Two Thunder Bay women are looking to arm employers with tools to support employee mental health, an issue brought into the spotlight by the COVID-19 pandemic.
You’ve probably heard of the term “quiet smoking cessation.”
There’s a lot of debate surrounding the pros and cons of quietly quitting, and whether or not you’ve indulged in the practice, you’re at the center of a growing discussion about work-life balance and employee mental well-being.
Two Thunder Bay women, Krystina Hunter and Deanne Gagnon, are trying to improve workplaces by helping employees’ mental well-being.
Hunter, owner and manager of KHunter Workplace Mental Health Solutions, has been an advocate for improving employee mental health and wellness in organizational structures since 2015.
She is also a Working Mind Trainer in Mental Health First Aid through the Canadian Mental Health Commission.
Seeing a real need to help workplaces improve employee mental health and wellness, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, Hunter teamed up with Gagnon, a business facilitator who helps teams in the business to flourish through team building exercises and workshops.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has put an exceptional amount of stress and workload on leaders to balance operational demands with the health and wellness needs of employees like never before,” Hunter said.
“Many workplaces are seeing things like increased turnover, absenteeism, low morale, hiring issues, burnout, and all of these things are directly related to the mental health and well-being of employees. So we came together and wanted to use our collective experience to provide a solution and a forum for leaders to build skills to address this issue in their own workplaces.”
Hunter believes that many leaders have good intentions to support the mental wellness of their employees, but due to a lack of skills, time, and knowledge to do so effectively, they often fall short.
After initial positive feedback from a group of local community leaders, he felt the need to share his success and use his knowledge and experience with other local community leaders.
Gagnon joined Hunter to host a one-day summit, “Managing Employee Mental Health and Wellbeing After a Pandemic,” for local business leaders to share creative solutions to address deteriorating mental health of your employees. The event is planned for October 5.
“We’re bringing the water cooler conversation to the table because in companies, a lot of times the best ideas come from front-line staff who don’t necessarily get a chance to provide input,” he said.
“So that’s my mission: to help teams thrive, to help people recognize their own value in their team.”
The summit is designed by the duo to give local leaders the tools, skills and knowledge to effectively address employee mental health and wellness amid a rapidly changing landscape.
The summit is divided into two sessions, with the morning session focusing on the educational aspects by exploring ways leaders can support their teams. The afternoon session will kick off the theory as they are designed for leaders to work together and implement solution strategies.
“We’ve had a lot of great leaders from local organizations within the community sign up,” Gagnon said. “I’m going to work with them through a process where they can really take what they’ve learned and then come up with solutions together to find ways to implement what they’ve learned, specifically in their own workplaces, because different workplaces have different needs”.
Hunter and Gagnon believe that leaders looking for ways to better support the mental health and well-being of their employees would benefit most from this summit.
Trade partners acknowledged that while the event has “post-pandemic” in its name, the pandemic is not necessarily over. However, the couple say the event will address how the pandemic has created what could be lasting changes in workplace cultures.
“It’s just helping leaders now navigate the new landscape, whether it’s hybrid workplaces, employees with different stress levels or health issues, or allowing flexibility and just feeling confident in their ability to support their team.” .
Both encourage leaders who want to adapt to the new work environment, from supervisors to senior managers, to register for the summit. registration is available online along with more information.
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