Who are you and what is your role in New Waters Recovery?
I am Graham Dorge. I am the CEO of Recovery of New Waters.
What is your connection to rehab and sobriety?
I was dealing with my own issues, specifically alcohol. I decided to get sober and was successful in doing so. I have been sober since 2008.
When I was in treatment, I realized that they did an excellent job of helping me through it. They saved my life and I couldn’t thank them enough. It inspired me to give back and unbeknownst to me, this ended up being more than a life changing event.
I decided to do my part to help people get sober too. Making a career out of that was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Believe it or not, my wife Chloe is someone who has also been through her own problems.
She went through her own substance abuse issues. Like me, she is in recovery. We decided to start a recovery center so that people can have a second chance like us.
If it wasn’t for our recovery, we would never have started New Waters Recovery. Nor would we have lived a blessed life with our three daughters.
As a CEO, you are a business leader in a sense. What are some steps companies should take to make mental health a priority?
That’s a great question. Business leaders, whether they are corporate leaders or small business owners, need to understand how important is mental health. I think it starts with knowing what the signs and symptoms of common mental disorders are.
For example, a person may not care about their appearance. They may have poor hygiene, they don’t look good together like they normally do. If you combine that with them being in a bad mood and having low productivity, you know something is up.
I think it’s critical for business leaders to learn more about how to identify the symptoms and signs of potential mental stress. In this way, they can educate their employees to detect it themselves. They want to make sure everyone is mentally healthy.
If they notice something is wrong, they want to be able to raise their concerns without repercussions. They want someone to get the help they need quickly before things get worse.
What would be the best way for corporations to address mental health issues affecting their employees?
I would say that someone within the corporation is giving a presentation on mental health issues in the workplace. It could also be someone with a mental health organization that provides the presentation to business leaders and their employees.
They can talk about the kinds of mental problems that exist and how they are treated. The presentation should also remind people that it is okay to not be okay. Employers should also have strategies where they can confidently talk to employees who are dealing with potential mental health issues.
I strongly encourage employers to connect with local mental health professionals. I think having those people in your network will be critical. That way, if he or an employee of his needs mental health services, he’ll have their contact information handy.
This will definitely make an employer more resourceful in how they can help their employees.
What do you think are the common signs of mental health problems in the workplace?
I think the biggest problem is that someone does not show up repeatedly. They may call in sick or not show up without a prior phone call. They may be isolated to the point where they cannot leave their home.
If they appear, they may be in a bad mood. They may be sad, irritable, or have some kind of mood swings. Also, if their productivity is suffering along with the signs they’re dealing with, that could be cause for concern.
Again, I think it’s critical that an employer needs to identify at least the basic signs related to mental health issues. They don’t have to be masters at detecting it. They need to know enough to say ‘OK, something’s not right’. Let’s see what’s going on.
Once they can identify what could be a possible mental health issue, they can refer your employee to a professional.
What do you think should be done to prevent mental health problems?
Believe it or not, most mental health problems can start from work-related stress. For that reason, I encourage employers to consider taking the necessary steps. An example of this is creating a work-life balance that works for all employees.
The point of this is that you don’t want your employees to be overworked. Doing so will cause stress and burnout. Too much of that can lead to burnout, which can eventually lead to mental problems.
What makes this even better is that remote work can be an option. This is assuming a company has the infrastructure for it. I also think it can reduce the stress of going from home to the office.
Think about it, when a person arrives at the office, they are probably stressed. The same treatment when they return home. If remote work isn’t out of the realm of possibility, I think I encourage employers to consider that idea.
I also encourage business leaders to educate their employees and let them know that overwork should not be encouraged. I understand that there are business goals that need to be met. And there are also deadlines to meet.
However, I believe that mental health should remain a priority. You don’t need to work overtime if you don’t want to. You can go home, spend time with family, and come back tomorrow and pick up where you left off.
Thank you very much for your time, Graham.
My pleasure. Thank you very much.
