SICK OF WORK OR SICK BECAUSE OF WORK?
With the winter months and in particular the month of February often being a time when many of us experience the blues or suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, a blog on mental wellbeing in the workplace is timely. This week’s The Provocateur welcomes guest blogger Siobhan Doherty, lead of the Planned Giving Program at Halifax’s Dalhousie University.
SICK OF WORK OR SICK BECAUSE OF WORK?
Lack of resources in charitable sector can lead to workplace illness.
Siobhan Doherty, Dalhousie University
February 04, 2020
25% of those AFP members surveyed say there are insufficient staff to do the fundraising work at their organization.
- AFP Global, 2019 Compensation and Benefits Report, July 17 2019
I’ve worked for a wide variety of nonprofit organizations as part of diverse fundraising teams. From a team of four revenue development coordinators to a team of 150 advancement staff to a fundraising board position with an organization that had no fundraisers on staff, I’ve experienced the gamut of fundraising staffing. I’ve felt the impact of constrained resources first hand and I know this comes part and parcel with increased stress and decreased mental (and physical) well-being.
In an industry where people are passionate about their personal and organizational missions, we often put our work before ourselves. Eventually it catches up with us and as speaker, coach and wellness educator, Joyce Sunada, would say:
“If you don’t make time for wellness you will be forced to make time for illness.”
I am not talking only about mental illness; I am also talking about physical illness because the two are fundamentally linked. What can we do as busy, resource-constrained fundraisers to help improve well-being in the workplace?
Ian Adair is the CEO of the Gracepoint Foundation in Tampa, Fl., which raises awareness and financial support for mental health and addiction services. He is a three-time nonprofit CEO and, by focusing on winning donor attention, has influenced corporate and nonprofit teams, volunteer boards and front-line staff around the country. In 2016, Ian was chosen as one of the Top 100 Must-Follow Giving Influencers on Twitter, and currently operates a speaking and professional development firm, Strategy 27, LLC. He had this to say about a session he was giving at the October 2019 Association of Professional Fundraisers conference in Phoenix:
“This session is about creating a culture of openness at work around mental health. Whether people realize it or not, mental health is a part of and can impact almost every aspect of an organization, especially pertaining to employee retention, organizational culture, and even a nonprofit’s financial bottom line. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) says that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime, while other research groups say it’s more like half of all people who will manage a mental health condition. It is likely that your organization will have an employee who faces these challenges. Mental health is so stigmatized that most people will not even talk about it, but how can we work in a sector where employees readily admit they are stressed, experience anxiety, and are overworked and underpaid, but not talk about it?
I want participants to walk away with three things: a greater understanding of the impact of mental health in their organizations, steps to help create a culture of openness about mental health, and strategies they can incorporate right now in their organization which will help create a culture that is stronger than stigma.”
- AFP Global, AFP LEAD: Leading with Empathy, Gratitude, and Action, September 11 2019
“Some quick facts about psychological health and the workplace provided by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, as well as the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety:
1 in 5 Canadians experience a psychological health problem or illness in any given year.
Psychological health problems and illnesses are the number one cause of disability in Canada.
Psychological health problems cost the Canadian economy ~$51 billion per year, $20 billion of which results from work-related causes.
47% of working Canadians consider their work to be the most stressful part of daily life.
Psychological health problems affect mid-career workers the most, lowering the productivity of the Canadian workforce.
Only 23% of Canadian workers would feel comfortable talking to their employer about a psychological health issue.
- Government of Canada, Psychological Health in the Workplace, July 14, 2016
To learn more about the importance of mental health in the workplace visit:
While I am not a trained specialist in this area, I do have a wealth of lived experience. I suffer from a diagnosed mental illness and when I don’t make space for my wellness, my illness takes over. I have a few tips and tricks for what I do to bring calm and organization to my life while reducing stress. I’m excited to share them with you in hopes that they’ll help you achieve some balance between your work and personal lives:
Unplug
Set aside time with your family and friends outside of work hours without your cell phone. If you insist on working outside of work hours, set aside specific times where you are present and in the moment with the people you care about. This will help you not only in your personal life but also professionally, ensuring you don’t get burnt out or resent your job.
Focused and Productive Work Time
Take a break from emails and other interruptions and have focused work time. Close your office door, work from home or a coffee shop and spend time on the strategic and long-term aspects of your job instead of just putting out fires. Trust me, if you don’t answer emails for an hour, nothing catastrophic will happen. Sometimes I go as far as to put on an internal out of office responder explaining that I am working on a deadline!
Mindfulness
I know you’ve heard all about it but maybe it’s being repeated because it really works. Even something as simple as taking a 5-minute mindfulness moment in the morning and afternoon helps me to refocus my energy and remember why I love my job. I turn off the volume on my phone, make sure I’m not in front of a TV or computer screen, close my eyes, breathe and clear all the thoughts from my head just deep breathing in and out.
These are some tips that work for me — I encourage you to give them a try and see if they help you. And remember it’s okay to take a break once in a while. Use up those vacation days, personal leave days and other workplace benefits that are an important part of your compensation in the nonprofit workforce! If you work for yourself, build time off into your annual calendar and communicate these breaks to clients so you can properly unplug without impacting your work. It will make you a better employee, a healthier person and a more successful fundraiser, too.
For a checklist of practical strategies for improving psychological health and safety at work you can practice as an employee, manager or organization, visit Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
Does your organization need fund development help? Did you know… ViTreo offers customized services built around the unique needs of your nonprofit and we help build capacity within your team on all our projects. Contact us to discuss what goals you’d like to make happen in 2020.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Siobhan Doherty, Senior Development Officer, Legacy Giving,
Dalhousie University
Siobhan Doherty leads the Planned Giving Program at Dalhousie University in Halifax. She previously held fundraising roles with the University of Calgary and The Canadian Cancer Society. Her fundraising career began at McGill University at the age of 18 and she hasn’t stopped since. Siobhan completed her BA from McGill and professional certificates in Public Relations and Marketing from the University of Calgary. Currently she volunteers on the board of the Halifax Chapter of CAGP, with AFP National and is the Vice-Chair of the nonprofit dance company Votive Dance. Siobhan is working towards her CFRE designation.