How to Help

By Kimberly Kafafian

You’ve picked up on the signs: showing up late to work, looking tired, missing deadlines, difficulty managing multiple tasks, easily frustrated, unable to accept feedback. Everything indicates that the employee may be struggling mentally and needs support. You want to help, but are unsure of what you should do. You aren’t alone. With mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, and stress so common, chances are managers everywhere have a worker who is struggling. As an HR professional, I can tell you that addressing mental health issues in the workplace can be very complex. They need to be carefully navigated, but there are some things you can do to help.

Arrange for a Meeting

Meet with the employee in a quiet space where you can ensure your discussion will be discreet. I recommend starting by asking how they are doing. This open-ended, non-judgmental question allows the employee to explain in their own words what they are going through and the support they may need. If the employee doesn’t really open up, share your observations and express your concern. Do not be accusatory or try to diagnose, but rather keep the focus of the discussion on work performance as is required by law. You don’t have a right to know their private struggles. Follow the employee’s lead. If they admit they are struggling, work with them to adjust their responsibilities and tasks as needed. Let them know that they are valued and that you will provide the tools and/or the time they need to recuperate. If they deny any issues, advise that they can come to you at any time if they find they need help, and reassure them that what they say is confidential. 

Practice Empathy and Show Compassion

Actively listen to what the employee is saying. Let them know you understand, and if appropriate, relate to their struggles on a personal level. Encourage them to seek support, and let them know you are there to help them. 

Make Necessary Accommodations

Develop an action plan that makes adjustments for how the employee performs their role. Changes can include:

• Where and when the employee works
• Additional break times
• Quiet spaces to decompress
• Relaxed absence rules
• Providing leave at short notice
• Reallocating tasks
• Modifying job duties
• More frequent monitoring of workload
• Extra training or coaching
• Assigning a mentor

Know Your Legal Duties

Once you are aware of a health disability, you have certain duties to consider when making accommodations and adjustments. It’s important to speak to your HR team or legal counsel to ensure that you are following the law and providing your employee with any mandated support beyond what you are already doing.

A manager’s support and compassion can make all the difference. If you notice something off about your employee, take the time to check in with them.

How to Encourage Employees to Use It

By Kimberly Kafafian

Stress in the workplace is nothing new, but until the pandemic, employee mental health was a topic rarely discussed or addressed. Now, thank goodness, it’s at the forefront of the employee experience – as it should be. A recent American Psychological Association survey found that 71% of workers believe their employer is more concerned about employee mental health now than in the past. With 81% of workers wanting to align themselves with companies that support their mental health, organizations that aren’t focusing on cultivating a mentally healthy workplace need to make it a priority. If this statistic isn’t enough to spur action, companies should take note that doing so can also benefit the organization overall, as stress can cause productivity, creativity, and performance to dip.

One way of supporting your workers’ mental wellbeing is to encourage them to utilize PTO as a way to decompress. HR teams can take the lead here. I work hand-in-hand with leadership on developing strategies promoting the importance of mental health days. Below are some of the steps I recommend for pushing employees to take their PTO to recharge and refresh.

Promoting PTO for Mental Health 

Remove the stigma, fear, and guilt associated with using PTO for non-vacation purposes by creating a culture where employees are encouraged to take time off for self-care or to spend with their families.

Build the Importance of Taking PTO into Communications

In newsletters, email blasts, webinars, town halls, and staff meetings remind workers to utilize their allotted time off to rest and renew. Share information on the benefits of enjoying time away from the workplace, along with fun snippets of what co-workers are doing with their PTO to inspire others to follow suit.

Have Management Lead by Example

One of the best ways to encourage employees to utilize their PTO is by having management take time off themselves. This demonstrates that you understand the importance of downtime and that your team will not be judged for taking time away from work.

