Great ground rules, thank you!

I love the idea of assuming the best no matter the words used.

Exactly, we never know what someone is going through so assuming the best can help meet them where they are.

Ex: Living with a mental/emotional rollercoaster

I prefer life balance to the term work-life balance!

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Completely agree Antonio!

Has anyone ever benefitted directly from an EAP? Every time I've explored this, the benefits were minimal and not helpful at all.

That is my same experience with EAP.

I have! I have found my regular therapist through EAP. EAP provided 3 free sessions while I chose who would be best for me.

same

Our EAP is amazingly helpful. I think it depends on the service that the firm goes with. We have a wide choice of providers to choose from.

I have, and have sent my team to the EAP. We have an excellent plan that allows 8 free therapy sessions, legal advice, etc. It may be dependent on the EAP your firm works with.

I heard other things are very useful with EAP to allay stress, like help with finding long-term care facility for a parent, a new veterinarian, etc.

I haven't used it myself

I need to ask again, what does EAP stand for?

Employee Assistance Program

Employee Assist. Program

EAPs should also have culturally-relevant providers; sometimes therapists or care providers serve certain populations well but not others. EAPs that are selected should demonstrate they have EDI policies in place to support a diverse workforce

The trouble I've encountered with EAP services is that they are ineffective in transitioning to long-term care. It's like "here are your four sessions." then you can never see that person again, because they aren't associated with your insurance and they don't direct you to enough additional resources.

Ah, I see, Yes, Thanks, this is really helpful for me here.

my bipolar son was driven to attempt suicide due to harassment he received from management and coworkers due to his mental health struggles. I have never felt more helpless as a parent.

For me, it allowed me to start the conversation with someone. Depending our your company's plan, you can receive several free sessions per situation. I have used it for both personal therapy and family therapy.

This is all very helpful for me as well, thank you!

So sorry Alexandra - is your son getting help now?

Thank you for remembering Gen X-ers...sign me, Gen X-er.

The Forgotten Generation

Fellow Gen X-er here!!

I'm unfamiliar with the term "GIG workforce."

Where does

Gen Z fall?

@Danielle - yes. He sees a psychiatrist and a counselor regularly

GIG relates to contract or freelance work... project by project, versus full time employment

Gig = Independent contractors like Uber drivers, delivery people for Instacart etc.

@Emma, I think Gen-Z counted as post millennial on the last slide

Thank you!

yes!

Alexandra, i'm so sorry. I'm bipolar also and only found out after I admitted myself. This was just the other year. My firm was completely supportive and was there for me throughout the whole processes leading me back to working 40 hrs again

Gen Z is the folks younger than Millennials.

@Jenn I am glad you got help!

On the question EDI vs DEI - I find academics use EDI, and workplaces use DEI. The UK uses EDI more than DEI though, in my expeirence

Thank you all for sharing your personal stories. They are so powerful and highlight exactly what we're discussing today.

Agreed, Russel. I asked on the behalf of everyone as there are more and more being used. the JEDI one I also wanted to include because of the Justice element.

My firm has an internal JEDI group. they've done some great work getting awareness out there.

^ very cool!

Yes!

I agree, these stories have been good and very informative and let's us know we are all human and have things to deal with help where needed and it's okay to reach out there too. I don't have a big enough company to use the Employee program, but have started using a therapist that's helped me a lot here personally. Thanks for the stories.

I just had a baby 4 months ago and my supervisor has given me an incredibly safe and open environment to make sure I balance being a new mom and professional :)

Great comment, @Leonor!

Thanks here Shannon, glad to do the input--: )

This is a really informative presentation. Will it be available to share?

It will be available to attendees.

Good to know this will be shared, I think it'll be very helpful to our team. Thank you.

So grateful for today’s presentation and continued efforts to overcome the stigma associated with mental health. 👏

Any resources for training for our managers on mental health awareness for their staff? I tried to find Mental Health First Aid training but they are full day or multiple day courses.

@nanette... i'd put that in the Q&A chat. bottom center of screen

@nanette great question! would love to see those resources.

