May 2023

MANAGEMENT TRENDS... from page 38.

steps to avoid getting to the point of clinical depression by maintaining balance, keeping their stressors in perspec tive, and avoiding conflict. However, the more effective approaches, as described by Shelley O’Keefe are cultural, organizational and/or community-based. As more people talk about mental health, more people will be willing to come forward and talk about it. While individually, we can take steps to protect ourselves from the pitfalls of overstress and depression, the root cause of mental health issues is often career/work based. The greatest opportunity to reduce the occurrence of these issues is largely in the hands of our community management employers. Some of the specific measures that employers can take according to Overton include: • Encouraging an environment that educates, encourages discussion, and destigmatizes mental health issues. • Open lines of communication and use active listening skills when discussing sensitive matters that may be more “under the surface” than might be realized. • Make a commitment to corporate mental health. Provide affected employees with whatever they need to address

for being the most decorated gymnast in the world, and she was expected to win at least four gold medals. Biles suddenly withdrew in the middle of the games due to a condition related to her mental health. The brave action that she took before the world stage provides some great space for others suffering from these conditions. Simone’s action contributed in a huge way to destigmatizing our mental health issues. Conditions related to mental health are more common than most think. Gallup in its article “The Economic Cost of Employee Mental Health” states, “Nearly one-fifth of U.S. workers (19%) rate their mental health as fair or poor”, and that translates according to Gallup to an average of 12 days of unplanned absences from work per year, com pared to 2.5 days per year for all other workers (who rate their mental health as good, very good or excellent). People who are high-performance, goal-driven individ uals, such as community association managers can take

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