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EMPATHY
AS A SERVICE
SUPPORTING
MENTAL HEALTH
IN THE TECH
WORKPLACE
Nara Kasbergen
(@xiehan)
DevFest Minnesota
#DevFestMN
February 10, 2018
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TOPICS COVERED
1. What are we talking about?
2. Why I speak up about this
3. What can we do?
▹ pragmatic, common-sense, action-oriented;
anyone can do these things!
4. What must we do together?
▹ difficult, aspirational; everyone has to do their part
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1.
WHAT EVEN
ARE WE TALKING
ABOUT?
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1 in 5
Americans living with mental illness at any given time
Source: Mental
Health America
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1 in 11
Americans living with diabetes
Source: CDC.gov
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1 in 12
Americans living with asthma
Source: AAAAI
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1 in 5
Americans living with arthritis
Source: CDC.gov
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Mental illness is one
of the most prevalent
chronic health
conditions, but
we don’t talk about it
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A VERY INCOMPLETE LIST OF
MENTAL ILLNESSES
Depression
Generalized anxiety
disorder
Bipolar disorder
Substance use disorder
(alcoholism)
Eating disorder (bulimia)
ADHD
PTSD
Obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD)
Impulse control disorder
Antisocial personality disorder
Schizophrenia
Dissociative identity disorder
Autism spectrum disorders*
Burnout**
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depression is at least
13x more prevalent
than schizophrenia
in the United States
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SYMPTOMS OF MAJOR DEPRESSION
▸ Feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness
▸ Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration
▸ Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities
▸ Sleep disturbances (insomnia or sleeping too much)
▸ Tiredness and lack of energy
▸ Changes in appetite
▸ Anxiety, agitation or restlessness
Source: Mayo Clinic
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“
Telling someone not to be
sad because others have it
worse is like telling people
they can’t be happy because
others have it better.
- Unknown
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Source:
robot-hugs.com
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Source:
robot-hugs.com
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Source:
robot-hugs.com
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56%
of U.S. adults with mental illness do not receive treatment
Source: Mental
Health America
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15%
of those with severe depression die by suicide
Source: Mental
Health America
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2x
rate at which women experience depression
compared to men*
Source: Mental
Health America
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#3
ranking of depression among the top three workplace
problems, following only family crisis and stress
Source: Mental
Health America
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$51 billion
estimated annual cost of absenteeism from work and
lost productivity
Source: Mental
Health America
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$26 billion
estimated annual direct treatment costs
Source: Mental
Health America
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59%
percentage of Americans (ages 19 to 64) who get their
insurance through their employer
Source: Kaiser
Family Foundation
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Why people do not speak up
▸ Fear of dismissal
▸ Fear of being taken out of promotion consideration
▸ Fear of being taken off high-value projects/contracts
▸ Fear of reduced hours (for hourly workers)
▸ Fear of being asked to take unpaid medical leave
▸ Fear of being treated differently
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“Leave your personal
life at home when you
come to work.”
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2.
WHY I SPEAK
UP ABOUT THIS
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I’m a software
engineer.
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I’m a software
engineer.
I identify as mentally
healthy.
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Ni Mu
July 13, 1988 -
September 14, 2016
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it's on Medium
or
bit.ly/2oYYyOR
(warning: it's 6,000+ words)
I WROTE A BLOG POST
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2016
NationJS in McLean, VA
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Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
OPEN
SOURCING
MENTAL
ILLNESS
(osmihelp.org)
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Source: OSMI
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“
I could do so many
awesome things if
only my own head
didn’t get in the way.
- Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
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3.
WHAT CAN
WE DO?
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COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF
TECH WORKPLACES AND CULTURE
▸ The work is challenging and stressful
▸ Our jobs are highly collaborative
▸ Many of us have relocated for a job
▸ Most of us work remotely at least part of the time
▸ We're often expected to be available outside work hours
▸ Someone needs to fix things when they break overnight
▸ There is a heavy emphasis on drinking culture
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RELOCATION
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RELOCATION
Positive:
▸ Much easier to feel a
part of the team and
helping toward the
mission if you're on-site
▸ Can bring you closer to a
community of
practitioners in your
field than where you
currently are
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RELOCATION
Negative:
▸ Takes someone away
from the existing
support structures they
have already built up
▸ Generally stressful
▸ Making new friends as
an adult is surprisingly
hard!