Create a Well-Defined PTO Policy

In addition to outlining how many days off are allowed, you should also:

• Stress that there is no requirement to say why need day off
• Formalize that there is no employer contact during PTO – the whole point of time off is to take a break from work
• Define PTO as more than vacation days so workers feel free to use them as they need them
• Highlight that using PTO for mental health days is welcomed

Employees need time to recharge and refresh. It is up to management to encourage them to take time off – for the sake of their team’s mental health and the financial health of the company.

By Kimberly Kafafian

While the holiday season is a festive time of year, it’s also when workforce productivity tends to take a dip. Between shopping, coordinating travel, and planning for gatherings with loved ones, employees’ minds may be on anything but business. Plus, the pressure to meet year-end goals can cause workers to burn out resulting in them checking out mentally. As an HR specialist, I’ve found that managers who make an effort to keep employees engaged during December see a higher level of overall performance in their teams. Here are some activities to help your employees stay focussed on the tasks at hand as the year comes to a close.

How to Boost Employee Engagement in December

Offer Extra Time Off

The holidays are hectic. Show employees you care by being flexible with PTO requests and offering time off to handle all those to-do lists. Employees may be hesitant to ask for personal time, so be proactive and encourage them to take the time they need. Providing this perk will help employees be more focused when they are at work.

Host a Holiday Celebration

Events outside the confines of the office let your employees know that you value more than just the bottom line. Plan a gathering that allows everyone to relax, unwind, and enjoy themselves with their colleagues. This will create a more festive atmosphere in the workplace overall. 

Acknowledge Achievements

It may sound simple, but an acknowledgement has a powerful effect. A hand-written note, phone call, or email expressing appreciation for a job well done can miraculously boost morale. For significant achievements, consider bonuses or other monetary awards, team lunches or dinners, and team activities. When you value your employees and show them that their work matters, you inspire them to be even more productive.

Encourage Self-Care

Although the holiday season is stressful and exhausting, people tend to put self-care on the back burner as there is just no time to fit it in. Organize activities to help fend off employee burnout, such as meditation exercises, chair massages, yoga classes, or breathing workshops. 

Set Reasonable Expectations

Now is not the time to focus on impossible goals. Be realistic and set more attainable aspirations so that employees stay motivated to achieve them.

Promote a Work-Life Balance

An overworked employee will not optimally perform. Encourage your workforce to take breaks, unplug at the end of the day, and prioritize their mental health.

Looking for help keeping your workforce engaged throughout the year? Schedule a free consultation.

By Kimberly Kafafian

As we enter the end of the year and many workers try to use, rather than lose, their paid time off (PTO), it’s the perfect time to address the difference between PTO and floating holidays. While both are forms of paid leave, it’s important to know the distinction between the two so you can build the right PTO policy for your organization. Below is a breakdown of both types of PTO, along with some FAQs.

What Is PTO?

PTO refers to all of the paid days off that employees can take from work, such as vacation, sick time, and personal days. Although the government does not require companies to provide PTO, this benefit has pretty much become standard among employers. The amount of PTO, however, varies as every organization sets their own PTO policies. 

There are two forms of PTO: fixed and unlimited. With fixed PTO, the employer sets the specific number of days, and the amount of PTO an employee receives is usually based on the length of time they have been with the company. For example, new hires may receive one week vacation, while a worker who has been with the company for ten years may receive four weeks.

With unlimited PTO, there is no cap on the amount of days you take off for vacation, sickness, or personal reasons. All days off come out of the same pot. In return for this generous benefit, workers are expected to keep up with their workload and not take off during busy times.

What Is a Floating Holiday?

A floating holiday is also referred to as an optional holiday. It’s a paid day off that each worker decides when to use. Providing floating holidays in addition to regular PTO is a great way to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace as it allows you to accommodate different religions and cultures. For example, a worker may wish to use their floating holiday for days that are not typically federal holidays, such as for Kwanzaa or Good Friday. Or maybe they want to tack the floating holiday onto another paid holiday, like July 4th, to extend their time off. Perhaps they just want to use it as a personal day. The company sets the rules for floating holidays, and can include requiring specific reasons for taking the holiday, as well as blackout dates.

