Mental Health at Work
Pilea founder Dr. Kari Sulenes spoke on a panel about mental health in the workplace last month hosted by Modern Health. If you couldn't make it to the event, here's a recap.
The panelists delved into leadership vulnerability and the fear of public disclosure. We see this all the time in the companies we work with at Pilea. Dr. Sulenes commented on one major barrier for people at work, "How do we not penalize people for coming forward about their mental health? At the very least, we need to provide people a place to go because at work it isn't safe to have these conversations. That's just the reality right now."
The panel looked to intentional culture building as one possible solution to the problem. "Leadership drives change. This isn't revolutionary. But still, someone with power in the room has to start the conversation," said Dr. Sulenes. David Hanrahan also saw the power in taking a top-down approach like this. "The reality is that the data shows that people are stressed and depressed. This typically arises from distressful situations at work. Leaders need to acknowledge this to build the culture before even thinking about clinical diagnoses.
Further complicating these issues is the reality that many leaders are inexperienced at not only taking care of their own mental health but also have no background in building cultures that support their workforce. Dr. Sulenes framed this dilemma when she stated, "Leaders are in the business of people. What really takes down a company is the lack of emotional intelligence. Without training, we're setting up leaders to fail."
As a company dedicated to supporting founders and entrepreneurs in their journey to become leaders, Pilea pledges:
To take the time to truly understand our client's challenges
To always be a brave space for our clients
To help our clients delve into the less obvious areas of their lives to harness their strengths and break down hidden blockages
To build strong compassionate leaders who in turn build healthy and supportive company cultures