What Tips Can You Give to Employers to Support Employee Mental Health

What Tips Can You Give to Employers to Support Employee Mental Health If youre reading this and thinking you dont have an employee mental health policy in place and have no idea where to start, or youre not happy with the one you currently have in place, then dont worry. While there is no right or wrong when it comes to what should be in your own mental health policies, our 10 experts have got these tips to help you either get the ball rolling or tweaking whatever youve got in place already. Nick Patel There is no shortage of reasons why an employer should care about workplace mental health.   From being the right thing to do, to building a culture of health, to improving productivity and retention, employers have numerous reasons to make employee mental health a priority.   If a company does not have a policy in place, the best place to start is to make sure the company culture makes employees feel comfortable talking about mental health.   Employees should not feel as if they need to hide this problem and fight it alone.   Employers can then look to providing other benefits, such as mental health coverage. Nick Patel, CEO of Wellable. Renae Shaw It is really important to bring mental health policies to the front of your HR plan if they aren’t already. I would encourage companies to join networks like the Mindful Employer Charter which offers a plethora of resources to help you implement an effective plan to help your employees. Another great source of inspiration for future policy is researching other companies similar to your own to see what they are up to with regard to HR policy. Information from other companies can help inspire strategy and future policy. There are also plenty of seminars, webinars and research available online which offers a springboard to other resources. Renae Shaw, Head of HR at Search Laboratory. Lee Keyes The main thing is awareness of the costs associated with unaddressed mental health issues. Research by the APA has clearly shown that missing or ineffective policies lead to losses in productivity, revenue, employee retention, morale, and more. It is clearly in the interests of employers to establish and maintain effective policies and benefits.   Dr. Lee Keyes, is a Psychologist and Emeritus Director at the University of Alabama. Emma Mamo For employers who are at the start of their journey the first step is to raise awareness of mental health with employees. This could include providing expert information through the Mental Health at Work Gateway or signposting for support and rolling out mental health awareness training for staff. Additionally, they can: Make a public commitment â€" make a commitment to take action and change how we think and act about mental health in the workplace by signing the Time to Change Employers Pledge Review current policy â€" audit and review current policy and practice in relation to staff mental health through Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index Take action â€" Improve workplace wellbeing through action plans, training, and consultancy Evaluate â€" monitor mental health and wellbeing and assess where the gaps lie between the approach to workplace wellbeing and staff perceptions via the Workplace Wellbeing Index. Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind. Brendan Street To create a mental health policy that positively impacts the bottom line, it is important to define goals.  Determine if anything in the workplace could be creating undue stress. If so, use resolving these issues as the starting point for your policy. Then, research and write a formal policy, seeking the necessary legal advice and consult with a mental health advocate to ensure your plan is as relevant as possible. Policies should outline  ongoing education and training, once introduced. This is essential so everyone is aware of your new mental health legislation and feels confident discussing it. Brendan Street, Professional Head of Emotional Wellbeing at Nuffield Health. Shona Davies Get one! There are many charities who are able to assist with consulting, training, coaching and counselling services. I work with Mind in Mid Herts who have a fantastic team willing to help companies of all sizes to ensure that everyone who is touched by mental ill health gets the support they need. . Shona Davies, Founder of Shona Davies Consulting. Chieu Cao The first step is to talk to your employees and find out in what areas they feel they most need mental health support. We often associate employee wellbeing with just the physiological and mental/emotional side of wellbeing but the reality is that there are many more, equally important parts to it. For example, the social element â€"creating an environment that’s inclusive where colleagues feel comfortable, or the material one â€" such as an office space that’s comfortable and appealing. They all impact employee mental wellbeing and should be given equal attention. It may be an idea to do an anonymous survey with employees, so that they can be as open as possible about how they are feeling. As an employer you can then use this feedback to create a mental health policy that is tailored to the needs of your employees, helping create a safe and supportive environment for everyone in your office.                       Chieu Cao, Co-Founder of Perkbox. Lucy Faulks Take steps to find out whats really going on with your employees ask them how you could support them with their mental health. Working with a company such as ourselves can help as we can advise on how to implement your mental health policy from start to finish, ensure maximum engagement and crucially ensure that you have the happiest and most productive employees you can have. Lucy Faulks, Co-founder of Elevate. Paula Whelan If you want to create a culture that supports staff to be open about their mental health, it is vital to: a) Develop a strategy / policy that demonstrates your commitment to staff mental wellbeing b) Provide Mental Health Awareness Training for all staff â€" this will develop understanding and will encourage your staff to talk about mental health and wellbeing. Paula Whelan, Head of Diversity Inclusion at Right Track Learning. Nicole Thurman I would make the case that mental health is an increasingly impactful problem in society. Providing help is a strategy for a healthier workforce, which will, in turn, be a more productive workforce. I think thats how you make the case for it. Not all companies have a core value of putting people first like CHG, but all companies think about making money. We are a progressive company in the way we treat our people and the services we provide. As other companies start to move in this direction, they will see the results we have seen, which is being able to help and keep good people here at our organization. I know that including mental health resources into our benefits program has worked   because we have a full-time counselor here in our onsite clinic that is completely booked and we are hiring a second person. I have heard about the value people have received and its inspiring that people are taking care of themselves and working through their issues. Nicole Thurman, Vice President, Talent Management at CHG Healthcare.

