Hi everyone and welcome. I'm Mandy Muchnick. And you're watching Difference Makers Discuss. We have over 1600 people from 67 countries joining us today. This is the second episode in the series brought to you by Chartered Accountants Worldwide. During the series we are taking a look at the most pressing issues facing chartered accountants and the finance and business industry at large. From diversity and inclusion to mental health, from the climate emergency to digital disruption. We're taking an unflinching look at the factors most affecting our community, and most importantly, what we can do to make it better. In order to help us navigate these topics. We are joined by a panel of speakers who are making a significant difference in their companies, their communities and the wider world. They are our difference makers, pre COVID-19, we already had a silent pandemic pandemic affecting millions of people. And this has become very important to talk about. That's why we're here today to discuss mental health matters. The World Health Organisation estimates that the poor mental health impacts the global economy by over $2.5 trillion a year. Businesses suffer from lack of productivity, and employee suffer from discrimination and poor belief in their abilities. We cannot forget that good health is mental health, and that this is in fact one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Today I'm joined by three speakers who have hands on experience in improving our attitude towards mental health have all worked to battle both stigma and the effects of mental health issues. And each will bring a unique perspective to the table. They are difference makers in the truest sense. 

It now gives me great pleasure to finally introduce our first speaker for the day Dee France. Dee is the well being lead a Chartered Accountants Waldrop worldwide, running the wellbeing hub and the CA support the Met the institute's financial assistance means to supporting its members and students. D is also the Chartered Accountants worldwide global mental fitness Task Force lead this taskforce is is committed to driving awareness around mental health challenges in the profession. D we are so excited to have you today. Welcome to difference makers discuss, you definitely have your finger on the pulse on what's happening in the profession. So please, can you talk us through the landscape a bit because I think often people feel that they suffering alone. And that's a large part of the problem.

So thank you so much Manzi for inviting me along today. It's great to be here. I think it's a testament to the amount of people that have tuned in today. 1600 people are called umpteen countries, globally. So it's fantastic to see that. So I think we can all agree that we've really come through sort of an extreme period of isolation, you know, where our families and our friends have been separated. And we've been working from home. And we're kind of missing that camaraderie as work and the support of our colleagues. And of course, this is all has a huge impact on our well being and our mental health. So now, as we transition back to the workplace, we're sort of still dealing with this full life, and we're trying to adjust to hybrid working. So in many cases with limited success. So if we compare the landscape sort of, for pre and post pandemic, it's clear that our mental health has declined. And it has become a common everyday experience for the majority of people. So a mind share study conducted last year, and then back in 2019, in the US, collected responses from 1500, full time workers, it was a really interesting study, because you have that snapshot from 2019, to compare it to 2021. And they find there was a marked increase in those reporting at least one mental health condition to 76% in 2021, versus just 59% in 2019. And then interestingly, the higher you get up in the organisation, the higher the rate, so 82% of executive proportion, at least one one mental health symptom, and then for the younger town, and so the the Gen betters and the millennials 77 77% reporting that their productivity was negatively impacted by their mental health, and with 50%, leaving their roles if they were not supported by their companies and their organisations. So I think really, Mandy, what this report is showing us is that mental health is everybody's problem. And I think the good news is if we tackle it in the workplace, we have a real opportunity to make some far reaching positive impact for everybody.

That's very true. Thank you, Dee. Maybe you can talk to us a bit more about how mental health and the perception of it is evolving in the workplace, if at all as well.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, okay, I think everybody is self aware, the COVID has been an ultimate game changer for shining a spotlight on on our collective health, and obviously, on our mental health as well. So we're seeing a shift in how organisations are now looking at the responsibility and providing that sort of psychological safety as opposed to like just health and safety for their employees. So I suppose for the first time, many employers are stepping in to support the overall health of their employees. And but the evolution of mental health awareness is at different stages across different industries and different geographies. So while some companies, you know, who maybe were ahead of the curve, and are further along on the journey, and there's lots of companies are just catching up with this. So I think the key to success in this area for organisations is to be more proactive, rather than reactive. So companies who only provide, say the odd wellbeing events, or little or no training in this area are going to have limited impact. So the ones that are truly evolving are making wellbeing and mental health strategic priorities. So not only do these companies include all the usual benefits, say, for instance, the mental health training, Ambassador programmes or giving their staff mental health days, and enhance apps like Panda, for instance, or EAP supports, but they go one step further. So the big thing is they're training their leaders in this area and holding them accountable for improving the work practices such as flexible working hours, and improved family friendly, friendly policies like the menopause or surrogacy or fertility issues, along with a really robust DNI programme. So I think that is really, really important. So the leaders in these more evolved, companies are empowered to model this, you know, the model the healthy behaviours, and this in turn will permeate down through the levels and will normalise these behaviours and these activities.

