consequences that could have been avoided by staying silent. This belief isn’t helped along by the fear that anything you say could be memorialized and shared via email or social media (Cancel Culture is very fierce).
But I have news for you — this approach isn’t sustainable.
Can conversations go the wrong way? Yes.
Does that mean you shouldn’t try to have them? Nope.
Your company isn’t in a vacuum, devoid of influence from the outside world. There are no physical or virtual walls between you and the rest of the world when you’re at work.
Instead, we have access to information 24/7 so we’re seeing, experiencing, and feeling events as they happen. We’re always plugged in and get instant updates.
So it’s no surprise that we feel the impact of current social events more often and more intensely. And we bring the effects of these issues into work with us, whether we want to or not.
Conversation avoidance won’t work — and may cause other, even worse problems among employees.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU AVOID THESE CONVERSATIONS?
The conversation avoidance and lack of acknowledgment of the effects of social issues in the workplace can have an unanticipated ripple effect. The Ukraine crisis, continued global systemic racism, hate crimes, political division, women’s rights in Texas, anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida — the list goes on.
For starters, avoiding discussions about current social issues only complicates the subject further. When we’re not having open, honest conversations, we’re not able to find common ground, acknowledge how we’re all feeling, or come to an agreement between us where possible.
There’s no communication which means there’s no attempt to understand each other’s point of view. This kind of environment fosters negative feelings among employees — which could fester and boil over.
Eventually, this negativity can lead to problems in work relationships and affect people’s ability to do their jobs. Your employees might experience increased emotional distress such as:
Chronic stress
Resentment
Extreme levels of anger and fear
Loss of focus
Getting easily distracted
Avoiding people or situations that feel uncomfortable
This conversation avoidance is also a huge blocker to actual conversations about mental health.
In simplest terms, conversational avoidance (especially by leaders) equals a lack of psychological safety and trust among employees. This means your employees won’t feel safe opening up about how these social issues affect them.
Because if you’re avoiding the subject, why should they assume it’s ok to talk about it? Your silence creates an unspoken rule that it’s not ok to talk about certain subjects — and as a leader, your employees take their cues from you.
Without trust, you’re screwed. Say goodbye to your staff as they vote with their feet and go work elsewhere for companies that do have these important conversations.
So now you have people avoiding conversations about social issues and any other topic they think might be taboo, like mental health or politics.
This leads to a whole lotta things left unsaid, a ton of uncertainty, and no clear path towards resolving any of it.
HOW COMPANIES CAN ADDRESS SOCIAL ISSUES
The good news is that as a leader, you can change the dynamics in your organization. You can foster an environment that encourages people to talk about mental health or current social issues. And you can implement strategies and set the tone going forward.
Since others will look to you as a role model, start there. “Be the change you want to see,” as the saying goes.
Because no matter how old people are or where they come from, others will look to you, as a leader, for permission and guidance — even though you’re all chronologically-aged adults. Power dynamics are very real.
Take steps as an individual to show others that it’s ok for them to talk about these “taboo” topics, such as:
Self-reflect on your beliefs so you know where your comfort levels are at.
Choose to shift your perceptions around these difficult subjects.
Build trust with your employees by sharing your story.
Soothe any concerns by sharing your reasons for starting these conversations.
When you change how you approach these topics, you encourage others to converse without the fear of ridicule or judgment. You set the tone and employees will follow.
Then you can work on having more constructive conversations with your colleagues. You can start talking about social issues or mental health and try to learn from each other.
Here are some conversation tips to keep in mind:
Create space for the conversation:
Set aside a day and time to talk that works for both of you. This minimizes your distractions and allows you to focus on the conversation.
Acknowledge what the other person is going through:
Take a step back and try to see things from their point of view. Be open to their perspective. Even if you don’t fully understand what they’re going through, your willingness to understand goes a long way.
Offer support and encouragement:
You won’t have all the answers, but you can do your best to support the other person — whether it’s listening to what they say, directing them to someone who can help, or discussing changes to their workload.
Keep in mind that it will take time to build trust and change the tone in your company. Things won’t change overnight — but starting with yourself and going from there will create a domino effect of positive changes.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES
Social issues will always be hot topics of conversation — and they’re not going away in the World of Work. Trying to “keep the peace” using conversational avoidance isn’t a healthy or effective strategy.
If you’re not convinced, I encourage you to ask yourself this question: is what you’re currently doing actually helping you? Your answer will guide your next step. (Make sure you’re honest with yourself too because anything short of that is just continuing a broken and ineffective way of doing things.)
It’s time to start making space for honest and constructive conversations with each other. So your choice is simple: find growth and learning opportunities in the discomfort or stick with the status quo.
Want to learn more about the impact of current social issues on our mental health? Check out Melissa’s new book.
If you’re ready to foster conversations among your coworkers, reach out to Melissa to set up a fireside interview.
Sources:
Doman, Melissa. Yes, You Can Talk about Mental Health at Work: Here's Why ... and How to Do It Really Well. Welbeck Publishing Group, 2021.
