Special Contribution
Guest Contributor Riley Skinner is the Executive Director of the Crisis Centre for Northern BC. Located in Prince George, the 'Crisis Centre' services Northern BC - from Quesnel, north to the Yukon border, west to Haida Gwaii, and east to the Alberta border. The 'Centre is internationally accredited through the American Association of Suicidology and provides suicide intervention and prevention expertise to Northern BC and across the country.
The Crisis Centre is open 24-hours a day, 7-days a week and answers over 13,000 calls locally and over 7,000 nationally per year - more than 70% are calls from people in crisis. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or needing to talk, the Northern BC Crisis Line (1-888-562-1214) is a confidential and non-judgmental phone line to discuss anything troubling you. They are here to help.
In 2024 mental health is a topic that continues to take space in our conversations, workplaces, and in pop culture. As a community we promote mental health practices because it’s the right thing to do. Many employers have shifted to developing wellness and psychological safety policies to do their part in promoting good mental health. Many employers have also started implementing wellbeing assessments into surveys and one-on-ones. But do we as leaders always walk the walk after we talk?
Mental health is a universal human experience that we all interact with every day, either consciously or subconsciously. Like physical health it changes overtime, sometimes due to our direct actions, and sometimes out of our control. When we become physically unwell there are things that we do for ourselves and sometimes for each other: Resting, first aid, seeing a doctor or healthcare professional, etc. When we become mentally unwell the solutions aren’t so different. Many of these things we have come to understand as self-care.
The average Canadian spends 38 hours a week working or at their workplace. This number is a little higher for workers in goods-producing industries compared to those in service-producing industries which is a little lower than the median. Additionally, over 80% of the workforce has a full-time work arrangement. To put that in perspective, most Canadians are spending one third of their waking lives completing tasks and collaborating with others.
In 2023, 55% of calls received by the Crisis Centre were related to mental health issues. The top themes are social isolation, financial stressors, employment stressors, and anxiety. These can be heavy things that impact a person’s entire life, especially work.
Employers can make a difference by adopting a person-centred approach to employee management. The key to this practice is acknowledging that individuals strive to do the best that they can given their unique circumstances. The belief here is that if an employee had the ability to be better, do better, or perform better at work they would. This frame is so important.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or needing to talk, the Northern BC Crisis Line (1-888-562-1214) is a confidential and non-judgmental phone line to discuss anything troubling you. They are here to help.
When we engage with staff from a place of supporting success rather than highlighting shortfalls, we build trust and transparency needed to really be there for them when they need it. Another key tool is curiosity. How can we get curious about an individual’s well-being? It might be asking questions; it could also be listening with empathy. Empathy is a word that is said more than understood. Empathy is not feeling bad for someone, it’s feeling with someone. Empathy is the ability to hear what someone is sharing and reach down inside oneself to connect with a part of themselves that knows what it feels like to be in someone else’s shoes. After all, we all know what it’s like to work under pressure, have turbulent interpersonal relationships, and carry mental health issues from time to time.
These tools can help leaders get closer to what is going on beneath the surface and start fostering genuine human connection. Opportunities for human connection although brief and unremarkable for some, serve as the antidote for many of the most common mental health issues that present in a professional setting like anxiety and social isolation.
Sometimes these conversations can be hard to approach, and we don’t always know what to do with what we are told. The acronym below can act as a guide:
Worried about someone? "WALK" with them.
WARNING SIGNS
Indications that someone may be mentally unwell. It could be anything that is out of the ordinary for them. Warning signs often carry themes of loss accompanied by some common attitudes.
Some significant losses that can happen in the workplace or follow people from home:
Death of a loved one
A key relationship unraveling or ending
Instability/turmoil at home/in one’s family
A severe change in social status or a sense of belonging
Unemployment, loss of a highly valued ability or activity
Fear of disciplinary action/incarceration/physical violence
Trauma from sexual or other assault
Trauma from serious illness or injury
Major financial/economic loss
Some attitudes to look for:
Depression: Nothing seems important anymore.
Hopelessness/helplessness: There is nothing I can do to change this.
Purposelessness: There is no point to anything.
Worthlessness: I can’t do anything right.
Overwhelmed: I can’t stand this anymore.
Intense worry/anxiety: Everything is falling apart. Everyone is going to be disappointed in me.
Recklessness/impulsiveness: I don’t care if I lose my job.
ASK
Ask them clearly and directly about their mental wellbeing: “Lately it seems like you are feeling down. What’s going on?”
LISTEN
You can help and care for someone by simply listening to them. Accept the person’s feelings instead of minimizing or judging them. Tell them it is okay to feel the way they do. Try to understand things from their perspective. Avoid joking around or acting shocked. Be patient, be empathetic, and persistent.
KEEP SAFE
Offer help. Let the person know you care and want to help. Be there to listen, support and encourage them to get the help they need. Keep in mind that it isn't your job to fix their life or solve their problems.
Help them help themselves. Suggest people they can talk to, such as a parent or relative, close friend, teacher, counsellor, doctor, or nurse. If they won't get help for themselves, get it for them. Tell someone you can trust.
Call a Crisis Centre. Crisis Centres give support and information to people in distress, as well as to the friends and family who care about them.
Be firm and be focused. Never promise things you can’t follow through with. Never dare a person or say you don't believe them. Never leave a high-risk person alone without making sure that they have help.
By practicing person-centred management, embracing curiosity, and showing true empathy, we can take steps in the right direction towards creating more supportive and mentally healthy workplaces for all employees.
Guest Contributor Riley Skinner, the Executive Director of the Crisis Centre for Northern BC, has been a driving force in advancing the organization's commitment to positive social change & community impact. Under Riley's leadership the Crisis Centre has been recognized as a Leader in Community Organizations and Nonprofits (Prince George Business Excellence Awards - 2023) and as Prince George's Best Non-Profit (CommunityVotes Awards Gold - 2022, Platinum - 2023, 2024). To reach out to Riley directly at riley@crisis-centre.ca or find out more about the Crisis Centre for Northern BC go to https://crisis-centre.ca/
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