[CascadiaPHP] Empathy as a Service: Supporting Mental Health in the Tech Workplace

1. EMPATHY AS A SERVICE SUPPORTING MENTAL HEALTH IN THE TECH WORKPLACE Nara Kasbergen (@xiehan) Cascadia PHP 2019 #CascadiaPHP2019 September 20, 2019
2. 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
3. 1. WHAT EVEN ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
4. 1 in 5 Americans living with mental illness at any given time Source: Mental Health America
5. 1 in 11 Americans living with diabetes Source: CDC.gov
6. 1 in 12 Americans living with asthma Source: AAAAI
7. 1 in 5 Americans living with arthritis Source: CDC.gov
8. Mental illness is one of the most prevalent chronic health conditions, but we don’t talk about it
9. 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**
10. depression is at least 13x more prevalent than schizophrenia in the United States
11. 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
12. “ 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
13. Source: robot-hugs.com
14. Source: robot-hugs.com
15. Source: robot-hugs.com
16. 56% of U.S. adults with mental illness do not receive treatment Source: Mental Health America
17. 15% of those with severe depression die by suicide Source: Mental Health America
18. 2x rate at which women experience depression compared to men* Source: Mental Health America
19. #3 ranking of depression among the top three workplace problems, following only family crisis and stress Source: Mental Health America
20. $51 billion estimated annual cost of absenteeism from work and lost productivity Source: Mental Health America
21. $26 billion estimated annual direct treatment costs Source: Mental Health America
22. 59% percentage of Americans (ages 19 to 64) who get their insurance through their employer Source: Kaiser Family Foundatio n
23. 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
24. “Leave your personal life at home when you come to work.”
25. 2. WHY I SPEAK UP ABOUT THIS
26. I’m a software engineer.
27. I’m a software engineer. I identify as mentally healthy.
28. Ni Mu July 13, 1988 - September 14, 2016
29. it's on Medium or bit.ly/2oYYyOR (warning: it's 6,000+ words) I WROTE A BLOG POST
30. SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 NationJS in McLean, VA
31. Ed Finkler (@funkatron) OPEN SOURCING MENTAL ILLNESS (osmihelp.org)
32. Source: OSMI
33. “ I could do so many awesome things if only my own head didn’t get in the way. - Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
34. 3. WHAT CAN WE DO?
35. 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
36. RELOCATION
37. 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
38. 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
39. 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
40. 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!
41. REMOTE WORK
42. REMOTE WORK Positive: ▸ Flexible hours ▸ Easier to attend daytime therapy appointments ▸ Easier to stick to medication regimens ▸ Easier to take breaks ▸ Quiet & peaceful
43. 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
44. 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
45. “ But what about open plan offices?
46. 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
47. 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
48. 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
49. ON-CALL ROTATIONS
50. 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
51. 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
52. 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
53. ALCOHOL AT TECH EVENTS
54. 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
55. 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
56. 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
57. 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
58. 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
59. MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID (mentalhealthfirstaid.org) ▸ Teaches how to respond if you encounter someone having a mental health crisis ▸ International program (started in Australia) ▹ Available in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands & more ▸ 8-hour or 12-hour training course ▸ Usually costs $50-100 per person with materials ▸ Employers can host a training on-site
60. THE ALGEE ACTION PLAN
61. 4. WHAT MUST WE DO TOGETHER?
62. 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
63. 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)
64. 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
65. “ Empathy is the antidote to shame. - Andrea Goulet (@andreagoulet)
66. "EMPATHY AS A SERVICE"
67. THERE IS NO APP FOR THIS
68. “ I could do so many awesome things if only my own head didn’t get in the way. - Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
69. 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
70. THANK YOU! Come find me afterwards to talk more about this! nara@nara.codes @xiehan osmihelp.org/donate dedicated to Ni Mu