workplace mental health speakers
Anne Moss Rogers, Workplace Mental Health Speaker, standing w/ Leslie Hanson, Safety Lead, Dominion Power

So what mental health issues are your employees dealing with?

From what I see, a lot. And all of this affects retention, work environment, safety, productivity, and absenteeism. And how can corporate mental health speakers help you achieve that workplace wellness culture?

  • Parents who lose a child have to come back to work. But do they feel supported?
  • Do people feel a sense of connection and belonging, a foundation of good workplace mental health?
  • What about parents dealing with a child who is struggling? Or a spouse who is struggling? What about grief and loss?
  • Do you have employees who struggle with anxiety or depression?
  • What about workplace issues that have erupted as a result of people being emotionally dysregulated? Hybrid cultures and building relationships?
  • Do your employees know what EAP resources are available to them? Are they using them?
  • What about work/life balance? Are your employees using their PTO or driving themselves to a point of diminishing returns and burnout?

EAP = Employee Assistance Programs
DEI = Diversity, and Inclusion
PTO= Paid Time Off

The pandemic pushed mental health into the spotlight

Employees need to be able to ask questions and find available resources. And we need mental health and suicide prevention in the workplace to be a topic worthy of attention. In short, we need psychological safety, which means that people feel work is a safe place which can mean different things to different people.

The topic title for this corporate mental health event was The Emotionally Naked® Truth About Suicide. This one was a 2-hour hybrid event and had several pauses for questions and answers.

My most popular workplace mental health topic is Emotionally Naked® Workplace Wellness which is customized per workplace HR or Safety goals and revolves around bolstering a culture of connection and belonging, the foundation of a healthy workplace environment. A highlight of this presentation is practical strategies for managing stress and stressful relationships and finding ways to reframe difficult situations so you see them as opportunities to learn and succeed.

Feedback from employees at Dominion Energy on the topic of suicide prevention in the workplace and at home

“I’m proud of the Company for prioritizing mental health initiatives and enabling employees to attend.  It helps our workplace as well as our communities to provide education and tools to DE employees.”

“The speaker was able to pour out so much valuable and helpful information because of her own experience.  I learned so much, particularly about being a good listener, being aware of possible signs of a troubled person who may be suicidal.  I feel more comfortable letting a person know that I care and ask the important question to help them get help!”

Anne Moss Rogers is a courageous and dynamic speaker. It was beyond admirable to listen as she relived her son’s suicide while she has persevered with purpose to save and touch others.  It is remarkably selfless in the way she honors her son by sharing unimaginable loss and her continuous long journey. We were fortunate to have her speak.

“This presentation was fantastic. Holding more of these presentations will help break the stigma of mental illness and promote engaging, transparent conversation.”

“What a powerful presentation.  I definitely learned that suicide is not selfish – instead it is the only way out to stop the pain.” 

“This presentation was a very personal and engaging approach to a difficult subject. Suicide has touched Dominion recently, and the presentation helped me to understand how others might be feeling as well as how to identify and approach the topic with others. I also found the material extremely helpful as a parent.”

“Very informative. Our ERG (PRIDE) did a lunch & learn several years ago (pre-COVID) which was educational in nature. I really like this format as it was personal, raw BUT still very informative. I have been on the helping/coping side of colleagues struggling and contemplating with self-harm thoughts – it is tough..”

Below are the results from the “I struggle with” activity

Since it was a hybrid event, these are post-its are from both in-person and online participants that illustrate what employees are dealing with.

I want to offer a special thank you to Leslie Hanson because it’s not always easy to encourage a big company to embrace the topic of suicide, mental illness, and addiction, or to encourage them to invite a corporate mental health speaker into the workplace to discuss these uncomfortable topics.

The post-it notes are from attendees who named one thing they were struggling with. Usually, it’s that one thing that keeps someone up at night.

The testimonials first and then the post-it project.

workplace mental health speaker activity
In-person participants’ responses to the workplace mental health activity, “I struggle with…”
workplace mental health icebreaker activity
Online participants’ responses to the workplace mental health activity, “I struggle with…”
workplace mental health activity
Online participants’ responses to the workplace mental health activity, “I struggle with…”