Moving From Burnout to Balance: Creating a Culture that Values Mental Health
As we celebrate Disability Employment Awareness month this October, I began to wonder why a focus on mental health and a reset is only promoted during the summer. It also reminded me of the million-dollar question: “Should we ‘live to work’ or ‘work to live’”?
Globally, Americans have a stereotype of living to work with an overemphasis on ‘work’. Whereas other countries particularly in Europe, France for example, have been known to master working to live with a commitment to maintaining a rich and robust personal life centering family, friends and personal endeavors.
It’s a sentiment expressed not only culturally in the mindsets and way of life of citizens in these countries but also legislatively in their workplace laws and policies. A minimum of four 4 weeks of vacation is standard across European countries, many countries requiring in excess of this. Additionally, some countries have even instituted a “right to disconnect” policy that punishes employers with a fine for reprimanding employees for not responding outside of office hours. Policies such as these are in place in France and were adopted in Portugal, most recently in Australia and across many other European and Latin American countries.
Pop culture has even caught on to poking fun at the extreme differences in attitudes in this debate as seen in the popular Netflix series Emily in Paris, where the perky young American who tries to chop it up with her Parisian colleagues after hours or on the weekends and routinely receives cultural ‘right-sizing’ on respecting the fine line between work life and personal life.
I remember being shocked and even a little frustrated when I lived in France and saw that everything seemed to shut down during the summer months while everyone went on holiday. It would be mid-July and colleagues and clients would say, “See you in September!” I remember thinking, “How does the world shut down and things still progress?” But surprisingly it does. In fact, there is a deep appreciation for the need to pause, push the reset button, and spend time with friends and family and to restore. (And maybe drink fine wine and enjoy local fromage while doing so :-))
Contrast that to living back in the United States and recently running into a friend who told me she hadn’t taken a vacation in two years. It’s not for a lack of vacation time. She has plenty. It was in her words: “Because of so much work to do.” It’s easy enough to blame her for making that decision but was it really her making that decision or was it the cultural programming Americans seem to have in which our work lives are prioritized and valued more than our personal lives and more importantly more than our well-being and mental health?
The non-stop nature of our lives has taken a harmful toll on our youth also through the over-scheduling of sports, extra-curriculars and activities that’s affecting their overall development and mental health.
I especially noticed this after seeing my own sixteen-year-old daughter grapple with the pressures from maintaining a tough academic workload, rigorous sports training and competition schedule alongside significant extracurricular activity demands. She’s an exceptional student with high academic honors, and an amazing athlete who has competed nationally. Yet, the more she excels, the more intense her studies, training schedule and demands of the organizations she has leadership roles become. Juggling all these activities in an environment where each one is a necessity to be seen as an attractive and sought after student to prospective colleges and universities, it’s almost impossible to take a break. She (and other students like her) don’t have the luxury to be average or “good enough.”
Why should having a successful future be at the expense of prioritizing rest and restoration to avoid compromising one’s mental health and well-being? As a mother, earlier this year I chose to embrace what I learned living in France by recognizing her hard work and taking a needed week long spring break vacation in St. Maarten to take advantage of the benefits of pause. Was it worth it? Absolutely! We both returned with renewed vigor, strength, and peace of mind, all of which provided the energy and mindset needed to finish her year strong.
THE COMPETITIVE EDGE
It is said that to beat the competition you must do things that they aren’t willing to do. Often that can be interpreted as meaning you have to work harder and longer, but I’d say it means working smarter. Taking breaks, setting boundaries and practicing self-care while being aware of your own mental health and well-being is working smarter but for many it’s a difficult task. Change needs to start at the top by integrating these practices regularly and seeing leaders demonstrate these behaviors regularly.
MODELING POSITIVE BEHAVIORS
Earlier in my career, I worked for a large global company whose CEO came in the office early mornings daily but went home every night at 5 pm to have dinner with his family. His routine created a ripple effect — a positive one which many other senior executives and leaders adopted. It became evident when leaders model healthy work-life boundaries, people take notice and begin implementing the practices within their own lives.
However, modeling isn’t enough. Organizations need to also promote dialogue around mental health and self-care as well. That’s how the benefits of a revived, restored and engaged workforce can be gained.Family Fridays and mental health days are a good start, but if people aren’t disciplined enough to take them by unplugging from work while they’re at home, on vacation or not feeling well, the benefit is lost. There needs to be an intentional approach to raise this visibility and celebrate those who practice self-care by prioritizing their well-being regularly. We must to break the stigma and show the benefits of a physically and mentally healthy workforce and what it brings to creating an engaged, productive and psychologically safe workplace.
HOPE
Organizations can create a ‘new normal’ where well-being and mental health are centered as a foundational part of the employee experience and core in their organizational values and culture. With it, that ‘new normal’ will treat vacation time, holiday breaks, mental health days and self-care as a necessity and an integral part of an employee’s ability to show up authentically and contribute fully. By doing so, inclusive work environments will be cultivated that fosters belonging for everyone and supports employee’s overall well-being allowing them to thrive, in healthy, psychologically safe and productive workplaces.
