How Does Emotional Health Affect Businesses?

“It’s about culture.”
”We need to learn how to communicate.”
”In this business, we’re a family!”
”Our vision statement is…”
”We’re listening.”

These are the all-to-common things people hear in the workplace. All of them have some value, but is this really what we mean by emotional health? Are these really the keys for creating a healthy environment? If so, how come we recycle these topics (or ones like them) and the culture doesn’t seem to improve?

As a business, you might have implemented some of these concepts, or been an employee in a business that did. They give a short-term bump of health, positivity, engagement, or clarity; but is this really the satisfying solution we are desiring? Probably not.

Business Consulting Course uses a different tact. Instead of working on the “group” or “culture,” we focus on the individual. There isn’t anything tangible about a “group.” The term group is really just our desire to describe the connection between individuals.

But in reality, a group is just a bunch of individuals. When we focus on helping the individuals become healthy, the group dynamic automatically improves. If we focus on the “group,” it is difficult or impossible to create long-term change.

So how do we work on the individual corporately (double entendre)?

It becomes more clear if we think about our businesses as an expression of the individuals involved. The healthier the individuals, the healthier the expression.

Let’s be real, individuals carry baggage. From the CEO to the intern, every single person has a history that informs their decisions and creates filters for their life and work. Those filters can either be harmful, distracting, neutral or positive. When someone is "emotionally healthy,” they feel valued, secure, hopeful, creative, energetic, invested, etc. They are a true asset to the company and they will be a catalyst for more happy and healthy people.

If someone has negative filters, they will be insecure, negative, anxious, untrusting, shut-down, etc. These people will also create acolytes of their emotional states.

Further, it seems to be a truism that the leadership of a company will often dictate the tone (health) of the company. When leaders are healthy, they will magnetize (or cultivate) healthy employees. If they are dark or deceitful, they will attract the same.

What can be done to improve these areas? At BCC, we believe that our health is largely due to our development in childhood. It may seem completely unrelated, but it is highly correlated.

As humans, we create a template early in our lives. This template determines our health, happiness, ability to relate, understanding of masculinity, femininity, self confidence, etc. Our relating with our primary relationships teaches us much of what we understand about the world.

However, those lessons are not always positive. Maybe we learn that men are dismissive, harassing, or unsafe. Maybe we learn that women are dramatic, angry, or emotional. Perhaps we learn that we will be overlooked or uncomforted. We will bring all of these lessons into the workplace and apply them to our bosses, colleagues, and underlings.

It’s incumbent upon is, if that is the case, to cleanse our lens and choose more actively the belief system we want to carry. It can be painful work, but by examining how we developed we can understand how to create objectivity; and ultimately recreate the template we want to live by.

Businesses are one of the best possible places for this transition to take place! We spend the majority of our waking hours at work. We have unavoidable, often uncomfortable, relationships at work. And it is a clear expression of how we view ourselves and our self-value.

The trick, therefore, is to introduce emotional health responsibly—providing the context and training to become emotionally healthy without overstepping boundaries or trying to “re-parent” employees. It can be done!

Bottom line, one of the best investments a company can make is in the emotional health of their employees. By helping them to lose negative filters (or negative beliefs), a company can truly thrive both on a personal and professional level. Businesses can be the environments we desire, and some place we are excited to spend 40+ hours a week. Imagine that.