How Exactly Does Facebook EdgeRank Work

How Exactly Does Facebook EdgeRank Work OK youre a recruiter and youre trying to use Facebook for job postings. Lets say your Facebook Page has 1,000 fans and you do an update about a really hot opportunity. The average Facebook user has 130 friends, meaning you have a potential reach of 130,000 users right? Wrong. The average Facebook post only reaches 16% of the pages fans and most fans never go back to the Page after they have liked it in the first place.  The average user has no less than 130 friends and 80 Pages, groups and events to keep track of. This means some serious filtering has to be done to ensure a decent user experience. Enter EdgeRank, Facebooks algorithm for deciding what you will see in your newsfeed. This formula is based on 3 ingredients: Affinity, Weight and Time Decay. Have a look at the infographic from VASimpleServices below:

Personal Branding Interview #2 John Baldoni - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview #2 John Baldoni - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to John Baldoni, who is an internationally recognized leadership development consultant, executive coach, speaker, and author of   12 Steps to Power Presence: How to Assert Your Authority to Lead (Amacom 2010). In this interview, John talks about leadership presence, influencing others, and more. Is it possible to be a leader, but not confident? Consider that leadership is about bringing people together for common cause. So if you lack confidence who would want to follow you? But let’s be clear. Confidence emerges from accomplishment. An emerging leader may not be as confident as a more senior leader; that’s a positive. Too much confidence without anything to back it up is hubris. This is not to say that confident leaders do not have doubts. Sure they do. Over time they have learned to trust their abilities, as well as the good people around them; make the right decision at the right time so that the organization wins more often than it loses. What is a genuine leadership presence and what does it take to develop it? Leadership presence is “earned authority.” A leader is given authority due to position but he or she earns it through personal example and professional competence. Leadership presence is the projection of a leader’s authentic self. That authenticity is comprised of a person’s beliefs and convictions and reinforced by behavior. That is, it’s not “the talk” that matters it’s “walking the talk” that makes the difference. It is what leaders do to convince people to believe in them as people and as leaders. Developing leadership presence is matter of practice and experience. You observe leaders you respect and seek to emulate the way they connect with others through their communications and by their personal charm. You reinforce your presence with example. That is, you do what you say you will do. Leadership presence is the radiance of authenticity. That is, you radiate sincerity and you have what it takes to make good things happen. It is different from charisma; charisma is a gift, but it’s the sheen on metal. Presence is the real deal â€" a person’s mettle. How do you get people to buy into the decisions that you make? You create a picture of what you want to happen and why it is important. Very often before the decision is made, you solicit input from those who must carry out your decision. You want their input because they are the ones are going to implement what happens next. Once you have made your decision you make it clear that everyone must support it because the team can only succeed if everyone pulls together. Dissent is welcome prior to the decision, but afterward the leader has the right to expect everyone to pull together and move in the same direction. What is an example of a leader who has genuine leadership presence? Classic examples of those with leadership presence are presidents like John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. They radiated charisma and drew people to them. Frances Hesselbein, former CEO of the Girl Scouts and now chairman of the Leader to Leader Institute, generates a strong sense of presence. People respect her executive abilities but also her warm charm and deep concern for others. But charisma is only an attribute of leadership presence so when I think of leadership presence I think of men and women from all walks of life that each of us knows. Consider the school principal who can greet every student and often their parents by name; she radiates a sense of authority. There is also the CEO who works in an open plan office. He is accessible to all and projects the feeling of being centered. Is it hard to write a book in under 70 pages and get your point across? How did the writing of this book compare to your last few? I am at heart an essayist. It comes from my background as a speechwriter. That is, I know how to get to the heart of the matter and explain it in plain and simple language. I wrote 12 Steps to Power Presence to give readers a sense of what leadership presence is and how they could implement it in their leadership lives. - John Baldoni is an internationally recognized leadership development consultant, executive coach, author, and speaker. In 2010 Top Leadership Gurus named John one of the world’s top 25 leadership experts. John’s newest book is 12 Steps to Power Presence: How to Assert Your Authority to Lead (Amacom 2010). Readers are welcome to visit John’s website, www.johnbaldoni.com.   His work centers on how leaders can use their authority, communications and presence to build trust and drive results. He is the author of nine books on leadership, including Leading Up: The Subtle Art of Managing Up and Lead By Example, 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results. John is an online leadership columnist for Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg/Businessweek, Fast Company and the Washington Post.

