Destigmatizing Mental Health in the Workplace

Elise: Hello, and welcome to the Loop Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, Elise Stieferman, Director of Marketing at Coegi. Let's get started. All right, So today we're talking about mental health, a very important topic, and I'm thrilled to be joined by our president, Sean Cotton, as well as our Vice President of Account Strategy, Shana Raines. So, mental health obviously is a topic that we're seeing pop up a lot throughout the pandemic and the stressors that that has caused. But also just in agency life in general, we can often be in a very fast paced environment, with lots of expectations, but luckily it's not as much of a taboo topic as it has been in the past. So, Sean, talk to me about the impact of mental health and wellbeing on your employees in terms of culture and employee retention, as well as just the output of the work we're able to produce. Sean: Well, working in an agency environment by nature or historically by nature, it has tended to be very fast paced, hectic, even at times. And there's also a high performance culture. Our company is a high performing company. We set a high standard for what we produce and deliver on behalf of our clients. And so historically, the challenge has been how do you balance the need for mental health, emotional space, with that performance? Over the last couple years it's been highlighted more than ever before how critical it is that we do that. The pandemic, I think certainly sped up that process, but even before that, you were seeing young people enter the industry in that environment, and they weren't prepared for working those types of hours under that type of stress. Then getting burnt out very early in their careers, and then looking for something different. So for our company, we do hire a lot of young talent to compliment our many experienced people such as Shana and others. We don't want that to be their experience, so the way that we try to create an environment for them to enjoy this new career that they're embarking on is having workflows and processes in place that set them up for success. Because again, we still have a high bar of achievement, but we want to set our employees up for success through the tools that we give them, and the workload that we give them. And then they can kind of set their limits as to what they need to do. We have many high achievers, overachievers even, but they kind of set the pace for what gives them energy versus that being dictated by the company, is that we expect you to handle this many accounts or deliver this much product in such an amount of time. The other thing that we do as a leadership team, I think pretty well, is the so-called open door policy. It's a cliche, but really living that, in that when ones are struggling, when they do feel an extra amount of stress or anxiety, feeling completely comfortable going to their manager, to their vp or even to myself and having a conversation about, I would like some assistance or I would like some help. Elise: I feel like you've done a really nice job of setting up that culture of transparency, of course, both with our clients, but also as you note, very much internally. And Shana, I know you oversee a department that is definitely filled with the overachievers and some of the more senior people in the organization. So, can you talk to me a little bit about how you foster those open door conversations and how you have encouraged the people on your team and throughout the organization to be accepting of taking a mental health day and having those open conversations? Shana: I think it's definitely communication is key, right? So, from day one, I set the expectation, I say it all the time, you have to have a work life balance. You're no good to yourself, you're no good to your clients if you're stressed, or if you're checked out. I think it's important to say, I'm not feeling great, or I need a mental health day, and to also pay attention to the cues. You know your team, you know your department, who you work with on a day to day. So, if I notice that an individual's disposition is off, or they're not engaging as much as they used to, or their work seems to be suffering, or they're more withdrawn, that's an opportunity for me as a manager to sit down and say, Hey, is something going on to whatever level that they're comfortable with. And if you don't wanna talk to me, definitely encourage you to talk to a friend, a peer. We've got programs in place that Sean mentioned, I think this is key. I wouldn't say I'm old by any means, but I'm definitely older than some of our employees at Coegi. And, they've grown up in a very public sharing society, with social media everything you do is put out there for everyone. And I think that goes with accomplishments at work. The things that you're working on. You're paying attention to what your peers are doing. People used to work with things like that. And that can get a little stressful at times, right? So a mental health break doesn't necessarily mean personal can also be professional. So, again, being kind of cognizant of what's going on in life and just ensuring that they're comfortable to the degree that they want. That they're not going to be faulted by any means. It's okay to say, I know you operate at this level, but it's okay to take a step back, breathe, and then continue moving forward. Elise: Something to think about, at least from my standpoint, because I've been with Coegi for many years now. I've seen it go from 15 employees or so when I