The Link Between Insecurity & Mental Health At Work

The Link Between Insecurity & Mental Health At Work

Jaemin Frazer (main photo) is a life coach, TEDx speaker and author of ‘Unhindered -The 7 essential practices for overcoming insecurity’. He is the founder of the Insecurity Project and specialises in helping leaders and business owners eradicate insecurity so they can show up to life unhindered by doubt, fear and self-limiting beliefs. This is his first column for B&T….

According to a ABS study, almost half of all working Australians will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. It is estimated that these mental health conditions cost Australian workplaces approximately $10.9 billion per year. A figure that has doubled in recent years and comprises $4.7 billion in absenteeism, $6.1 billion in presenteeism (when an employee is at work but is less productive than usual because of illness or injury) and $146 million in compensation claims.

While it must be said that some workplace strategies to combat this trend do make a difference, for all the increased awareness and conversation about the growing mental health issue, the problem only continues to grow. There are three main reasons why talking about mental health has not reduced the amount of mental health issues in the workplace.

  1. Labels disempower and misdirect

Describing the problem as a mental health issue is far too abstract and imprecise.

The problem is not mental health or mental ill health, nor is it anxiety or depression. These labels are an attempt at describing the issue but end up positioning the issue as external to the person and leaving them powerless to improve their situation.

As Canadian Psychologist and author Jordan Peterson says in his ground-breaking book 12 rules for life, it is imperative to be precise in your speech. Things that remain imprecise become monsters in your mind that will eventually consume you. He says: “You have to consciously define the topic of a conversation especially when it is difficult – or it becomes about Prozac. And everything is too much.”

When the issue is talked about as a mental health, it appears that the action is happening in some undisclosed location within the brain which misdirects the attention from specific causes. This label is far too broad and vague to be of any real value, and because we continue to talk about it in this way, only makes the issue harder and harder to deal with.

The best those suffering with ‘mental health’ issues can do therefore, is mask, manage or medicate the issue. It is simply not possible to solve the problem when it is framed this way.

  1. Government and Corporate mental health programs seem far more interested in looking good than doing good.

Annual initiatives such as R U OK day aimed at tackling the mental health issue head on are classic examples of shiny programs that are unlikely to offer real results.

Without being overly critical, it seems that the real value of these workplace initiatives is the outward showing of commitment to do something about the issue. On closer inspection however, these empty strategies only make things worse.

Surely scripting a flow-chart response for such a basic human interaction as checking on the well-being of the people you care about, one day a year is horribly inept way of solving the mental health issue. It can only weaken the collective consciousness and lower the expectation of what it means to be human.

  1. The most common strategies for dealing with mental health are aimed at the symptoms rather than then cause.

Mental health awareness completely fails to understand the deeper cause of the issue in the first place, so creates more pain for people by bringing the issue up with no genuine way of solving the problem. For example, according to Inc Magazine the top 8 strategies for creating a mentally healthier workplace are:

  • Promote work/life balance
  • Discuss mental health in the workplace
  • Offer free screening tools
  • Talk about the benefits of employee assistance programs regularly
  • Make wellness a priority
  • Provide in service events
  • Support employee’s efforts to get help
  • Reduce the stigma of mental health

At first glance, this may seem like a useful list, however on closer inspection it is full of rhetoric that at best can provide a short term band-aid solution, and at worst leaves people further removed from genuine solutions that would end the suffering. All time, money and effort spent tyring to deal with the symptoms of the true problem is ultimately wasted energy. It changes nothing.

The real problem.

The solution to the mental health crisis can only come with an accurate and precise diagnosis of the problem. Of all the underlying issues leading to mental health, by far the most impactful and least addressed is personal insecurity. It is the fear of not being good enough that constantly leaves people feeling the need to prove and defend themselves.

This underlying fear of being inadequate weakens people to the point of mental instability and ultimately madness.

Mental health at its core is an insecurity problem. The good news is that as soon as the issue is understood this way, it can finally be solved.




Please login with linkedin to comment

Jaemin Frazer

Latest News

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!
  • Media

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!

Take B&T's trivia quiz for your chance to win a $100 booze voucher and possible cirrhosis of a major internal organ.

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Big data technology and data science illustration. Data flow concept. Querying, analysing, visualizing complex information. Neural network for artificial intelligence. Data mining. Business analytics.
  • Marketing

SenateSHJ Launches New Trans-Tasman Practices

SenateSHJ has launched a new digital, data and insights capability designed to help clients tackle the growing complexity of communication challenges. SenateSHJ Digital, Data and Insights (DDI) will combine the firm’s existing Digital and Insights functions to create a Trans-Tasman capability focused on digital communication, and the generation and use of data to improve communication. […]

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile
  • Media

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile

Creative technology platform Bonzai has announced the launch of BrandStory – a new premium mobile ad format. BrandStory offers triple the ad space and 2.8 times greater time in view than single scroll ad formats, addressing the surging demand from brands worldwide for more real estate to drive real results by seamlessly intertwining awareness, exploration […]

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7
  • Advertising

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7

B&T went through the looking glass this morning, with editor-in-chief David Hovenden (above) appearing on Channel 7’s The Morning Show to get the general public involved in our search for Australia’s Greatest Ad. Hovenden chatted with Kylie Gillies and stand-in host Matt Doran about what makes a great ad and showcasing some of our favourites […]

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma
  • Opinion

Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma

The science is not in question – smarter people than I, with far more data, have codified it. The logic is not up for grabs…it makes sense that creating mental shortcuts to your brand keeps you at the top of your mind. Lead image: Kate Smither – Owner, The Tall Planner I wouldn’t even take […]

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
African woman using a cellphone in an office alone
  • Marketing

Ortto & Tall Bob Partner To Deliver Better SMS & MMS For Australian & NZ Businesses

Two Australian-born technology providers have joined forces to bring more power and choice to marketers in Australia and New Zealand with mobile messaging that is more local, cost-effective, and integrated. It’s a partnership that sees two Australian software companies come together to deliver a world-class mobile-first solution for marketers building data-driven, personalised, omnichannel campaigns. While […]

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.
  • Media

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.

Snap Inc. has announced a number of new recruits. B&T unaware if it positively impacted SEEK's share price.

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh
  • Technology

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh

This will be of interest to any Reddit fans, graphic designers or lovers of an orange so bright it burns the retinas.

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market
  • Advertising

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market

Zitcha and Broadsign have teamed up to integrate the Broadsign out-of-home (OOH) advertising platform with Zitcha’s retail media platform. The collaboration empowers retailers to maximise and monetise in-store digital display networks and enables advertising partners to easily view and book available in-store inventory and review campaign performance alongside the retailer’s other media channels. With the […]

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label
  • Marketing

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label

Today, 7-Eleven has announced a one-of-a-kind collaboration with the popular Sydney-based anti-resort wear label Double Rainbouu. Dropping tomorrow, December 1, just in time for summer, this limited-edition capsule will infuse the fashion brand’s rebellious spirit with a distinctly iconic 7-Eleven flavour. The unisex collection features five must-have styles comprising two signature Hawaiian shirts, a peaked cap, a bucket hat […]