How to Fight Age Discrimination - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Fight Age Discrimination - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Being out of work is hard, being unemployed and in your 50’s can be impossible. While companies won’t admit it, age discrimination does exist, particularly in a tight job market where there are many more candidates than job openings. Although the problem crosses both genders, older women reentering the job market can have an even tougher time.   According to the September jobs report, women 55 and older who have been out of work for longer than 27 weeks increased from 50.9% in August to 54% in September. Older workers looking for employment may think they have to act or dress younger to land a job in this economy, but career experts and headhunters say they should use what they have to their favor: knowledge and experience. “In life there are the Justin Bieber’s and the Sean Connery’s,” says Mark Jaffe, president of Wyatt Jaffe, the executive search firm. “There’s no shame in being Sean Connery.” According to Jaffe, often older job seekers make the mistake of focusing on their past achievements and calling attention to themselves, preemptively laying out an argument why their age won’t matter, when they should be talking about what their goals are for the future and why their wisdom and age can actually benefit the company. “The question I want answered by someone (regardless of age) is are they playing their greatest hits or are they cranking out new music,” says Jaffe.   He says to avoid talking about your age on an interview, but instead talk about how your experience puts you in the unique position to accurately judge situations and understand people’s behavior. “You don’t have to talk about trendy stuff or having great computer skills. Be that wise old guy,” says Jaffe. While conveying your wisdom and experience on an interview is one thing, getting the interview is something different altogether. According to career experts, to prevent your resume from getting skipped over because of your age, leave off age identifying information. “Don’t include your entire work history,” says Alison Doyle, the job search expert for About.com.   “The last ten to fifteen years is sufficient.” Doyle says she had one job seeker who had 35 years of experience on the resume and couldn’t understand why employers weren’t calling. She says having years and years of experience is a red flag. “They can guess how old you are right off the bat if you have thirty years of experience,” she says. Another age identifier to leave off the resume is the dates you went to college. It’s not hard to figure out how old someone is if they graduated college in 1980. What’s more, make sure your skills are fresh on your resume and include current applications. Nothing screams outdated and out of touch than skills that have been obsolete for years. So even if you are an ace in Word Perfect or C++, don’t include it on your resume.   “If you need to upgrade your skills be sure to do that,” says Doyle. “It makes a difference with employers.” Whether you are 25 or 55, one of the best ways to get a job is to do so by recommendation from someone you know. That is why career experts say its impetrative that older workers tap connections and network in order to find a new job. “You’re more likely to get a job from someone you know,” says Kerry Hannon, career expert and author of What’sNext? Find Your Dream Job. “Dig deep into your network and ask for help.” In addition to networking through traditional channels, Hannon says it’s important to get online and learn how to use social media like LinkedIn and Facebook. LinkedIn is a valuable tool to network within a given industry as well as meet new people that may be able to help you find employment. Hannon says it’s also important to keep your skills sharp, even if you’ve been laid off for a while. “Don’t just sit around and send out resumes,” says Hannon. “Take a course at the community college. Get out there and volunteer. You never know who you are going to meet that might help you get in the door.” Author: Donna Fuscaldo is a freelance journalist hailing out of Long Island, New York. Donna writes for numerous online publications including FoxBusiness.com, Bankrate.com, AARP.com, Insurance.com and Houselogic.com. As a personal finance reporter for years, Donna provides invaluable advice on everything from saving money to landing that dream job. She also writes a weekly column for FoxBusiness.com focused on technology for small businesses. Previously, Donna was an equities reporter for Dow Jones Newswires and a special contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Through the Glassdoor Blog, Donna will provide tips on how to find a job and more importantly keep it.