Positive:
▸ Much easier to feel a
part of the team and
helping toward the
mission if you're on-site
▸ Can bring you closer to a
community of
practitioners in your
field than where you
currently are
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RELOCATION
Solutions:
▸ As a community, stop saying that the best way to
succeed in tech is to relocate to Silicon Valley;
become more accepting of alternative choices
▸ If you are a manager, take another look at your
hiring practices and see whether remote
employment is an option
▸ Create a "Welcome Wagon" for new colleagues
who have had to relocate to join your company
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FREE IDEA: "THE WELCOME WAGON"
▸ Take the new employee out for lunch or dinner with
the team. Avoid alcohol at their first social event.
▸ Team members take turns introducing the new
employee to activities and events in the area, e.g.
▹ Invite them to join your book club meeting!
▹ Invite them to go rock climbing!
▹ Invite them to join your bocce league!
▹ Invite them to go volunteering with you!
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REMOTE WORK
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REMOTE WORK
Positive:
▸ Flexible hours
▸ Easier to attend daytime
therapy appointments
▸ Easier to stick to
medication regimens
▸ Easier to take breaks
▸ Quiet & peaceful
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REMOTE WORK
Negative:
▸ Sense of isolation
▸ Harder to build strong
relationships with
co-workers
▸ Harder to tell if colleagues
are doing OK (health-wise)
▸ Can make it challenging to
maintain work-life balance
Positive:
▸ Flexible hours
▸ Easier to attend daytime
therapy appointments
▸ Easier to stick to
medication regimens
▸ Easier to take breaks
▸ Quiet & peaceful
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REMOTE WORK
Solutions:
▸ Make funds available for employees to join a co-
working space (or encourage colleagues to do so)
▸ Fly in remote employees or hold company-wide
off-sites to make sure they feel part of the team
▸ Look into the latest research on remote work
culture, improvements you can make to integrate
remote employees
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“
But what about
open plan offices?
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OPEN PLAN OFFICES
Positive:
▸ More conducive to
collaboration, creative
problem-solving between
multiple employees
▸ Easier to construct
because of e.g. fire code
▸ Can increase sense of
team unity, camaraderie
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OPEN PLAN OFFICES
Negative:
▸ Noise reduces
productivity
▸ Lack of privacy
▸ Increased stress
▸ Increased peer pressure
▸ Highly conducive to spread
of disease (cold, flu, etc.)
Positive:
▸ More conducive to
collaboration, creative
problem-solving between
multiple employees
▸ Easier to construct
because of e.g. fire code
▸ Can increase sense of
team unity, camaraderie
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OPEN PLAN OFFICES
Solutions:
▸ Allow employees to work remotely (or increase the
number of days per week or per month when they
can do so)
▸ Urge employees to work from home when sick
▸ Set aside small meeting spaces for quiet work
▸ Have the company provide noise-canceling headphones
▸ Encourage employees to decorate their workspace
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ON-CALL ROTATIONS
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ON-CALL ROTATIONS
Positive:
▸ A huge burden being
shared among the team
improves sense of team
unity, camaraderie
▸ Engineers have a way to
prove understanding of
the technical systems,
ability to handle crisis
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ON-CALL ROTATIONS
Negative:
▸ Expecting the unexpected
can be very difficult for
those with serious anxiety
disorders
▸ Lack of sleep or
interrupted sleep is bad for
mental health
▸ High stress leads to burnout
Positive:
▸ A huge burden being
shared among the team
improves sense of team
unity, camaraderie
▸ Engineers have a way to
prove understanding of
the technical systems,
ability to handle crisis
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ON-CALL ROTATIONS
Solutions:
▸ Fix tech issues to make being on-call less stressful
▸ If someone is called in the middle of the night, give
them adequate time to catch up on sleep
▸ For employees with serious anxiety disorders, see
if there's a way to take them out of the on-call
rotation without making them feel like they're not
contributing
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ALCOHOL AT TECH EVENTS
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ALCOHOL AT TECH EVENTS
Positive:
▸ One or two drinks can
make it easier for some
introverts and those
with social anxiety to
socialize with peers
▸ If you don't offer alcohol,
