I’m sick of industry leaders supporting R U OK? Day, but staying silent the rest of the year
On R U OK? Day and World Mental Health Day, Marnie Vinall felt as though the industry finally, collectively, cared about mental health. But those days pass, everyone goes back to their desks, and no-one mentions it again, until the next day rolls around.
It’s two months since R U OK? Day and one month since Mental Health Day. But for all the noise these days made, nothing much has actually happened since.
These days push the needle forward and force the industry to confront its perceptions of mental health. But while companies and people in leadership positions talk loudly about the importance of mental health on days such as R U OK? Day and Mental Health Day, there’s very little to be heard from them for the rest of the year. And meanwhile, one in five Australians are going to work with mental health issues each and every day, many without the support they need.
I wrote a piece for R U OK? Day, opening up about my depression, anxiety and panic attacks in the office, and how my company treated me with kindness and consideration. This should be an industry standard. When my colleague is sent home for a migraine without judgement, so should I when I have a panic attack and can’t make it through the working day. The response I got to that piece within the industry was heart-warming and encouraging.
It was as if, for a day or two, everyone really cared about mental health.
“Not enough is being done”, we collectively agreed. But then everyone went back to their desks and got on with their work, not mentioning it again until World Mental Health Day a month later.
Recently, we had a 30-degree day, and while the whole office sweltered, I had a heat pack gripped to my chest. When a co-worker asked me if I was okay, I responded that I was feeling anxious and it helped to keep me calm. It’s only because I wrote and shared my story two months ago that I was confident enough to talk so openly and casually about my mental health. But for a lot of my peers in the industry, I know this isn’t the case.
I would hope that most people in agencies and in-house marketing teams could take the day off if they were having a severe mental episode. But when it comes to everyday mental health issues, we just aren’t doing enough groundwork.
When my psychologist recently asked me what I do when my anxiety arises at work, I didn’t have an answer. I can’t go for a walk if I’ve already taken my lunch break. It’s not as if I can lie down on the ground and do deep yoga breaths in the middle of the office. I certainly can’t bail on client meetings, even if I have aggressive butterflies in my tummy making me feel like a shark is about to attack.
Fortunately, if it got bad, I know I could flag it with my boss and go home. But across the working world, it’s like we don’t know what to do about everyday mental illness because we haven’t all been trained.
We don’t just need employers and leaders to declare that they care about mental health and their doors are always open. We need to have actual steps in place.
Employees should have monthly, if not weekly, one-on-one mental wellbeing sessions where they can discuss their mental health in a safe space. A lot of my friends and peers in the industry feel as though they can’t talk to their superiors about their mental health. So, space needs to be created where they can talk to someone without having to worry they’ll be looked down upon for speaking up.
New employees need to be able to flag any mental illnesses they have, without fear of judgement, as soon as they’re on-boarded. And everyone needs to have their own strategies in place to tackle anxiety, depression or other illnesses when symptoms arise in the office. Superiors need to know about these strategies; if an employee needs to take a 10-minute break outside to breathe, they should be able to without judgement or side-glances.
It should also be mandatory for anyone in leadership positions to undertake mental health training. Companies need to have seminars on how to provide the best support they can to their employees and co-workers. And, most importantly, we need to have regular conversations about mental health.
It’s not enough to agree that more should be done. I’m sick of seeing industry leaders declare their support for mental health issues on pivotal days like R U OK? Day and Mental Health Day but stay silent for the rest of the year.
A friend of mine recently said to me: “You can take a mental health day because you have that relationship with your boss. I don’t have that.” This broke my heart. We all should be getting support, every day. Not just a lucky few. And we need to do better.
Marnie Vinall is a marketing assistant at 3 Phase Marketing
First of all mental health is no joke.
It is incredibly demoralising to see prominent industry leaders jump on the R U OK band wagon and campaign for mental health when they themselves may not be doing their part to support it with their staff.