7 Book Title Ideas for Easy to Write Books - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

7 Book Title Ideas for Easy to Write Books - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Writing a book to build your personal brand is much easier when you select a book title that helps you to plan and write. The sooner you select a title that provides a easy-to-write approach, or structure, for your book, the sooner youll finish your book, so your book can start branding you as an expert in your field, enhancing your online visibility while attracting profitable new business and speaking opportunities. Complexity is the enemy of achievement! Books written around simple title ideas that provide a structure for organizing your ideas and finishing each chapter are easier to write and get finished faster than complicated, tell everything you know, books. In the time it takes to write one big book, you could write and publish three shorter books which could provide 3 times the online visibility of just one book! Title ideas that provide a structure for writing Here are some examples of book titles that provide structure and help you organize your books table of contents: Rules. One of the easiest types of books to write is to distill your expertise and experience into a relatively small number of rules. One of the best examples of this is Mitchell Levys 42 Rules for Driving Business with Books. Indeed, theres a whole series of 42 Rules books! The power of this title is in its practicality: one you identify the most important 42 rules of success in your field, solving problems or achieving goals, it becomes easy to write each topic. Recipes for success. Recipes work outside the kitchen, too! If you have more than 42 success tactics, consider writing a series of recipe books for solving different problems your market may be experiencing, or achieving different types of goals. Think in terms of 99 Recipes for Building Traffic to Your Website followed by 99 Recipes for Attracting Corporate Clients to Your Graphic Design Studio. Each of the recipes would follow the same problem/solution structure and include easy-to-follow numbered instructions. Tips. Tips are shorter and more action-oriented than rules and recipes. A helpful tip can be communicated in a paragraph containing just 2 or 3 sentences. In the space of a 99 Ways book, you could publish a 201 Tips book! If-Then books. One of my all-time favorite books, one that I still refer to structure and lasting value, is the PageMaker 5 Companion, written by Robin Williams, Barbara Sikora, and Vicki Calkins. Its out of print, but if you get a chance to take a look at one, or invest a couple of dollars in a used copy, youll understand why I remain enthusiastic about it. You can quickly find how to do something because the book is organized in a If you want to (description of task) then turn to page (number) which is far easier to use to the typical linear, and often arbitrary, chapter organization often found in how to books. Case histories. If youre looking for ways to write an easy-to-write book with even fewer chapters than a 42 Rules type book, consider profiling clients and experts in your field who have solved problems or achieved important goals. Each chapter would both describe their journey from then to now, and you could emphasize the lessons and turning points in their story, helping readers apply the lessons to their own situation. Habits. No list of easy-to-write book title ideas would be complete without mentioning the continuing success of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Individuals by Stephen R. Covey. As in all of these examples, theres an inverse relationship between the length of each chapter and the number in the title: the smaller the number in the title, the longer each chapter. But, if you can distill your knowledge of your field to habits, skills, tools, or the like, you may be on your way to an easy-to-write book! Keys. A final organizing scheme that may help you quickly organize your ideas into a compelling title and simple chapter content plan is to think in terms of keys to success. Based on your knowledge and experience, what are the keysor requirementsneeded to solve your readers problems or help them achieve their goals? Group your ideas into a relatively small number, i.e., 4 to 7, of chapters, and youre on your way to writing a brand-building book! Resist the urge to write a textbook The goal of writing a book is to get into print as quickly as possible, so your book can build your visibility, enhance your credibility, and sell you a speaker and expert in your field. Youre not writing for academics or the publishing community; youre writing for your prospects, clients, customers, and event planners who are looking for speakers and presenters. Complexity is the enemy of completion! Choose the simplest book title and content plan that provides a solid starting point for organizing your ideas and deciding what to include, and what to leave out, of your book. Once you start, using a simple title idea, youll be surprised at how quickly your project takes place because of the focus and structure the title provides. Want more evidence? Take a look at the books in your bookshelf, oreven betteranalyze the titles on the covers of magazines on display at your local Barnes Noble or Amazon! Note how often engaging, eye-catching, article titles are based on the simple ideas described above. Share your favorite examples of simple book titles and organizing ideas as comments, below. Author: Roger C. Parker shares ideas for planning, writing, promoting, profiting from branding building books in his daily writing tips blog. His latest book is #BOOK TITLE Tweet: 140 Bite-Sized Ideas for Compelling Article, Book, Event Titles.