Thanks to Yeah, I'm gonna pick up on something you said there on proactive versus reactive kind of measures. And maybe you can also talk to us about the difference between mental fitness and mental health.

Yeah, it's a really interesting one, and it's becoming sort of much more popular now the idea of mental fitness I suppose in a nutshell, I think the best way to describe it is that your mental health is about you being it's like a state of being and then your mental fitness is very much about doing. So it's easiest way to look at it as if you applied the same question perhaps to your physical health and your your physical fitness. So it's easier to imagine that your health is a state of being, as I say, while your fitness is more of like a house. So it does encourage that action. And also you are the agent of change. And you can take control in this instance. So in the case of mental fitness, you can focus your attention on how to exercise that mental muscle. So it could be through maybe addressing the major stressors in your life, or on healthy eating habits, or you know, like a highly processed diet or to have poor sleep hygiene, for instance, by taking the time in your day to reconnect with people. And these will obviously be things that will enhance your mood and add value to your life. So

all very true. What about kind of, you know, we, the pandemic landed upon us, everyone went into working, working from home, and then all of a sudden things have been expected to kind of switch back to normal. So how do you view kind of that burden on people's mental health of not having to adjust back to office life.

So obviously, it's a huge burden and continues to be a huge burden. So I think that's, you know, that's why there's so many people on the call here today to try and work at ICE and progress forward. So as we do transition back to the hybrid working pattern, respondents, for instance, in this mindshare study, reported that the forced return to the office was negatively impacting on their mental mental health. And the two top reasons they gave were the policy policies around in person versus remote work. So that kind of conflict that popped in for employees, and then the lack of work life balance or flexibility. So these are key things that are causing that stress and anxiety for people. And then the issues with hybrid working are only starting to emerge as we know, and employees and employers have not really reached a consensus on what the best solution is. So therefore, the future of work is uncertain. And that in turn is contributing to our feelings of unease and anxiety. But I think in all of this, there is a silver lining, there is good news. So I think following this, you know, upheaval and periods of disruption, we have really a once in a generation opportunity to redesign our working lives so that our mental health is actually protected. So we could actually arrive at a framework that provides a more autonomous model that acknowledges that there isn't really a one size fits all. So you can just you know, as testament to those percentages that I told you about earlier. So when it comes to workplace, well being there really is just a lot the shapes and sizes.

They are indeed and we have a lot of people on the call today who might be I think struggling themselves or maybe even just noticing people around them that are struggling? And do you have some tips for how people can be there for their co workers without kind of overstepping any boundaries?

I think this is a super important and really great question because peer to peer support is a massive part of you know, your your working life. And even if it's virtual or hybrid, or whatever the case, maybe. But I think many, many people are very scared to approach a colleague or, you know, they see that somebody is struggling, because they don't want to get it wrong, you know. So I think above all, I think the important thing to remember in these instances, is that you're just connecting with somebody on a very human level, okay, so might be a workplace employee, or, you know, colleagues or whatever the case may be. And really, the first step is just to show compassion. So equally, if they're going to disclose some issues to you that, you know, can be difficult. Just don't underestimate the power of listening. And in that in this case, so you know, just maybe suggest a coffee or a walk outside and reassure him reassure the people that, you know, this is a conversation that's confidential, and then I think, you know, just reminding them about the EAP services that are available, or if there isn't anything in the organisation, maybe signposts those local services that are in your area. And I think the most important aspect of all of this is some if someone has a slow something, is to check in with them regularly. And you know, this can make a huge difference to somebody if they're going through a difficult time. So yeah, really, super important question. So thanks, Mandy.

Thank you so much, Dee, I think, you know, there's an age old saying that says, Be kind you never know what battles someone's facing. And and it's really true. I think for too long people have been fighting the mental health battle on their own. And I'm glad that we're here today talking about it. And we have all of you sharing with us. So thank you. We have so many questions that we want to ask you and we'll definitely come back to you during the roundtable. So thank you so much to you.