During the course of your career most of you have been given the following admonishment or at least witnessed it being given: “Leave your personal problems at home.”
If you’re anything like me, upon hearing this you absorbed the advice as wise and common sense. After several years of leading different companies I no longer believe this supposedly sage advice. I am now convinced that it’s simply misguided and wrong.
The link between stress and mental health is undeniable. The more stress someone experiences, the more prone they are to mental and emotional consequences. Not surprisingly, those consequences can affect your company’s bottom line.
Productivity losses
According to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, employers lose an average of $225 billion worth of productivity per year due to the personal issues of their employees. In addition, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report showing the indirect costs of untreated mental health disorders results in a $79 billion annual loss to companies because of lost productivity and absenteeism.
Although the intent of the “don’t bring home to work” advice is to ensure a harmonious environment and a productive company, these numbers prove the opposite.
My success in business has come about because I truly value my employees and see them as partners in our company’s success, not simply a “resource.” To many people the underlying message to “leave your personal problems at home” is that you should turn off your emotions when you come into the office. We are not robots. We are living beings with true and complicated emotions. Not acknowledging this indisputable fact comes across as callous and unaware.
What if our main goal as leaders was to show our employees that we truly value them as people and not just commodities?
What advice would we give them if we noticed that they were under some sort of emotional duress or just having a plain old bad day?
If you’re comfortable, share it
A colleague of mine, Jennifer Borba von Stauffenberg, owns a well-respected PR Firm in San Diego and encourages her employees to be “authentic” in the workplace and share personal challenges to the degree that is comfortable for them. She treats them with respect by giving them the time they need to regroup — whether it’s a few minutes or the entire day. This philosophy cultivates employees who are loyal, motivated, and give 110 percent to the firm’s clientele.
I also often remind our employees that we spend the majority of our waking hours with our co-workers. Given this, it is not unnatural or wrong to confide in a co-worker or to take a moment to acknowledge your feelings and regroup before plunging back into daily tasks.
Acknowledging that our employees are not just a means to an end and treating them with empathy and respect will foster a more engaged workforce. In turn, this will have positive reverberations across your entire team, department, and company.
Gabriel Bristol, president and CEO of Intelicare Direct, has led turnarounds for several large corporations as well as helping establish rapidly growing start-ups. Follow him on Twitter @Gabriel_Bristol
