Historically, the unspoken organisational culture meant that your personal issues and any mental health challenges you are experiencing were expected to stay at home. Today, it is increasingly accepted for employees to be more open about their mental health and wellbeing needs in the workplace. However, with the increasing prevalence and severity of mental illness in the community, this presents new challenges for HR and managers to know how to navigate these conversations empathetically while maintaining a focus on the organisation’s performance.

Barry biography:
In today’s episode, we want to focus on our HR audience, and so we have invited special guest host HR professional Lisa Young, who will be interviewing Clearhead’s clinical lead and clinical psychologist Barry Kirker, together they will unpack all the complexity surrounding employee mental health. Barry has 30 years’ experience working with individual clients and organisations across New Zealand and Australia. He undertakes complex mental health assessments, including fitness for work, forensic, and compensation/mental injury assessments, with a thorough understanding of both the clinical and legal aspects involved.

In this episode, we dive deep into answering the following thorny questions.

00:00 – Introduction
01:50 – Lisa introduction
03:50 – Barry introduction
05:30 – What is being covered
08:40 – Definition of mental health
10:00 – What to do when an employee self discloses their mental health challenges to you
13:55 – What to do if you don’t feel equipped to have the conversation?
14:30 – Are there things you shouldn’t say
17:45 – How to assess the safety risk of someone who discloses they have suicidal thoughts
22:00 – What if you can feel your own emotions taking over
23:00 – When to seek professional help
24:00 – How to tell if someone needs more support
25:20 – What to do when you notice someone struggling with their mental health
28:05 – Should you bring up performance issues in a mental health conversation
29:50 – What if the person lacks insight and is dismissive of your concerns
33:50 – Why it’s important to be proactive in having the mental health conversation
34:25 – When an employee blames their mental health at a performance or disciplinary meeting
39:20 – How do you know if a mental health disclosure is genuine
42:00 – What to do when an employee says a performance improvement process negatively impacted their mental health
45:00 – When should you breach the confidentiality of what an employee shared with you
47:00 – How do you deal with the subsequent loss of employee trust
49:40 – How do HR practice self-care and set boundaries on the mental load of supporting others
54:10 – Barry and Lisa’s final takeaway

Learn more about our guest host Lisa Young:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-young-exceedhr/

Helpful resources:
Resource 1: Meeting Crisis with Care. How HR Can Navigate Mental Health Challenges https://www.myclearhead.com/blog/meeting-crisis-with-care-how-hr-can-navigate-mental-health-challenges/
Resource 2: Mental Heatlh Conversations: Guidance for Leaders: https://www.myclearhead.com/blog/mental-health-conversations-guidance-for-leaders/
Resource 3: Frameworks to Support Difficult Conversations at work: https://www.myclearhead.com/blog/frameworks-to-support-difficult-conversations-at-work/

Learn more about Clearhead
https://www.myclearhead.com/