I started working at my Aunt Bernice’s grocery store when I was a young child, barely old enough to go to school, but she let me take the eggs out of the big crate and put them into the cartons. I was still learning how to count to 12 and that helped.
Then when I got older she taught me how to set up the pricing gun and put the prices on the canned goods. And then later I learned how to run the cash register to wait on customers and make change for them after they paid for their groceries. Because she also had a little bar and restaurant, I learned every facet of it and would cook and serve the meals, clean- the kitchen and tend bar. She allowed me to do what I could, when I could and made me feel successful at each job that she set up for me.
I’ve had lots of jobs over the last 40 years. Some that made me feel like I was appreciated and an asset to the company and others that led me to walk out in tears with a stomach ulcer and a migraine needing repair.
The environment of the workplace affects everyone who works there and everyone that the business touches including the customers who shop there, the students who are there to learn and the partner agencies that are trying to collaborate. The whole world would be a better place if we all knew how to live being more “mental health friendly.”
I began piloting the “Workplaces That Thrive-Creating a Mental Health Friendly Environment” project in 2004 through the Disability Program Navigator Project that was funded by the Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration and Coordinated by the Department of Workforce Development. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) developed the curriculum collaboratively with various state organizations. In Wisconsin it has been the Wisconsin United for Mental Health that was the facilitator at that time. Helping employers to “Create Mental Health Friendly Environments that Thrived” was our goal and the program and materials were very well received.
Having worked for the Department of Workforce Development for 15 years with unemployed workers I have met a lot of people who were productive, successful and a great asset in their jobs until management and/or policies changed and what they called “consistency” and “fair” treatment took the place of “flexibility.” The one size fits all model began to have an adverse effect and result was loss in productivity, more absenteeism, increase in medical costs and a lot of disgruntled employees who didn’t hesitate to cause problems on their way out the doors.
If employers are doing a good job to begin with in choosing “the best person for the job” then replacing them is not going to be that easy. If you feel that you are important and needed you are much more likely to work hard and be loyal because there is a sense of ownership.
It is imperative that employers understand and acknowledge that EVERYONE (including them) goes through mental health challenges at some point in their lives due to loss, illness or other personal or family stressors. At these times, providing accommodations to help them get through the tough times rather than punishing them for having a human experience will offer the best chance at developing a “no stress, nobody quits” workforce. My Aunt B knew how to do it and you can do it too.
Linda Larson Schlitz, MS, LISW, LPC, is a Master’s level Counselor, Social Worker and an award winning international speaker, author, artist, singer, songwriter and expert consultant in the workforce development and disability fields. Linda is the Founder and Executive Director of Faucet of HOPE Business Collaborative and CEU Services. A Division of Faucet Ministries LLC.
