How to foster a culture of openness

In an open and supportive culture it is the norm for someone to say they’re taking the afternoon off because of high anxiety. I remember one incident where a senior member of staff wrote an email to the whole company to say she had broken up with her long term partner, announce that she would be taking time off to look after her mental health and outlining what her needs were. This was a perfect example of someone empowered by open culture and also shining the way for others to take care of their mental health in the work context too. The person in question received an overwhelming amount of support from the team and never looked back. Unfortunately in many workplaces mental health is still a taboo and not something that is brought up either by the employer or the team members. Fortunately, companies like Sanctus take it as their mission to normalise mental health in the work context. But it takes an ongoing effort of many to change the social norm. I sincerely hope both you and I can be part of the change too.

For more ideas how to help your remote team with mental health and wellness go here.