Love the advocacy for not turning on one's camera. I've seen far too much peer pressure on that front.

Yes, our culture is very on-camera centric

My first boss in A/E/C marketing used to use her PTO to take a “mental health day” every now and then after a big proposal deadline was done. She communicated it to me and others—and this was 20+ years ago. That was a great example for me to make mental health a priority (even though I am not good at practicing it!)

Great advice to share @Holly!

Holly, that is so wonderful to hear!

This has been so great!

Yes, Holly! my boss reminds us regularly to use our PTO for mental health days. practically tells us to. haha

Hi Paul!

Russell! Hello!

Imo we are asking for leadership to meet the staff where they are instead of adding stress, because most of the working class are taking on additional responsibilities often w/o compensation.

So many instances of men talking openly about mental health challenges now. Sometimes, the gym and the barber shop are not sufficient! It is ok to seek professional help...as you would for any physical challenge.

GREAT advice!

Not only use person-first language, but ask if the diagnosis is even relevant and needs to be mentioned at all

Appreciate the positivity in here. As a new hire out of school seeing discussion like this makes me feel hopeful

Apart from supporting our colleagues who may be experiencing temporary or enduring mental health conditions; supporting those who are supporting their loved ones. My dad had schizophrenia and in that period my mom had no support from and was blamed by her employer.

@Jessica SprouseCompletely agree

We hope to continue to foster safe spaces Brandon.

@Russell Pollard. Good point! Caregivers go through so much.

and we have to be sure to protect ourselves. can we give to others when we're silently hurting ourselves? i always try to offer an ear, but sometimes it's hard to push past listening.

Set boundaries.. I work out of a large kitchen . and I remember having to tell a former coworker who kept sending me TEAMS messages.. I am cooking, this can wait until tmtrw

setting boundaries is sometimes difficult. boundaries for others and yourself.

YES, you can mute notifications during certain hours

on your phone

Apple has a new setting that will turn off all work related apps at a certain time of day

I believe they're are settings within your phones to block out usage/notificatins for certain periods of time

agreed Katherine!

Yep, I;ve started making use of my app scheduling and notifications.

I also think that no one wants to be working that late, why are we doing to others if we don't want it done to us?

if no one is dying or the building isn't going down.. it can wait until tmrw.. don't call me call 911 . HA!

Very early on, my manager taught me, block out random times in your schedule throughout the week. When people see your calendar is open, they won't hesitate to fill it. Block out "meetings" in your calendar to get actual focused work done, rather than working after hours to finish because you spent all your day in meetings

We are not what we produce. We are living beings. I agree responsibility is on both the employee and employer.

Every device has a "Do not disturb" feature. Use it!

This is why I have a "work" cell phone and my personal cell phone. Many of my coworkers have one phone for personal and work use and I will never merge the two. This way I can put my work cell phone away during personal time.

i made a policy at my last role to remove email and teams from my phone. until the company is paying for my phone, they can wait until i'm back at my desk.

Awesome idea Raphael

I turned off the notifications on my phone of when I got new emails, as I was finding myself constantly checking the phone to ensure I didn't miss anything and that help a lot w/ just trying to manage my time and prioritize things better. Rather than feeling that the latest email was the most important, as I think a lot of people do and the stress then mounts as a result.

You can set up "Focus Time" in both Outlook and Teams for do not disturb hours

One of my favorite email features is being able to schedule a message to hit my clients’ inboxes when I know they’re working the next day, instead of after hours… even if I am working a little late or on the weekend. I don’t want to bother them, and I don’t want to get emails back after hours when I’m trying to get caught up. ;)

Loving all the advice in this chat! Fantastic to see so much support from y'all!

I remember never putting my out of office on so I felt guilty but now..PTO = Prepare the Others!

@Rylie I have the "Focus Time" set up and I love it!

Thankfully with two maternity leaves, my back up was great.

Love that Ivoire!

I love that Ivoire! PTO lol

:)

Ivorie - Prepare The Others! 😆

YAAASSS - Cross Training is still a thing people!

Love this conversation!!

Me or you time, I love that. To use for volunteerism or whatever you want.

