Don’t get status reports from your team. Get soul reports.

That’s the takeaway from this week’s DesuckifyWork podcast with Carin Knoop. Carin is a wonderful writer and the Executive Director of the Case Research & Writing Group at Harvard Business School.

We talked about the importance of mental health at work and how managers and leaders need a whole new set of skills to deal with the issues so many workers are facing.

Carin offers a bunch of great ideas for how to engage with employees who are struggling. Most of which boil down to the simple (but hard) act of listening. Check in with your teams beyond the to do list to see how they’re really doing. And support them accordingly.

You don’t have to be a therapist but you do need to be a human being.

Remember humans?

—

Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

Podcast Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Mental Health at Work01:15 Karen Knoup’s Background and Work02:57 The Importance of Compassion in Management04:20 Current Mental Health Landscape in the Workplace06:09 Hyperbole and Reality in Mental Health Discussions08:24 Managing External Stressors10:56 The Role of Boundaries in Work-Life Balance12:10 Finding Joy in Work and Community14:39 The Shift from Self-Care to Community Care18:17 Realistic Expectations of Work22:05 The Role of Managers in Employee Well-Being25:19 Understanding What We Bring to Work27:20 The Future of Education and Work30:00 The Impact of AI on Work and Mental Health35:54 Finding Calm in Chaos39:08 The Role of Managers in Employee Well-Being43:21 Compassion vs. Empathy in Leadership46:44 Defining Well-Being in the Workplace51:44 Creating a Supportive Work Environment

You can follow Carin on LinkedIn. And check out her Medium newsletter at carinisabelknoop.medium.com.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to find some calm in the chaos of work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

——

Bonus question from Carin to our audience:Can you share some of those little moments that you have seen at work or do at work, little tricks that help you make things better?