Michele Harmon
Look into the mirror and what do you see?
I am writing this article in early September, National Suicide Prevention Month, for the November edition. By the time you flip through this magazine, many things will have changed. COVID cases may have dropped off, or the perfect storm of the winter flu and COVID may have happened and ruined your holiday plans. Are you getting prepared for a Zoom Thanksgiving?
With the holidays upon us, I want to spend time this month talking about the state of mental health in our community. Faculty at UTPB will have an opportunity to receive training in Mental Health First Aid. A senior health care community provider spoke in early September about the current situation with COVID. She volunteered that she has made more referrals to her organization’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in the past six months than she has made in decades. She also confirmed what other mental health professionals had told me. Suicide concerns are way up in comparison to pre-COVID times.
After interviewing members of our Human Resources (HR) community, there has been a resurgence of previously resolved addictive behaviors in employees. Addictive behaviors described included smoking, drinking, and drug use. Employees are asking for help.
Are you 100 percent? How are your employees handling the enormous amount of stress in the world today? What does that mean for your organization? We know that you want your employees to be healthy, and that also means mentally healthy. Do you have an EAP for all your employees? If you do not, lay down this article and call your insurance broker now and get one put into place. I have mentioned this before, but we are at a critical state in our community and the world. Your employees are afraid of getting sick, fearful of their family getting sick, concerned about sending their children to school and daycare, afraid of losing their jobs, and on and on. The Associated Press reported on a poll taken in Phoenix that revealed that younger adults feel very isolated during the pandemic. Can you imagine being 20-something now?
Your employees must have the ability to get help when they need it and at a low cost, if not free, for the first few visits to a mental health professional. EAPs are a small price to pay for your staff’s health and the future of your organization.
I teach ethics, so I am a rule follower. Please consider following the Governor’s orders, as well as those of local health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In September, an editorial in the Midland Reporter-Telegram (MRT) reviewed the idea of herd immunity. How did that work for polio? Another article within the same few days was on the front page of the MRT, written by a well-respected physician, Dr. Summer Merritt, about the loss of one of her patients from COVID complications. Her care, concern, and grief were evident—just as was my sadness for a childhood friend’s husband who died of a massive heart attack and no underlying conditions, shortly after he thought he had survived COVID.
Depression is an illness. I am waiting on the statistics a year from now about the number of suicides, DWIs, heart attacks, divorces, prescriptions issued for drugs to treat anxiety and depression, recurrences of alcohol and drug use, and so on. The treatment facilities for addiction are bustling these days, even during COVID.
Providing the needed assistance for your employees must be at the top of your list of to-dos, even more than making money. I suggest you get out a paper and pen or your IPad and make your list of five to ten things you plan to do for the greater good of your staff today.
You have many decisions to make, some easy and some complicated, but reconcile yourself to the fact that you are making the best decisions with the information and evidence at your disposal. Take care of yourself as well because you, too, are struggling with the loss of income, with the cutting of staff, and with worrying about what may happen this month or next year. Face your fears and accept the stress you are enduring. Express your gratitude to others during these times.
Your employees have either been isolated at work, home, or both. I heard Gail King, who lives alone, admit on national television upon her return to the station that coming back to work has made an enormous difference in her state of mind. She was all alone for most of five months, talking from her living room to millions of people while, in her personal life, having no face-to-face conversation with her friends and family.
If you want your employees to be more productive in our new normal, what do you need to do differently? It is not about the bonus alone that they may be missing at Thanksgiving and Christmas. People are knocking on wood that either they have not gotten the virus, or, if they do get it, if they survive it.
Even though March 15, 2020, seemed only a few weeks ago, the 2020 holidays are upon us. Think about what you and your employees can be optimistic about at the end of 2020 and moving into 2021. Lead the effort to turn the page.
The last weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in 2019 was full of promise for 2020, and the cover of the Review section was titled, For the New Year, Say No to Negativity. For some reason, I held on to that section. John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister wrote the article. The subheading was, Bad experiences affect us much more powerfully than good ones, but there are ways to deal with this destructive bias and overcome it.
I loved their idea of going on a low-bad diet. Bad events do, indeed, affect us more than good ones. It is a scientific fact that our brains downshift into our Reptilian Brain when threatened, and 2020 has been a year of lots of downshifting. The reptilian brain is the oldest of the three parts of the brain that control heart rate, breathing, body temperature, and balance. The more down we have gone, the longer it may take us to get up and to move to be the productive employees we were 12 months ago.
Many things have changed, but as far as saying no to negativity, we have fallen flat on our faces. There is a great book called The Messy Middle by Scott Belsky. We are in the messy middle where you must lead your employees through the anguish and the unknown. You have to finish this race just like I completed the New York Marathon.
The Permian Basin can finish this race strong and positive. Along this journey, do not forget to lead by example and continue to give to your favorite charity, and if there is no extra money, then get your employees to volunteer. As the leader of your organization, demonstrate generosity.
Some of your organizations may not make it; however, most of you will come out stronger. The Messy Middle says, If you can’t end wonderfully, end gracefully. If you do not survive in your current form, do not be angry. Be graceful in your exit because this is not your last act.
No matter what happens, Tierney and Baumeister said to minimize the negative and accentuate the positive, which can help you to overcome the negative bias that skews politics and public opinion. They finished the article in December 2019 by saying the following: By rationally looking at long-term trends instead of viscerally reacting to the horror story of the day, you’ll see that there’s much more to celebrate than to mourn. No matter what disasters occur in 2020, no matter who wins the presidential election, the average person in America and the rest of the world will, in all likelihood, become healthier and wealthier. Those who go on a low-bad diet will also become wiser and happier too.
They got most of it right. Only you choose to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.
I want to refer you to a website that may help you with the needs of your employees. There are many resources, and remember, everyone acts differently during stressful situations. We are living in a pandemic, the first in our lifetime, but maybe not the last. But we will recover stronger.
Lastly, do not forget to take care of yourself.
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“Your employees are the heart of your organization.” Dr. Michele Harmon is a Human Resource professional, supporting clients in Texas and New Mexico that range in size from five to more than 3,000 employees. Email: micheleharmon1@gmail.com