those who want to drink
will go to a bar instead
of staying to mingle
with others at the event
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ALCOHOL AT TECH EVENTS
Negative:
▸ Non-drinkers feel
unwelcome
▸ Recovering alcoholics feel
threatened
▸ Free alcohol and drinking
culture are so pervasive that
there are probably more
functioning alcoholics in
tech than we're aware of
Positive:
▸ One or two drinks can
make it easier for some
introverts and those
with social anxiety to
socialize with peers
▸ If you don't offer alcohol,
those who want to drink
will go to a bar instead
of staying to mingle
with others at the event
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ALCOHOL AT TECH EVENTS
Solutions:
▸ Offer nice alternatives (fancy sodas, mocktails)
for non-drinkers to make them feel included
▸ Put a limit on the number of free drinks (use tickets)
▸ Have activities other than drinking (e.g. board games)
▸ In a recurring series, try alternating dry/non-dry events
▸ Add workplace wellness programs on substance abuse
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MANAGERS, TECH LEADS AND
SENIOR DEVS: LEAD BY EXAMPLE
▸ Don't micro-manage
▸ Leave the office on time
▸ Take regular vacations
▸ Don't send or answer e-mails at 2am if possible
▸ Be receptive to feedback on your own performance
▸ Be a good listener
▸ Be open to talking about your health and mental health
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OTHER ACTION ITEMS FOR
MANAGERS
▸ Make sure employees understand their benefits
and what mental health treatments are covered
▸ Revisit your hiring practices with an eye to mental
illness and neurodiversity
▸ Make sure your employees feel valued and are on
projects that they find fulfilling and empowering
▸ Get the OSMI handbooks (leanpub.com/u/osmi)
▸ Consider offering the Mental Health First Aid training
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MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
(mentalhealthfirstaid.org)
▸ 8-hour training course
▸ Taught over 1, 2, or 4 days (1x8, 2x4 or 4x2 hrs)
▸ Usually costs $50-100 per person including
materials (a workbook)
▸ Community-based grants sometimes available
▸ International program (started in Australia)
▸ Employers can host a training on-site
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THE ALGEE ACTION PLAN
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4.
WHAT MUST WE
DO TOGETHER?
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SUPPORT MARGINALIZED PEOPLE
IN THE TECH INDUSTRY
▸ Chronic harassment, bullying, and micro-
aggressions can lead to depression, exacerbate
eating disorders, and cause or worsen other
mental illnesses
▸ Even in tech, women are still judged by their looks
▸ People from marginalized groups feel they have to
over-perform (to counteract the "lowering the bar"
myth), which leads to increased stress and a greater
likelihood of burnout
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FULLY EMBRACE NEURODIVERSITY
▸ Mental disorders like ADHD and autism are the
result of natural variations of the human genome
▸ "People with differences do not need to be cured;
they need help and accommodation instead."
▸ Some of our greatest inventions are attributed to
people with atypical neurology
▸ "Mental illness gives me superpowers." - Ed Finkler
▸ "Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage" (HBR)
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THINGS WE CAN ONLY CHANGE
AS A CULTURE
▸ Working ourselves to death - the over-emphasis
on hard work, and stigma against vacation
▸ The need to always be available by phone or email
▸ The peer pressure caused by social media
▸ The belief that you must be in Silicon Valley to succeed
▸ The stigma against talking about our feelings
▸ The idea that engineers don't have empathy
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“
Empathy is the
antidote to shame.
- Andrea Goulet (@andreagoulet)
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"EMPATHY AS A SERVICE"
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THERE IS NO APP FOR THIS
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“
I could do so many
awesome things if
only my own head
didn’t get in the way.
- Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
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RESOURCES
Want to help?
▸ reach out. ask.
listen. tell your
friends you care.
▸ osmihelp.org
▸ mhprompt.org
▸ if-me.org
▸ mentalhealth
firstaid.org
Need help?
▸ talk to someone: a friend,
relative, counselor, etc.
▸ forums.osmihelp.org
▸ locator.apa.org
▸ suicidepreventionlifeline.org
or 1-800-273-8255(TALK)
▸ crisistextline.org
or TEXT “START” TO 741741
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QUESTIONS?
Thoughts? Comments?
[email protected]
@xiehan
osmihelp.org/donate
dedicated to Ni Mu