Normalising Language

Because of the stigma that is still attached to mental health, it can sometimes be difficult to openly discuss how we are feeling and coping with those that we work with. However, the absence of these discussions can reinforce the idea that mental health should not be raised, making individuals less likely to seek assistance when they are struggling or feeling overwhelmed at work.

Comparatively, fostering a culture that normalises openly discussing mental health directly benefits organisational wellness. When we normalise these conversations, we begin to break down the idea that wellness is not something we should acknowledge publicly. This will gradually empower individuals to feel comfortable checking in with their colleagues and leaders, and talking through how they are coping and feeling.

Normalising talking about mental health and wellness is one of the keys to making our wellness strategies less reactive and focussed on proactive prevention, as people are more likely to feel comfortable speaking up and asking for assistance before a mental health issue or incident occurs.

Another key factor is for leaders to be talking about the causes of workplace mental health (the work-related factors) and the way these can be addressed at the organisation / system-level in order to reduce the impact on individuals.

Our language around the causes of workplace mental health must be clear at all levels of the organisation and normalised in the workplace too. This in turn, helps distinguish to some degree what may be considered to be work-related mental health issues and what may be an external / outside of work cause.

“In Australia, talking about mental health at work is seen as difficult and so developing common language around the subject is important... What we know about Australian workplaces is in the past they don't like talking about mental health. The attitude is: ‘everything will be okay mate’ ”

~ Kristine Billings (CEO of Health@Work) (2)

“WorkWell has moved focus beyond awareness to prevention and early intervention.  That means that we want people to be able to feel safe to speak up early about feeling stressed or uncertain before it creates a mental health issue.  Part of this is about normalising the language around this. 

When we began the pilot program, words that were used to describe people manifesting significant stress or burnout included: “meltdown”, “crash”, “self-combust”, “losing it”, “blow up”.

Over the course of six months this language moved to terms like, “struggling”, “he’s got a lot on his plate”, “needing support” which was a significant shift from lag to lead indicator or from reactive to active language.”

~ Janet McCulloch - Lysander

What more do you need to know?

According to psychologist and safety management expert Professor Patrick Hudson, a key feature of generative organisational cultures is that they welcome bad news and understand its importance.

This is because these organisations recognise how useful this information can be in preventing future incidents or safety hazards, such as stress or a mental health injury.

When we seek to normalise talking about mental health in the workplace, we are aiming to become comfortable talking about the potential for psychosocial safety hazards and injuries, so that we prevent them from happening in the first place.

A great way to approach these conversations in an easy and non-threatening forum is by discussing hypothetical situations and using this to guide discussions. This will enable you to discuss and explore what could happen if a particular situation arose and how you would manage it while preserving psychological safety.

For example, you could discuss what would happen if you experienced a sudden increase in business and work load. Although this may be positive for your business, it could be useful to explore what consequences could arise for your staff and how this might impact their stress levels and mental health.