first started to now over 50. So Sean, can you talk to me about how you've been able to help the leadership team as well as yourself, accommodate those individual needs as the companies continue to grow and expand, where you're not necessarily talking to every person of the company on a personal level every single day, but just kind of keeping a pulse on individual level needs, whether it's stress or other mental illness or health conditions. Sean: Absolutely. Well, as you mentioned, there's 50 to 60 different individuals. They all have different lives, and personalities, and interests, and hobbies, and challenges and pressures. We can't address each and every one of those individually, but what we can do is set up a framework that allows all of the different circumstances of our employees to be considered and for them to have the flexibility to adapt, and to use our company or be a part of a company that's cognizant and understanding of their situation. One good example is how our benefits have evolved. So, when we were 15, like I said, when you were first starting, I didn't really give a lot of thought to the benefits package, other than I wanted to make sure that everybody had health insurance, and a 401k. We got that in place early, but as we grew, we had more parents, we needed a paternity and a maternity policy so that they would have time to spend with their children and to develop their families and adoption benefits, free mental health counseling, all of these things as we've grown and you have more and more people creating the framework and the resources to accommodate a large and varied set of people across our employee base. Elise: I feel like that's, for me personally, been very encouraging to be in that sort of work environment where I do feel supported at a 360 degree view of life. But, as a manager, it's important to pick up on those various triggers, whether it's stress, or the preparation of bringing a child to the household or things like that. So, Shana, can you talk to me a little bit about how you've gotten to know the different individuals throughout Coegi, and understand those signs of burnout, to understand the signs of depression, anxiety, and beginning that dialogue and building that trust. Shana: I tend to be a sharer anyway, so most people that work closely with me, they know everything going on in my life. They know I've got three kids, two teenagers, and a toddler. My husband works for himself as a landscape architect, everybody knows what's going on in my life. So if I'm running here, or there, taking meetings while I'm in the car, I share. And I think that hopefully, it creates an atmosphere of open dialogue and it allows them to feel comfortable to share as well. It's not such a big deal if they're gonna be 30 minutes late or if they have to take a phone call from home because something's occurred, because just two days ago, the same thing happened with me. And so having those conversations, I think individually, I know who on my team is very comfortable with sharing, and who on my team is a little bit more reserved, but even within that, the dynamic is still, you've got your baseline, right? If consistently something just seems a little off or different, I usually open up our syncs with, so - what do you wanna chat about? I get their agenda on there first, and then I kind of go through what I've got on my list and then I usually close it with, is there anything else you wanna chat about, what's going on? Or, you know, if I feel like maybe something's there, I might kind of pull a little bit of a thread of something we've talked about previously. You know, how's it going with your son? You told me he made the baseball team last week. Is he enjoying it? Just to kind of get the conversation going. And again, you lean on your peers. I'll lean on Sean and the leadership team or the leaders within my department, not by disclosing, but rather just saying the dynamic seems a little bit off right now between these teams on this account, if you notice this as well. And usually you start hearing a little bit more, and again, just kind of guides that conversation. But I've found the most effective way is to put myself out there first because I'm comfortable doing that. To say, I'm human, I mess up all the time, It's okay. I literally do need a mental health day, I don't have a migraine, my garage door didn't fall off the hinge. I literally need a mental health day. Elise: And I feel like people are more comfortable taking that time because we do have a very generous PTO offering here. So it doesn't feel like you're being punished or like you're not going to be able to take your vacation days. And you're able to take care of yourself, and have that personal moment. Sean, can you talk to me a little bit more about the benefits process, you were thinking a lot about financials and healthcare and things like that. What are some of the other programs you all have put in place as an executive team to help foster that mental health? I'm thinking things like, the activities committee, or the mentorship program, et cetera. Sean: Absolutely, we implemented those, and it's been almost two years now. Previously, when we were smaller, a lot of those things happened organically. The team would just spontaneously get together and go out and do things. And that still would happen, but as we grew, it was fewer and farther between, or everybody wasn't maybe included or have the opportunity or know about it due to their individual circumstances. The same way with mentorship. Mentorship