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

Transcript

1. EMPATHY
   AS A SERVICE
   SUPPORTING
   MENTAL HEALTH
   IN THE TECH
   WORKPLACE
   Nara Kasbergen
   (@xiehan)
   GrowIT Conference
   #growitconf
   December 1, 2018
   

   View Slide

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
   

   View Slide

3. 1.
   WHAT EVEN
   ARE WE TALKING
   ABOUT?
   

   View Slide

4. 1 in 5
   adults living with mental illness at any given time
   Source:
   International
   Journal of
   Epidemiology
   

   View Slide

5. 1 in 10
   Europeans living with diabetes
   Source: WHO
   

   View Slide

6. 1 in 14
   children and adults under 45 living with asthma in Europe
   Source: European
   Respiratory
   Society
   

   View Slide

7. 1 in 4
   Europeans living with arthritis
   Source: EULAR
   

   View Slide

8. Mental illness is one
   of the most prevalent
   chronic health
   conditions, but
   we don’t talk about it
   

   View Slide

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**
   

   View Slide

10. depression is at least
    13x more prevalent
    than schizophrenia
    

    View Slide

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
    

    View Slide

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
    

    View Slide

13. Source:
    robot-hugs.com
    

    View Slide

14. Source:
    robot-hugs.com
    

    View Slide

15. Source:
    robot-hugs.com
    

    View Slide

16. 35-50%
    of people with mental disorders in high-income countries
    do not receive any kind of treatment
    Source: WHO
    

    View Slide

17. 15%
    of those with severe depression die by suicide
    Source: AJE
    

    View Slide

18. 1.5x
    rate at which women experience depression
    compared to men*
    Source: WHO
    

    View Slide

19. #3
    ranking of depressive disorders (worldwide) by the
    Global Burden of Disease project
    Source: WHO
    

    View Slide

20. 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
    

    View Slide

21. “Leave your personal
    life at home when you
    come to work.”
    

    View Slide

22. 2.
    WHY I SPEAK
    UP ABOUT THIS
    

    View Slide

23. I’m a software
    engineer.
    

    View Slide

24. I’m a software
    engineer.
    I identify as mentally
    healthy.
    

    View Slide

25. Ni Mu
    July 13, 1988 -
    September 14, 2016
    

    View Slide

26. it's on Medium
    or
    bit.ly/2oYYyOR
    (warning: it's 6,000+ words)
    I WROTE A BLOG POST
    

    View Slide

27. SEPTEMBER 16, 2016
    NationJS in McLean, VA
    

    View Slide

28. Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
    OPEN
    SOURCING
    MENTAL
    ILLNESS
    (osmihelp.org)
    

    View Slide

29. Source: OSMI
    

    View Slide

30. “
    I could do so many
    awesome things if
    only my own head
    didn’t get in the way.
    - Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
    

    View Slide

31. 3.
    WHAT CAN
    WE DO?
    

    View Slide

32. 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
    

    View Slide

33. RELOCATION
    

    View Slide

34. 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
    

    View Slide

35. 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
    

    View Slide

36. 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
    

    View Slide

37. 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!
    

    View Slide

38. REMOTE WORK
    

    View Slide

39. REMOTE WORK
    Positive:
    ▸ Flexible hours
    ▸ Easier to attend daytime
    therapy appointments
    ▸ Easier to stick to
    medication regimens
    ▸ Easier to take breaks
    ▸ Quiet & peaceful
    

    View Slide

40. 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
    

    View Slide

41. 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
    

    View Slide

42. ALCOHOL AT TECH EVENTS
    

    View Slide

43. 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
    

    View Slide

44. 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
    

    View Slide

45. 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
    

    View Slide

46. 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
    

    View Slide

47. OTHER ACTION ITEMS FOR
    MANAGERS
    ▸ Make sure employees understand their rights,
    especially with regard to burnout & mental health
    ▸ 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
    

    View Slide

48. MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
    (mhfainternational.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
    ▸ Employers can host a training on-site
    

    View Slide

49. THE ALGEE ACTION PLAN
    

    View Slide

50. 4.
    WHAT MUST WE
    DO TOGETHER?
    

    View Slide

51. 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
    

    View Slide

52. 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)
    

    View Slide

53. 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
    

    View Slide

54. “
    Empathy is the
    antidote to shame.
    - Andrea Goulet (@andreagoulet)
    

    View Slide

55. "EMPATHY AS A SERVICE"
    

    View Slide

56. THERE IS NO APP FOR THIS
    

    View Slide

57. “
    I could do so many
    awesome things if
    only my own head
    didn’t get in the way.
    - Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
    

    View Slide

58. RESOURCES
    Want to help?
    ▸ reach out. ask.
    listen. tell your
    friends you care.
    ▸ osmihelp.org
    ▸ mhprompt.org
    ▸ if-me.org
    ▸ mhfainternational
    .org
    Need help?
    ▸ talk to someone: a friend,
    relative, counselor, etc.
    ▸ forums.osmihelp.org
    ▸ centarsrce.org
    ▸ vanja@centarsrce.org
    ▸ 0800 300 303
    ▸ 037 23 025
    

    View Slide

59. QUESTIONS?
    Thoughts? Comments?
    nara@nara.codes
    @xiehan
    osmihelp.org/donate
    dedicated to Ni Mu
    

    View Slide