We were privileged to be asked to present at the 4º FÓRUM DE SAÚDE MENTAL NO LOCAL DE TRABALHO in Porto, Portugal, in November. This translates to 4th MENTAL HEALTH FORUM IN THE WORKPLACE and was organised by Encontrar+SE and their inspiring President Dr Filipa Palha.
The forum was billed as a chance to look at the monumental changes that have taken place in recent years relating to Covid, conflict and economic pressures - these changes have impacted the vast majority of people in some way with many seeing the way they work fundamentally changed. This has acted as a catalyst for people to pause and consider their future – it’s given them permission to think differently.
Of course not everyone has the possibility to pause and consider as the necessities of economic life dictate their options but for those that have, it’s been both challenging and beneficial. So called “hybrid working” has led to organisations having to rethink their approach to employment conditions. Employees have become more demanding, with a mentally healthy workplace being high on the list of top conditions required.
Our sessions and workshop at the Forum concentrated on “Compassionate leadership and creating a mentally healthy workplace” We have found that organisational culture and leadership are critical to the creation of attractive workplaces – we mean attractive in the widest sense of the word covering environment, employment conditions and the sense of being able to “thrive”.
Compassionate leadership creates a culture in which people can thrive – compassionate doesn’t mean “soft”, it means caring and nurturing. By necessity this leadership can still be demanding, but demanding in a way that allows dialogue and discussion with teams and individuals. Remember that there are many layers of leadership within an organisation whether at so called “C Suite”, Director, Manager or Supervisor level and all can utilise the compassionate leadership style.
Coaching can play a big part in this leadership culture. Many organisations have turned to professional Coaches to help facilitate and navigate through the change to hybrid working as well as the creation of a more compassionate culture. We have found a number of great examples where a coaching approach to leadership has led to organisational cultural change for the better. If you are seeking a work life balance for your people, or what we would rather call a “work life blend”, Coaching can certainly help
At Beech Hill Consulting we work with leaders at all levels whether coaching them, advising on coaching style in their organisation or helping them create and implement a strategy to build a mentally healthy workplace.