Mental health plays a major role in how we show up at work. It affects our focus, energy, relationships, and overall performance. While we’ve come a long way in reducing the stigma around mental health, there are still efforts to be made, including in professional settings where many mental health struggles can be exacerbated.

Mental health is shaped by many factors, including age, culture, personal background, and life circumstances, but stress, burnout, anxiety, and low motivation can affect anyone, regardless of role or seniority. These challenges often show up subtly, with missed deadlines, lack of focus, and withdrawal from teammates. It’s important to not only understand how outside factors affect your own mental health but also how it can affect those around you in order to foster a safe space.

At the 2024 Adobe MAX conference, Emmy-winning creative Emonee LaRussa spoke about the importance of knowing your value and setting boundaries. She emphasized to the audience that when you take care of your mental well-being, your work improves. Prioritizing structure, taking breaks, and recognizing your limits isn’t just healthy, it’s a productive use of your time.

The idea that constantly hustling leads to better results and is a metric of success is an outdated way of thinking. People do their best work when they have the space to rest and recharge. Encouraging balance helps prevent burnout and allows creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving to thrive.

One tool to help you reframe your thoughts and validate your self-worth that LaRussa suggested was the practice of putting your thoughts on trial. This is a cognitive technique used to evaluate the evidence to validate a thought. If you can validate an emotion with logic and reason you can change your perspective on that thought.

For example, after making a mistake at work an initial, negative, emotional reaction might be to tell yourself, “I’m going to get fired because I’m always messing everything up.” After going through the process of putting this thought on trial you can rework that thinking with logic to be, “It’s true that I made a mistake, but it doesn’t reflect my overall competence. I’m generally responsible and capable. This is not a reflection of my character or worth.”

When conversations around mental health are normalized, employees are more likely to seek help early and support one another. Many people are hesitant to speak openly about mental health at work, with concerns about being judged, misunderstood, or receiving adverse action from their employer.

Creating a company culture that allows for open discussion from not only employees, but also higher-level leadership can help establish a healthy working environment. By fostering an open, respectful culture that values well-being, we can create workplaces where people can perform at their best and feel good doing it.

Written by
Cara Newcomer

Senior Content Strategist, Bravo Fanatic, Reading Enthusiast, Beach Lover