Doing GOOD by Doing WELL – Geoff McDonald and Why Mental health is a Competitive Advantage

Health and Safety, Mental Health, Workplace wellbeing sarah

Geoff McDonald is a mental health champion, former Global Vice President HR Unilever (UK) and founder of Minds@Work. I attended both his Key Note speech and Master Class at the 2018 HASANZ conference. It was especially relevant to me because I suffered severe postnatal depression after my son was born, and had absolutely no idea what had hit me at the time.  Also, October is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Why Become a Mental Health Advocate?

McDonald was ruthlessly candid about his own mental health journey. He was the Global Vice President HR for Unilever (UK), with a wife and children and a picture postcard high stress, high achieving executive lifestyle. On the eve of his daughters 13th birthday, he thought he was having a heart attack. It turns out he was having an anxiety attack that was triggered by depression.

McDonald was lucky because he was surrounded by an intricate support network and was able to do the mental processing that allowed him to get through his illness. Even after two relapses, he still managed to come out of the other side of it all. Sadly, one of his best friends did not have the same support and he unexpectedly committed suicide.

This chain of events triggered McDonald’s quest to challenge the stigma associated with mental health in workplaces across the world. He’s even talked to Pope Francis on how we can create a more sustainable and inclusive economy, that acknowledges mental health issues.

Key Messages

The key messages in his talks were:

  1. There is always hope, it is possible to recover and thrive after their illness
  2. Leaders need to share their stories and be ok being venerable
  3. Employers need to provide training so people have an idea what to do if they are working with someone who is suffering from a mental health issue
  4. We are all responsible when it comes to creating workplaces where people feel they can talk about their illnesses

 

Where can you get help?

If you or someone you know need help right now, you can free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor

You can also call

  • Lifeline – 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP)
  • Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
  • Healthline – 0800 611 116
  • Samaritans – 0800 726 666

 

The following websites might also be useful

Feeling supported at work is important to Depression.org.nz

How do I manage an on-going illness of a staff member?   Workwise

Key To Life KTL Mike King’s resources

Managing mental health problems at work WellPlaceNZ

Managing mental health in the workplace MBIE EmployersNZ

Suicide: after a suicide attempt NZ Mental Health Foundation

The Lowdown Focuses on young people

 

Please let me know if you have had to deal with mental health issues in your workplace and if you have any useful resources that may be useful to others.

Have a safe and productive week.

SB

 

More information on Geoff McDonald

 

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