[Nodevember] 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) Nodevember 2017 November 28, 2017 #Nodevember2017
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. What even are we talking about?
4. 1 in 5 Americans living with mental illness at any given time Source: Mental Health America
5. Mental illness is one of the most prevalent chronic health conditions, but we don’t talk about it
6. An incomplete list of mental illnesses Depression Generalized anxiety disorder Bipolar disorder Substance use disorder (alcoholism) Eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia) ADHD PTSD Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Impulse control disorder Antisocial personality disorder Schizophrenia Dissociative identity disorder Autism spectrum disorders* Burnout**
7. depression is at least 13x more prevalent than schizophrenia in the United States
8. Symptoms of major depression • Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, 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
9. “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
10. Source: robot-hugs.com
11. Source: robot-hugs.com
12. Source: robot-hugs.com
13. 56% of U.S. adults with mental illness do not receive treatment Source: Mental Health America
14. 15% of those with severe depression die by suicide Source: Mental Health America
15. 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
16. “Leave your personal life at home when you come to work.”
17. Why I speak up about this
18. I’m a software engineer.
19. I’m a software engineer. I identify as mentally healthy.
20. Ni Mu. July 13, 1988 - September 14, 2016
21. it's on Medium or bit.ly/2oYYyOR (warning: it's 6,000+ words) I wrote a blog post
22. Open Sourcing Mental Illness: osmihelp.org Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
23. Source: osmihelp.org/research
24. “I could do so many awesome things if only my own head didn’t get in the way.” - Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
25. What can we do?
26. 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
27. Relocation
28. Relocation Positive: • Much easier to feel a part of the team and helping toward the mission if you are on-site • Can bring you closer to a community of practitioners in your field than where you currently are
29. Relocation Positive: • Much easier to feel a part of the team and helping toward the mission if you are on-site • Can bring you closer to a community of practitioners in your field than where you currently are 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!
30. 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 • Introduce new colleagues who have had to relocate to join your company to organizations and events in the area
31. Remote work
32. Remote work Positive: • Flexible hours • Easier to attend daytime therapy appointments • Easier to stick to medication regimens • Easier to take breaks • (Usually) quiet & peaceful
33. Remote work Positive: • Flexible hours • Easier to attend daytime therapy appointments • Easier to stick to medication regimens • Easier to take breaks • (Usually) quiet & peaceful 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 more challenging to maintain work-life balance
34. Remote work Solutions: • Make funds available for employees to join a co-working space (or encourage your colleagues to do so) • Fly in remote employees or hold company-wide off-sites together 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
35. “But what about open plan offices?”
36. Open plan offices Positive: • More conducive to collaboration, creative problem-solving between multiple employees • Easier to construct because of things like fire code • Can increase sense of team unity, camaraderie
37. Open plan offices Positive: • More conducive to collaboration, creative problem-solving between multiple employees • Easier to construct because of things like fire code • Can increase sense of team unity, camaraderie Negative: • Noise reduces productivity • Lack of privacy • Increased stress • Increased peer pressure • Highly conducive to the spread of disease (cold, flu, etc.)
38. 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
39. Alcohol at tech events
40. Alcohol at tech events Positive: • One or two drinks can make it easier for some introverts and those with social anxiety to socialize with their peers • It's become an expectation in tech culture, and if you don't offer it, those who want to drink will go find a bar instead of staying to mingle with others at the event
41. Alcohol at tech events Positive: • One or two drinks can make it easier for some introverts and those with social anxiety to socialize with their peers • It's become an expectation in tech culture, and if you don't offer it, those who want to drink will go find a bar instead of staying to mingle with others at the event Negative: • Non-drinkers feel unwelcome • Recovering alcoholics feel threatened by the environment • Free alcohol and drinking culture are so pervasive that there are probably more functioning alcoholics in tech than we're aware of
42. 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
43. Managers: 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
44. Other action items for managers • Make sure your 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
45. Mental Health First Aid (mentalhealthfirstaid.org) • Teaches how to respond if someone is having a crisis • 8-hour training course • Taught over 1, 2, or 4 days (1x8, 2x4 or 4x2 hrs) • Usually costs $50-100 per person including materials • International program
46. What must we do together?
47. Support marginalized people in tech • Chronic harassment, bullying, and microaggressions can lead to depression, exacerbate eating disorders, and cause or worsen other mental illnesses • Even in tech, women are still judged by their appearance • 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
48. 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 • hbr.org/2017/05/neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage
49. Things we can only change as a culture • Working ourselves to death - the over-emphasis on hard work, and stigma against vacation and healthy breaks • The need to always be available by phone or e-mail • 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
50. “Empathy is the antidote to shame.” - Andrea Goulet (@andreagoulet)
51. "Empathy as a Service"
52. There is no app for this
53. “I could do so many awesome things if only my own head didn’t get in the way.” - Ed Finkler (@funkatron)
54. Resources Want to help? • reach out. ask. listen. tell your friends you care. • osmi.us/osmisurvey2017 • osmihelp.org • mhprompt.org • if-me.org • mentalhealthfirstaid.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
55. Questions? Thoughts? Comments? nara@nara.codes @xiehan osmihelp.org/donate dedicated to Ni Mu