The problem with the media industry is that people have an internal and external brand. They are more worried about being in the circles and cliques than actually focusing on their roles which require them to be leaders
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Oh stuff happened, there was lots of talk following…not so much on the action front
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Please forward this article to MediaCom, thnkx
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… some of the bosses were back in their offices, refining employee welfare and mental health plans, and as part of their diurnal duties checking that things are OK without having to make a song and dance of it.
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100% agree that all employers must recognize the real impact of mental health and be sympathetic and understanding of staff that are experiencing this illness and treat it like all other conditions. But is your boss really the one that should have mental health training….leave that to the professionals just like we would if a staff member has cancer. The boss and company then need to support and enforce what ever the professional has recommended, be it shorter works hours, behavioral change, role / responsibility etc etc. Continuing to invest in building a working environment (including partner relationship) that is inclusive and empathic to everyones uniqueness.
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Hi Jim,
Thank you for your comment. I understand your point here and from a doctor/medical standpoint, I completely agree. I’m not suggesting that companies and leaders should go through training to act as psychologists, therapists or doctors, but just so they can equipped to know how to give the adequate support they can from their position. Training that would give them awareness of different illnesses and how they can manifest differently. You’re absolutely right that everyone’s case is unique and everyone needs different support. Training would give leaders the tools to be able to understand this on a deeper level and no how they can let their staff know they are supported. I hope that makes sense.
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I highly encourage anybody who is looking to make a lasting change and impact in their business around mental health to engage Mitch Wallis at Heart on My Sleeve.
Real programs for leaders, peers and employees with significant impact. Going beyond are you ok and focusing more on a culture around how to embrace, deal with and create a strong culture to thrive if/when the response is “I’m not ok”.
Incredible case studies with businesses like KPMG, Microsoft and more are restatement to training and programs.
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Let’s not single out one agency. This goes further.
Imagine the leader of a the biggest supporting this day “because it looks good on best place to work entries”. Imagine they didn’t do anything expect stick up some posters on the toilet doors and speaking at conferences about it’s importance. Imagine that hypocrisy.
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Beautifully said, Miss Marnie! I’m so blessed to work for Lifeline Central West, where mental health is at the forefront of all we do. It’s so frustrating to see client after client not getting the help they so desperately need. Keep talking. Every person who determines to be aware may just be the one to help someone when they need it.
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I’m sick of industry leaders who seem to have their opinions written by corporate affairs not themselves, which leads to them all supporting mental health but acting the opposite way with their staff.
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i agree with you Marnie, it does seem to be a fad, a trend to be on the “R U OK” day boat but, it is better than nothing. This year is the first time i, someone that has Bipolar disorder type 1, has seen a true movement to understand and deal with the subject. The problem is the world we live in now, we want/expect things to happen now but unfortunately this never is the case. As long as we had this year, a year where we learnt a little bit more and that these big corps made a few changes, then we will be one step closer to more happening next year and so on. Let’s not moan to soon, let’s just keep helping people understand what we and countless others go through on a daily basis.
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100%
It’s all smoke and mirrors from top directors, then back to extremely late hours, tight deadlines while being understaffed.
Total Bullshit really.
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Wonderful sharing Marnie.
Additional understanding would have significantly helped some people close to me. For the most part their anxiety was exacerbated in the work place.
When workloads don’t ease, there is pressure and scrutiny over everything you do – it’s not an environment that allows you to find any respite. One mistake or missed deadline can easily snowball.
However, in a supportive environment, confidence can increase and symptoms can dissipate. Work can become a place of enjoyment and for people to thrive in.
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You’re not even allowed to go for a walk if you’ve already taken your lunch break? Seriously? Come on you’re a salaried adult not a junior at McDonald’s. Find an agency that treats you with respect, that’s rediculous.
I work at a place that gets a bad rap and is going through a lot of change but at least we are allowed to go for a walk, have a little cry, do yoga or drink before noon and nobody will care.
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Thanks for being brave enough to share your story, and for advocating for those of us who don’t have the courage you do.
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