just naturally took place because you were such a small group anyway. So realizing that we needed to be really intentional about those things was really important for our organization and I think has been great for us. Actually scheduling time, dedicating resources and investment to the activities committee, ensuring that all of our offices have a chance to get away, and enjoying some recreation together. Sometimes it's even educational as well. Sometimes it's volunteering, so it's fulfilling, but they're doing it together, and showing that the company is committed to them having that time, setting aside time, which they could be working, and as I mentioned before, money to support those activities. And then with the mentorship program, because we're in several different offices, that's really served us well also because you have individuals that may be in another office that ordinarily wouldn't have a chance to interact with someone that they could best offer advice and insight to, in another state. We can consciously match those individuals together and again, financially support it, so that they have the opportunity to share the mentors oftentimes benefit as much as the mentees. Something too that I was going to mention listening to Shana, and she mentioned that not everybody feels like talking. Some people are more reserved, but sometimes people just need to express their ideas and frustrations, or their insights on something. And we have that anonymous feedback platform that I've found to be very helpful to where if there’s something about their job that is particularly stressful at the moment or a certain situation dealing with management. They can anonymously share that. Then we can anonymously reply, just tell me more, and at least we're aware that someone in our organization is feeling this way and that is something that we can start to give attention to. Shana: One thing that I don't think we have mentioned yet that I think is a huge benefit, I never think of it as a benefit, but it is, is our Wednesday meeting free afternoons. So that started around two years ago. We were in a manager's meeting, talking about just not enough time in the day and going, going, going and all of our one-on-one syncs and department syncs and cross department syncs and account syncs and it's like, when do you work? And so we put in place a program for two to five o'clock every Wednesday, that is in theory meeting free. There are exceptions, but I think everybody's really respectful of it, so if it's literally the only time, hey, I know this is meeting free time, but do you have 30 minutes? It's an opportunity to breathe and work. Think of the amount of time and energy it takes to go from meeting to meeting, especially if you've got a four hour block of 30 minute meetings, that's eight meetings. And now you're supposed to go back, and actually work. When do you get this done? And this isn't everyday for anyone, but having that dedicated time I think is really nice. It's a quiet time at the agency, and it has been great. See? Elise: Just to round us out, I'm thinking about how the underscoring topic here is about work life balance. So how would you encourage people throughout the organization, and others in different agencies or in different marketing organizations or wherever, set up parameters in their life to have that balance. Balancing the stress, but also making room for the personal as well. So, any tips there? Sean: Well, a good friend of mine, and actually he spent some time with our company, Chad Carden, he's a career coach. He's spoken to us and other organizations before about energy versus stuff. Really, that's the balance that allows us to find the most contentment and satisfaction with our job is energy versus stuff. Because if we look at it as hours, which that is a component, but if we only look at it in terms of hours, well what are those hours made up of? You could be working only 20 hours a week, but if it's all stressful, and it's all just stuff, and it's burdensome, well you're not going to be happy. Whereas on the other hand, maybe you're working a little bit more than 40, but if 80% of that is energizing and motivating and you're jazzed about it, well then you're probably going to be pretty happy. So, that's one thing, it’s really identifying energy versus stuff. There's some things that we just have to do. Understanding, okay, how can I do this in the most effective way and get it done and do it right. But do I need to talk to my manager? What do I need to prioritize, what do I need to do to make sure that that takes up a certain portion and then I can focus on the things that give me energy. So start there, then working in agencies, there's going to be ebbs and flows to work. Fourth quarter for instance, or a new client and so forth. So I think from a company standpoint, promoting work life balance is having a smart plan on resource allocation, and preparing for that as much as possible. On rewarding individuals when there is that push for a few weeks, not just patting them on the back and saying onto the next thing, but taking the time to reward them for that and allow them to recharge their batteries. Elise: Thank you for listening. Coegi is an industry leading performance marketing agency based in the Midwest. We've learned a lot since our founding in 2014 and started The Loop Marketing Podcast to share some of our hot takes on marketing trends we're following, best practices, we've discovered and actionable tips for improving your digital strategy. We'll see you next time.