Yes! Outlook has a default FOCUS feature I use too. Add your own as well

This webinar JUST what I was hoping it would be and more!

training. something I've never had in this industry. for some reason it was like people were afraid to train new/younger employees for fear of their job (this is often the case in single-person marketing departments). which cracks me up because that's something I love to do, train people, share skills, trade things that work!

Very early in my tenure, my PM cut one of our calls because she had to go pick her daughters up from dance class. As a new father, this was beautiful to me. To this day, I'm thankful to work for a company that respects that I have a daughter who has doctor and dentist appointments during the weekdays and as long as I get my work done, I have flexibility to be present when she needs me to

Me too, Steven! I've almost noticed that a lot of people aren't willing to accept help or training.

I tried setting up a default FOCUS time in Outlook, but couldn't figure out how

Thank you so much for your insights! Great session!

haha, love training.... but I totally have a hard time accepting help! 😄

Ah ha! Is it a generational thing? Maybe it's just me...

i think it may be!

@Jenn You can use the Microsoft Viva app to set up quiet time and focus time

@Steven - 😂

There must be an element of professional obligations related to protecting public interest, and ensuring work is done in an atmosphere where mental health is genuinely supported. If people are stressed and burned out, how can they make sound professional decisions? Not sure if Im wording that clearly .. thinking out loud!

and AEC likes to reward those who pull all nighters or work around the clock. we gotta break that habit!

Thank you all for attending today's session. This is among the most spirited discussions we have had! We will attempt to address your unanswered questions offline.

@Steven yes!

Definitely doing my mental health first air training. Nice companion to my regular OFA.

Thank you Keyona, Joy and Antonio!

Thank you so much for offering this session. What an incredible discussion!

*aid

Thank you SMPS! I love seeing friends from across the country discussing such an important topic.

Thank you!

Thank you for having this webinar!

@Steven - yes, I thing we as marketers need to be careful in which "hero" stories we are telling.

Thank you!!

Great suggestion Joy!

I agree, Thanks SMPS and others for sharing their stories. SMPS need to keep this going for another discussion at least for another time, as it's too important not to leave here and have too many questions needed to be answer here.

I love that idea Joy " A Mental Health Moment" to kick start just like we do safety briefings.

Thank you all for sharing. This was great!

Thank you Keyona and Joy for such insightful content and dialogue, and thanks to everyone in this chat for the great discussion. Big thanks also to the DEI Committee and SMPS HQ team for planning and providing access to this and our other top notch town halls. Wonderful way to start the week!

Thank you SMPS for this. Great discussion.

Thank you very much for this excellent discussion! I had to miss a portion of the call and I'd like to catch up on what I missed. Will we be able to obtain a recording?

@Mary, they said it would be available, yes.

Thank you for offering this session! It is a great discussion today and one to have more frequently with our companies!

This has been a wonderful discussion! Thank you, Keyona and Joy!

The recording will be available on the SMPS DEI webpage.

Thank You, how often those who are aware, feel unheard on this topic. This discussion and presentation has given hope in our industry!

And keep these conversations going with your families! Informed people will reduce stigma.

Thank you everyone. Some great discussion and good points shared. Appreciate the time

Thank you for organizing this!

Thanks everyone!

really important topic! thanks

Extremely informative, thank you!

This was an excellent discussion. Thank you Keyona, SMPS, and all who shared in the chat!

This was incredible. Thank you!

Thanks for a wonderful presentation to all the organizers!

Very informative, thank you!

Thank you! This has been a great webinar.

👏 Thank you for this discussion. :)

Thank you!!!!

Thank you Keyona and SMPS .

Thank you for the presentation and great information!

👏Thank you!!

Thank you, Keyona! This was a great discussion!

thank you

Thank you!

Excellent presentation!

Thank you!

Great presentation & thank you!

👏🏾 this was great

great presentation, can't wait to share with my team!

Great conversation. Thank you!

Thank you!

Very informative, thank you!

dei@smps.org

Email your feedback to dei@smps.org

Thank you! this has been a wonderful space with wonderful information.