PTO and Floating Holiday 

In the course of helping companies develop their PTO policies, I’m often asked the following questions:

Do I need to pay employees for floating holidays they don’t use?

Whether or not an employer needs to pay for accrued floating holidays varies by state. Check with your HR team or general counsel to find out what your state requires.

Does unused PTO and floating holiday pay rollover?

Floating holidays do not roll over from one year into the next. If you don’t use them, you lose them. Whether or not an employee can rollover unused PTO hinges on the company’s policy.

Can I deny a floating holiday request?

Yes, it is up to the employer to approve PTO requests, and that includes floating holidays.

Stopping the Stigma and Increasing Support

By Kimberly Kafafian

If there was one good thing to come out of COVID, it was how it shone a light on mental health at work. Stress, fear, and anxiety pervaded our world. There is an epidemic of loneliness and sadness. The height of COVID served as the wake up call we needed to pay more attention to well being and how we can support it. While it did become a hot topic, especially in my world, I had hoped it would stem a much needed change in how mental health is viewed in the workplace. And though there has been some movement, there is room for more.

Recognizing how our workplaces play a significant role in our lives, in October of 2022, the U.S. Surgeon General released the Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being. The insightful 30-page resource provides a strong foundation for how organizations can build workplaces that are the engines of well being, and I encourage all leaders to refer to it as they create strategies to strengthen their own mental health initiatives.

Although the framework’s release is encouraging, and many organizations have recognized the need to do more to support their workers’ mental health in the afterlight of the pandemic, the American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work in America Survey indicates employers are not doing enough.

55% of the workers surveyed either strongly (21%) or somewhat (34%) agreed that their employer thinks their workplace environment is significantly mentally healthier than it actually is, and 43% said they were worried that telling their employer about a mental health condition would have a negative impact on them at work. The fear of discrimination is real and must be addressed.

The survey also indicates that workplace stress is still pervasive, with 77% of workers saying that they experienced work-related stress in the last month, and 57% reporting experiencing negative impacts of that stress that are sometimes related to burnout, including:

• Emotional exhaustion (31%)
• Not motivated to do their very best (26%)
• Desire to keep to yourself (25%)
• Desire to quit (23%)
• Decreased productivity (20%)
• Irritability or anger with coworkers and customers (19%)
• Feeling ineffective (18%)

The Importance of a Mentally Healthy Workforce

Mental health conditions are not just damaging to employees, they also harm the organization. Such untreated conditions cost American companies billions of dollars every year. For example, untreated depression can cost $9,000+ per employee, per year in absenteeism and lost productivity. Mental health conditions are also tied to physical ailments, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which also result in lost work days and increased insurance costs.

Workplace stigma around mental health prevents many employees from seeking the help of co-workers or managers. They don’t want to be seen as lazy, unproductive, weak, or worse, be discriminated against. This can lead to decreased productivity and compound any mental health issues, leading to an endless cycle, as well as increased turnover.

How to Stop the Stigma and Increase Support

Create a Culture that Encourages Open Communication

Let employees know that you value their mental health and are taking steps to proactively support it. Devise initiatives that focus on the importance of well being and changing minds/behaviors around the stigma of mental health.

Offer Mental Health Resources

In addition to mental health benefits (according to the APA survey only 43% of employers do so), you can offer counseling services and support groups. Promote a better work-life balance with flexible work schedules and more paid time off.

Train Leadership

Teach managers and supervisors how to recognize signs of mental health issues, provide support, and direct employees to resources.

Develop Mental Health Policies

Outline how you focus on mental health in your workplace, support employees struggling with mental health challenges, and address mental health discrimination. It is important to note that the EEOC is coming down on companies who are discriminating against workers because they have a mental health condition. 

A mentally healthy workplace can help reduce absenteeism, bolster productivity, and increase retention, as well as attract top talent. With workplace mental health and the bottom line being so intertwined, employers need to make it a priority. The stigma and discrimination around mental health must end.