This blog is a part of our Ask Mind Share Partners series.
A common question we receive from HR and Talent leaders who are driving mental health programming is: “How do I get leadership buy-in?”
Below, Bill Greene, Principal at Mind Share Partners, weighs in on this topic.
Start by framing the need.
Few—if any—leaders are truly against employee wellbeing. But making it a priority can be hard. When garnering leadership buy-in, it helps to frame mental health and wellbeing as a basic and essential business need. Here are some ways to do this.
Provide context. Employee wellbeing is a business must-have, with 81% of workers in the U.S. reporting that they will be looking for workplaces that support mental health in the future. During the pandemic, most employers pivoted to, “we have to take care of our employees," and many did an outstanding job. Our own report shows that these investments had a net positive effect on employee wellbeing in the U.S. But now that the pandemic is over (mostly), the pendulum has swung too far the other way towards America’s long-standing “live to work” mindset. Burnout is getting worse, and most employees in the U.S. are not engaged—leading to lower business performance. Then add on the headlines on war, elections, violence, layoffs and climate—it's no wonder we are in what's being coined as "The Great Exhaustion." Leaders cannot ignore these challenges as we navigate this new future of work.
Show them the data. Context alone may not be persuasive for some, so data can help build your business case. Take a look at the direct and indirect measures of employee wellbeing in your organization, such as:
EAP utilization and issues employees are calling about
Mental health treatment claims and related prescription drug claims in your health plan—especially over time
Leaves of absence related to mental health
Engagement scores, particularly questions on well being and mental health
Get Active Leadership Buy-In.
Framing the need will help get a budget and approval from leadership to prioritize employee wellbeing. That in itself is a big win. However, the real impact starts when leadership is actively bought-in. Active buy-in means that leadership's support and communication on the topic of mental health is visible and ongoing.
Getting leadership actively involved by seeing the success of mental health initiatives first-hand can increase buy-in and sustained executive support.
A few ways to do this include:
Leaders share their own stories regarding mental health challenges. This could be a personal story or a story of supporting someone at work or in their lives who are navigating a mental health challenge. This action reinforces that everyone has mental health, and humanizes leaders. It communicates that no one is exempt from facing mental health challenges at work. At Mind Share Partners, we include storytelling coaching into our work with every client because of its impact in reducing stigma and creating psychological safety.
Leadership visibly models behaviors that align with and support wellbeing. This includes modeling self-care behaviors and reinforcing policies and norms. Examples can include making therapy appointments, breaks to attend their child’s event, or blocking off time to get outside for a midday break visible on their calendars.
Leadership has ongoing conversations about mental health at work. This can include conversations on work norms, such as actively encouraging staff to fully unplug when they take time off, or checking in with their reports around mental health and responding in a supportive way—and encouraging managers to check in with their own teams.
Leadership’s support is vital to the success of any wellbeing program. Their consistent actions and communication around mental health will contribute to an environment where work is more sustainable, more productive, and more impactful.
Need some help making the case to leadership at your organization? Reach out and book a call with us>
This blog is a part of our Ask Mind Share Partners series, where we answer questions we hear frequently in our work, and questions submitted by you. Have a question for our team? Submit it here.
About the Author
Bill Greene, Principal, Mind Share Partners
Bill leads impact-focused advising for companies and leaders on how to create a culture of support for mental health in the workplace. He facilitates Mind Share Partners’ workplace training and leads strategic projects, and has worked with companies like Morrison Foerster, BlackRock, Bhate, and more. Bill has an M.A. in Communications Management from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California, and a B.A. in English from Pomona College.
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