Lessons I learnt from Running a Marathon CareerMetis.com

Lessons I learnt from Running a Marathon In 2007 I read a magazine article â€" it was an interview with John Stanton,the founder of Running Room I let that idea sink in for few months, I did not take immediate action but the thought was always in my mind â€" I need to visit one of the Running Room stores and check out one of their running groups. But I did not take any action for few months.As Spring had sprung in 2008- I decided to pay their store in Toronto a visit. I wanted to get an education on their programs and on what they actually sold.The first clinic/program was called “Learn to Run” . I was actually insulted when the store manager Steve suggested I LEARN to Run.“What am I , a toddler?” I thought to myself. “I know how to run”.I argued with Steve that I wanted to run in a more senior category Slowly and surely I graduated from one program to the next- Learn to Run â€" 5K -10k -Half-Marathon- Marathon. I trained 3 to 4 times a week and it changed my lifestyle and more importantly my mindset. In May 200 9 I ran my first Marathon and it was one of my proudest moments.Though I stopped long-distance running and moved on to other fitness programs- there are few key lessons insights that I have learnt from Training for a Marathon- which I think have been vital to my life and career.1. IT NEVER GETS EASIER,YOU ONLY GET BETTERThe first few weeks of the training program was the hardest- it was exhausting!! I trained and overcame the obstacles. But here is the fun part, as the training program progressed â€" so did the difficulty. Every step was harder than the previous step. It was like playing a video-game â€" each level is tougher than the previous one. But the reward comes from progressing from one level to another.evalIt draws a perfect analogy to your career.We all start off as a beginner or a new graduate or an intern, we start at the bottom of the food chain In your working life, it is important that you align yourself with individuals who will help you proper your career â€" mento rs, coaches, like-minded individuals.This group is hard to find but they are out there. Seek them out, having a strong accountability system will help you with your long-term career aspirations.3. CHERISH THE JOURNEYEarl Nightingale in his program Lead the Field talks about Happiness. He mentions “Happiness is a progressive realization of a worthy ideal”. Nothing could be further from this universal truth. We are most happy when we know we are making constant progress towards what we are striving for.evalHave you ever completed something that you were diligently working on? How was the feeling once you reached that pivoted goal? Very anticlimactic right?That’s how I felt when I crossed the finish line at the end of my first marathon in May 2009. Months of struggle and hard-work led me to that moment, but as I crossed the finish line â€" instead of feeling euphoria I felt depressed “Is this that?” I asked myself.But the greatest happiness I experienced was week-over-week wh en I was completing the training sessions. The progress I was making every week gave me huge amounts of satisfaction. Euphoria was an everyday feeling.Too many times, we get caught up in the end goal â€" the promotion, the raise,etc. but you would agreed that the reward is in the journey itself. It is hard to put a price tag on the growth you experience, the relationships you foster, the skills you learn. No matter what you are working on enjoy the journey. And you will have more satisfaction and fun.I did enjoy my journey as a recreational runner. I ran couple of marathons, few half-marathons and multiple other races. It was fun, I experienced tremendous growth, I no longer look like an ogre (but nowhere close to a Spartan). I have gained numerous insights and key lessons that I have been able to use in my career and in my life.I definitely encourage that you add Running a Marathon to your bucket-list. And find out for yourself the rewards of the journey and the results.

Some More Places for Face-to Face Networking

Some More Places for Face-to Face Networking Over on CareerBuilder, there is an article about  networking in affinity or non-professional circles  that is worth taking a look at.  Affinity groups  offer some of the best opportunities for networking for a job search because the original bond was created based on the common connection, interest or hobby, not the fact that you are looking for a job. Affinity groups allow your to develop trust and rapport before moving on to the subject of job search. If trust has been previously established, its much easier to start a conversation about your job search without having it look like you are asking for a favor. Here are a few more offline affinity groups worth exploring.The PTA. Members of parent groups are passionate advocates for their childrens education. Affinity groups fueled by passion create members with strong bonds and members of groups such as these are more likely to help others because of their strong sense of community and connection.  Local house of worship. Religion is an immediate connector for many people. A church, synagogue, or mosque represents the ultimate community for many and members are very likely to help others in their time of need.The train or bus. In many communities, people take the same method of transportation at the same time every day and they see the same people. These people often form relationships simply because they happen to commute together. These same people may be excellent resources for job leads.  The porch or lobby. Ive started a lot of great conversations with people while waiting for the elevator in my lobby. And my homeowner friends start conversations by sitting on their porches and chatting with the neighbors who are nearby.The line at the post office, motor vehicles, and the supermarket checkout. It happens. Many people report making new connections with strangers solely because they both happened to be stuck on the same line at the same time. You never know!