Comstock's magazine 1119 - November 2019 | Seite 81

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
CONSIDER FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULES
Good employers recognize that employees with chronic or acute illness might have to
take sick days or work from home when they’re not at their best. The same measures
can help those struggling with mental illness. Whenever possible, employers should give
“employees as much control as is reasonable” over their schedules, says Yellowlees, who
encourages techniques like video conferencing to facilitate at-home work. Even business-
es that require employees’ physical presence, such as restaurants, can offer time off for
mental wellness within reason. “You get to say, ‘I really care about you,’” he says.
TAKE A HOLISTIC, PREVENTATIVE APPROACH
Donna Hardaker, manager of workplace mental health and peer engagement at Sutter
Health, cautions against a whack-a-mole approach to mental wellness, in which “an issue
emerges and we hit it,” she says. Instead, she encourages employers to consider hazards
against mental health, such as toxic stress, on the same level as physical hazards against
health and safety. Employers don’t only set up ways for employees to heal from encoun-
ters with physical hazards, like sharp edges and fumes; they put measures in place to
prevent harm. “It’s a deep culture change,” Hardaker says.
DEMONSTRATE LEADER COMMITMENT
Hardaker’s approach to what she terms “psychological
health and safety” involves training employees at all
levels of an organization to understand how what hap-
pens at work can affect a person’s well-being, without
pigeonholing people into specific diagnoses. Managers
and employers should “move into a state of conscious-
ness around how we truly care about our ‘greatest as-
set’ — our people” in all decisions, she says. n
Jennifer Fergesen is a freelance writer who
covers food and the stories behind it. Born in
New Jersey, she has written for publications
around the world, including in Iceland and the
United Kingdom. Read more at www.jcfrgsn.
journoportfolio.com.
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