The Impact of Mental Health on Team Dynamics

Workplaces today are a mix of generations including Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Suddenly, the so called “soft skills” are the most important ingredient to team success, collaboration, individual satisfaction on the job, goal achievement and retention of employees. The soft skills I am referring to are transparent communication, authenticity, compassion, flexibility, and trust just to name a few. These skills are the cornerstone to success in business today. This is a startling change to many in the world of business but a change that must be acknowledged and adopted for survival. These soft skills are all irrevocably intertwined with the mental health of the individual and the mental health of the organization.

In the traditional work environment employees have been expected to be visible, attend all meetings and work online for a certain number of hours. According to Gandy (Koma Gandy, the VP of business and leadership at Skilsoft) this can perpetuate a toxic work environment of people being performative and bragging about how busy they are. Being busy and effective are not the same thing. Monitoring the jiggle of a mouse every 10 to 15 minutes because some software is trying to track how busy you are is not the way to inspire work performance or innovation. In addition, this generates an environment of distrust and disrespect. Giving employees the time and space to create, innovate and produce without being micromanaged creates the support and inspiration all generations need to perform and be successful. Employers are now having to consider the mental health and well- being of employees as well as the mental health of the workplace environment they are creating. Team dynamics are driven by the health of the individuals on the teams and the organizational health.

How Fostering Soft Skills Meets Employee Needs and Drives Employer Success

Let’s take a closer look at both the employee needs and the employers gains in fostering soft skills which includes what to look for in potential employees, how to check in with current employees, and how to foster a work environment that makes room for problem solving and innovation.

TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION

Effective communication is the vital ingredient for successful teamwork, collaboration, trust, and goal accomplishment. Setting the standard for transparency and accountability in a work environment frees the employees to feel safe and valued. This establishes trust which is critical to open discussions, problem solving, collaboration on creative projects, and mutual respect. Individuals who are transparent communicators can help locate problem areas and present new ideas for solving them. These people are also effective when collaborating with others on projects, supporting others’ ideas as well as their own and celebrating successes. Game playing, power plays, and other destructive behaviors are minimized in the presence of transparent communication. The team members feel safe to be accountable as their mistakes will not be used against them.

STRATEGY:

Start with looking for individuals to hire that have solid communication skills. Be prepared to train any new individuals in active listening, conflict resolution, and compassionate problem solving. Model and set the standard for open communication by listening and valuing what others have to say. Encourage and foster a work environment of empathy, trust, and understanding. Remember, if individuals find it challenging to express their thoughts and ideas, this ultimately creates distrust and shuts down innovation and collaboration instantly. People respond instantly also if they feel heard and valued, so focus on this!

AUTHENTICITY

Authenticity is the catch word of the day it seems. We are seeing this concept everywhere. Why are we having to bring this concept to the forefront today? Corporate environments began the move away from authenticity in the past with their hierarchical configurations. These companies got into structures that demanded practices that were unhealthy and eventually created terrible imbalance. In these environments, people began to use mirroring and masking to survive. They misrepresented and lied to try and survive the expectations. This behavior began to permeate the work world and it was inevitable it would collapse. Hence, the pandemic sped up the process as everyone got to take a time out to actually reflect on their lives and what was going to make them content.

High stress environments and prolonged periods of pressure can lead to burnout. Burnout decreases motivation and increases disengagement which can then lead to “quiet quitting” and other strategies employees use to cope. The mental well-being of the team members significantly impacts overall morale. Authenticity is critical today to moving away from these imbalanced expectations and hostile work environments. Fostering an environment where people feel safe to express their ideas, experiment, and take some risks improves the creativity and innovation immediately. People are more positive when they feel they can be themselves and don’t have to parrot the company line.

STRATEGY:

Foster environments that encourage experimentation and calculated risk taking. Brainstorming sessions, thinking workshops, facilitated discussions, and clear uncomplicated conflict resolution process, all begin to establish a trust-based work environment where employees can thrive and positively be part of the process. Mindfulness practices help team members regulate their emotions during conflicts. Consider including training on regulating emotions through mindfulness practice. An offering of a program for mental health support to the individual or to a struggling supervisor communicates the value of everyone being supported.

TRUST AND LEADERSHIP

The leaders and leadership in the organization are critical to accomplishing trust. If your leaders are not on board with a trusting, open, supportive, work environment, the organization is doomed to repeat history. Proven leadership practices include emphasizing emotional intelligence and mental health awareness. This means trusting people to be adults and not treating them like children to be bossed around. The signs of burnout can start subtly. Hence the new trend towards “quiet quitting”. Leaders who are leading by example, practicing self-care, promoting healthy work life balance, having compassion and offering resources to those that are struggling, will begin to shift things towards trust. Leaders must understand if they are distrusting and micromanaging, they will not foster loyalty and in fact keep their employees in a constant state of feeling unsettled. (exhausting by the way) Team dynamics breakdown quickly under these circumstances when the members don’t feel they can trust. Leaders giving employees the time and space to do their jobs effectively as adults are putting a deposit in the bank. If you are not an empathetic leader and you are not making deposits in the trust bank, there will be nothing in it to withdraw when the time of need arrives. Simply put and rather obvious, your employees will not care about you, if you do not care about them. And besides, if someone is struggling or being dishonest about their time, it’s going to come to the surface through work performance and quality of work anyway.

STRATEGY:

A mindset shift! That’s right – a mindset shift for leadership and the organization is required to make this happen. Change and publicize your organizational values, train all leaders with soft skills (including active listening and conflict resolution), set the expectations clearly, celebrate successes on a regular basis, be prepared to address any default to the old paradigm. Also be prepared for the workplace to be happier, more positive, and more collaborative. The benefits of trust are substantial including improved performance by both individuals, teams, and the overall organization. Get started by taking small steps and build on them daily. Getting comfortable with a trusting dynamic can take some effort but the payoff is huge!

Mental Health is Moving To The Forefront

The workplace is changing rapidly. Employees are becoming more concerned about work life balance and working conditions that enhance their life vs. deplete their life. They are becoming empowered to negotiate their work conditions. Business is having to respond. The mental health of the employees and organizations is critical to surviving and thriving in today’s world. Creating trusting work environments and finding resources to support this shift is the task in front of the business world today. Mental Health is moving to the forefront where it has needed to be for a long time. Let’s embrace this opportunity to improve everyone’s lives and pave the way to a more positive and productive work environment equipped to deal with the challenges presented!