Why is mental health as important as performance?

The coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID 19) has drastically affected the business environment. The lack of interactions, the uncertainty about the future, the financial hardship, and the additional family duties can make us feel drained, pessimistic, and ineffective. Why does this matter? Our negative emotional arousal activates a downward spiral of negativity, narrowing our attention and suppressing our ability to engage in effective communication, openness to new ideas, and overall individual performance.

The time is right to claim mental health as an essential topic of concern. “Happy workers are better works,” says Prof Ed. Dinner. Employees who experience a high level of mental health and well-being are more committed, have more positive attitudes, take incremental and purposeful actions to deal with adversity, and have more confidence in their ability to control things. But can we talk about positive mental health and well-being during a pandemic? Can we boost our mental health even during challenging times? Absolutely! It’s all about how we think and what we do.

I’ll give an example. In one of our last sessions, Jenny, a senior manager in a large company, shared how anxious she felt before presenting the business results in front of the stakeholders. “I get distracted by my self-doubts. I feel that I’m not prepared for this presentation. Why did my boss ask me to rehearse my presentation with him? I think he doesn’t trust me enough. What if I lose my current position or, worst, I get fired?”. Jeny was experiencing a crisis of self-efficacy without knowing she felt paralyzed by her thoughts. After a moment of silence, I asked Jenny, “What are you worried about?”. “I’m afraid of failure,” she said. “What evidence do you have that you will fail?” I asked. Jeny made a pause, and then she started to laugh. “Yes, you are right; I don’t have any evidence. I was quite good at presenting business results in the past. I have received excellent feedback about my last presentation in front of our stakeholders”. She seemed relieved. “Who could provide valuable support for you right now?” I continued. “Well…my boss,” she said and started to laugh again. “I’ll use the <rehearsal moment> to ask him for feedback.” “Who else could help you?”. “My team, of course! I will fix a meeting with them tomorrow.” “What have you learned? ”. “I’ve learned a lot. It’s all about my thoughts. How I chose to think about the situation was the real blocker for me. I feel so energized now, thinking about tomorrow. I am grateful that I have many people to rely on to help me achieve what is important for me now”.

Nevertheless, we need to consider also the social context, another variable contributing to our mental health and well-being. The social environment can support or thwart our psychological needs, impacting our mental health. So, what can a manager do to boost employees’ mental health? We draw from the evidence-based literature some strategies that were proven efficient.

1. Set a safe space for interaction. When we convey genuine presence, we communicate and listen in a way that shows regard and appreciation of others’ worth; we build high-quality connections, which, in return, give energy and vitality to the workplace. The ability to create a safe, supportive environment that fosters trust and respect is a competence that could help leaders provide their employees with a sense of a “secure base” from which they can confidently explore and navigate challenges.

Tips: Start with being genuinely present. Convey attention by focusing your eyes on your speaker’s eyes to create intimacy. Use a relaxed posture and try to mirror the other’s body language to establish a mutual connection. Focus your full attention on your speaker by expressing interest in what he wants to say, in his feelings, thoughts, and actions. This increases people’s sense of safety, generating a neural resonance and dampening inadequate limbic responses. This safe space allows individuals to adopt less defended positions and quickly explore new ideas and opportunities.

2. Create a shared vision. Both individual and shared vision motivates people, teams, and organizations to move from the current situation to a desired one. The selected image of the future, the hope for the future, attracts positive emotions. Research has shown that positive emotions can broaden and build our resources, stimulate our creativity and learning orientation, increase optimism about the future, increase openness to behavior change, altruistic and cooperative behavior, and improve decision-making. Additionally, positive emotional states are accompanied by health benefits such as an improved immune system, cardiovascular health, and a lower risk of depression.

Tips: Invite employees to send an email called “Latter from the future.” The task is to write a letter back (to oneself) from that future point (the desired future), describing how things have turned well, what are some positive emotions he has experienced, and what might be his advice for himself from the present. This exercise provides the opportunity to articulate an ideal vision about the future, personal practical expectations, and intentions and helps define meaningful goals that increase motivation.

3. Give recognition and encouragement. This practice creates a context that supports satisfying the basic psychological need for competence and relatedness, leading to increased motivation and engagement. The research suggests that managers who scored high in giving frequent recognition and encouragement achieved a 42% increase in productivity compared with managers who scored at the bottom.

Tips: Use VIA character strengths to recognize and spot strengths in others. You can start a meeting or an email to your employees with an appreciative introduction about what character strength they showed in their actions. Then, you can invite them to think about how they can use their character strength for the challenge.

The main obstacle to using our strengths and competencies lies in how we interpret the events and choose to act. A supportive manager can harness the power of his employees’ strengths unlocking their potential even during difficult times.    

References:

Boyatzis, R., E., Rochford, K., Taylor, S., N. (2015). The role of the positive emotional attractor in vision and shared vision: toward effective leadership, relationships, and engagement. Frontiers in Psychology 6:670. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00670    

Diener, E.D. (2013). The new science of happiness' at Happiness & Its Causes. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdxbmVbr3NY&feature=emb_logo

Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1367.

Greenberg, M., H., Mayanim, S. ( 2013). Profit from the positive: proven leadership strategies to boost productivity and transform your business. McGraw-Hill Education.

Ryan, R. M., Deci, E.L. (2018). Self-Determination Theory: basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford Press, New York: Plenum.

Reivich, K., & Shatté, A. (2002). The resilience factor: 7 essential skills for overcoming life's inevitable obstacles. New York, Broadway Books

Niemiec, R. M. (2017). Character Strengths Interventions: A Field Guide for Practitioners. Boston, Hogrefe Publishing

Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. Oxford University Press. Chap. 3 Pleasure and Positive Experience pp.47-65

Stephens. J.P., Heaphy, E., Dutton, J. (2011). High-quality connections. In K. Cameron and G. Spreitzer (eds.), Handbook of positive organizational scholarship. New York, NY- Oxford University Press