Mental wellness doesn’t rest solely on the individual. Increasingly, studies are showing the important role our environment plays in our mental health. With so much of our time spent at work, Anthony McLean is on a mission to help leaders and organizations foster work environments where everyone feels valued and supported, where diversity and mental wellness are not just initiatives but integral parts of the culture.

Anthony recently joined us “Inside Our Boardroom” to explore why it’s important to make the shift from focusing solely on personal resilience to cultivating collective well-being, and how we can truly support each other on our mental health journeys.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Collective Wellness in the Workplace

Speakers Spotlight: Why is talking about collective wellness in the workplace so important?

Anthony McLean: We talk a lot about personal wellness habits, self-care, and that’s really important, it’s essential. But what we don’t talk enough about in the workplace is collective wellness habits. For example, if I’m your leader and I’m running a meeting that I said would end at one, and I’m still talking at 1:05 — you might have another meeting you’re supposed to be at, and now I’m creating stress and anxiety for you.

Corporate culture is such a big predictor of how people are feeling. When we look at things like burnout, sometimes we can overemphasize resilience when we really need to ask ourselves, what’s the culture like and what are we doing collectively to enhance each other’s wellness? Because when I know that I belong, when I have social connections, when I know I can be myself, then I’ll have more energy throughout the day. But if I don’t feel like I belong, than I’m actually going through the day in fight or flight mode, I’m actually burning way more energy in my brain. I’m exhausted by the end of the day. So that’s why workplace belonging and collective wellness plays such a big role in our overall health.

SpSp: If people are feeling burnt out, rundown, etc., how can they jumpstart their mental health journey and what can organizations do to better support them?

AM: I always like to talk about the balance between resilience and self-compassion. Sometimes it’s hard to get up in the morning and you got to get up and just keep going, right? But sometimes you really need self-compassion and to take the time to recognize that this is hard. Like, I’m going through a hard time right now. What are the resources I can give myself? How can I be kind to myself and compassionate to myself? So, taking time to pay attention to your own body is really important.

Many people who grew up with trauma are so hypervigilant with their surroundings that they’ve actually lost touch with their own internal signals. When am I hungry? Where am I carrying tension in my body? So beginning to pay attention to yourself and practicing self-compassion is the first step on the mental health journey.

From an organizational perspective, it starts with culture. How do we speak to each other? How are our emails worded? How do we treat each other? How do we correct mistakes? Culture can be as simple as treating people with kindness — this makes such a difference in a person’s overall mental wellness.

So, start with culture because if you have an unhealthy culture and then you’re telling people be resilient, what you’re really saying is be stronger so that you can manage living in this polluted environment for a longer amount of time.

Combating Corporate Bullies

SpSp: You began your speaking career in the education space. What learnings did you bring over to your corporate clients?

AM: I spoke for years about bullying in schools, and then when I started speaking in a corporate context, I realized bullying still happens in the workplace.

What we saw at school is that kids were not able to learn if they were getting bullied. Because if you’re worried about your safety, you’re not thinking about math, and it’s the same thing in a corporate setting. If you are being made to feel like you are not smart enough, that you don’t belong here, that you don’t deserve to be here, then it’s the same feeling of, “I can’t fully participate, I’m not fully engaged”.

The way we treat each other is very important, so it’s powerful that we’re talking more and more about what a toxic workplace is, and how it impacts the bottom line.

DEI: Building Stronger, Diverse Organizations

SpSp: How can organizations improve their structures and culture to better support a diverse team?

AM: What’s interesting is in the States, we refer to DEI — diversity, equity, and inclusion. In Canada, it’s often called EDI — equity, diversity, and inclusion. But I think it should be IDE and start with inclusion.

The problem with starting with diversity is that it’s like bringing freshwater fish into saltwater. We have to get the water clean first, and then we can bring new fish in. So, let’s start with inclusion. Let’s start with making sure everyone has cultural competency, that we understand microaggressions, that we understand why we all need a sense of belonging.

If we start with inclusion, then as we get more diverse, and as our workplace gets more global and diverse, then people will already have that sense of belonging. Often what happens now is that there are so many people who do not feel like are reflected in leadership, and they don’t feel like they belong, and it’s taking a toll on their mental health.

SpSp: How can an organization stay on track with their DEI initiatives and goals when working within such a volatile world?

AM: So, this is what’s happening now, in 2020, the world changed. We took racism more seriously than we have, I think, in my lifetime. And we saw a lot of progress when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Now we’re seeing a huge backlash. People are blaming their failures on diversity initiatives, and that’s completely unfair. The bridge collapse that happened in Baltimore, someone blamed it on the fact that they had a Black mayor. It’s ridiculous.

We have to think about diversity, equity, and inclusion as a foundational value, not as a political issue. Because right now, we’re making it political, when it should be a value. Like, I don’t care if you’re black, white, gay, straight, I don’t care what your religious background is — do you show up on time? Do you have a good attitude? Are you competent? Are you nice to be around? We have to get back to that as a value. There’s no other way around it.

Hire Anthony McLean to Speak at Your Event

Called a “master storyteller”, Anthony McLean delivers lively, actionable presentations on culture, wellness, and inclusion. He’s worked with leading organizations such as PepsiCo, AT&T, Intel, TD Bank, Coca Cola, and more, showing his audiences how human connection is the key to boosting individual and team performance.

Contact us to learn more about Anthony and what he can bring to your next event as an uplifting, high-energy conference speaker.