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The Coping CrisisDiscovering why coping skills are required for health and financial results

By Dr. Bill Howatt, Chief of Research and Development, Workforce Productivity – Morneau Shepell

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Greetings from Dr. Bill

Chief Research & Development Officer, WorkforceProductivity

Author: Certified Management Essentials (CME)10-course programPathway to Coping Skills: 9-week interactive program

25+ Years of experience

Regular contributor toThe Globe and Mail’s 9 to 5 and Leadership Lab Business Career Columns

Author: The Coping Crisis

Dr. Bill Howatt

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The Coping Crisis

Today’s discussion will include:

• Impact of stress on mental heath

• Why coping skills matter

Reference: The Conference Board of Canada, September 30, 2015 http://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=7305

Agenda

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The numbers of employees reporting mental health and chronic disease on the surface continue to grows

What you may not know is how deep this problem is and its root causes.

Employees Reporting

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The challenge for leaders

1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental health issue in their lifetime.

One of the root problems of mental health issues is the fact that those with an illness are not disclosing their issue.

1/3 get treatment.

Challenge for Leaders

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Stress is not all badIt is when it moves from eustress to distress

Depression Eustress Anxiety

Stress severity and duration scale

Perf

orm

ance

Peak performance

Distress, resulting in hyperarousal

Distress, resulting in hypoarousal

Stress not all bad

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Daily stress load defines risk for mental illness driven by psychosocial stress

High Risk Distress FDI can prediction Mental Health Risk

Frequency Duration Intensity (FDI)

Consequence and impact on home and work are evident

Experience symptoms of stress physically and/or mentally

Intense bursts of feeling overwhelmed

Worry more about failing or experience stressful thinking

Challenged

Motivated

Low Risk Eustress can support life fulfillment and happiness0 to low stress

100 maximum tolerance

Daily Stress Load

8Daily Stress Load

Five daily challenges that influence yourtotal health

Imagine you only had ten brain units.

10 08 6 4 2

Money

Career

Self

Relationships

Health

On average how many brain units do you spend focused on each of these five areas?

Money

Career

Self

Relationships

Health

9Stress Unchecked

Stress, if left unchecked or not dealt with over time, can result in disease

At each level it is common for a person to have a different abilities to cope with stress.

Stress

Duration

Base Line Health

Functioning state

Crisis state

Burnout

Disease

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Stress trapped: Resiliency is ultimately theability to see the light and take action –

Stress Trapped

1 2No hopeLow energyStuckNo way outRescue me

Light at the endDig my way outA journeyOne step at a time

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What percentage of your workforce falls in each of the below five buckets?

Happy OK Stressed Mental Health Issues

Mental Disorder (Organic/Cognitive)

Risk

% % % % %

60% of employees are “at risk” for mental wellness challenges

Five Buckets

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Early signs that coping skills are being challenged through stress

Headache Muscle tension or pain Chest pain Fatigue Change in sex drive Stomach upset Sleep problems

Common effects of stress on your body

Anxiety Restlessness Lack of motivation or

focus Feeling overwhelmed Irritability or anger Sadness or depression

Common effects of stress on your mood

Overeating orundereating

Angry outbursts Drug or alcohol abuse Tobacco use Social withdrawal Exercising less often

Common effects of stress on your behaviour

Early Signs

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Exploring how to curb the slippery slope from health to mental illness

Slippery Slope

Healthystate

Mentalhealth risk

Mentalillness

Copingchallenges

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To cope right we need tobe thinking right

Coping Right

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Why assumptions can be misleading

$1.10

$1.00 ???

Assumptions

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Confirmation biasThe tendency to seek out information thatsupports our pre-existing beliefs.

Confirmation Bias

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18 examples of cognitive bias

1. Decoy effect2. Affect heuristic3. Information bias4. Ideometer effect5. Confirmation bias6. Conservatism bias7. Ostrich effect8. Placebo effect 9. Halo effect

10. Horn effect

11. Planning fallacy12. Bandwagon effect13. Blind spot bias 14. Gambler’s fallacy15. Post-purchase

rationalization16. Status quo bias 17. Projection bias18. Anchoring effect

Cognitive Bias

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Coping skills

Coping skills are the tools one has on demand at their disposal to manage the challenges, regardless of the source of stress.

• Internal stress – they put on themselves

• External stress – originates from their environment

How effectively such stressful demands are dealt withultimately depends on the person’s skills to cope withrelationships, life and work.

Coping Skills

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Source: The True Picture of Workplace Absence, Morneau Shepell 2015

A large percentage of the population has never been formally taught coping skills

Coping Skills Not Taught

Coping skills support:• problem solving • decision making • how to manage life stress

How did you learn coping skills?

What is the impact when a person has gaps in their ability to cope?

20Predicting Outcomes

How coping skills can help in predicting outcomes

Perceived Stress Load

Copingskills

LEADINGINDICATOR

Health

LAGGINGINDICATOR

Engagement

Productivity

Environmental and Internal

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What is your current resiliency coping charge?

Resiliency Coping Charge

Stress

Resiliency

Size = coping capacity

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The Coping Crisis and psychosocial factors

How many Sams are out there today whoare not aware of how their micro decisionsand choices are shaping their health?

Information does not equal results.• What's one key to losing weight?• What percentage of people struggling

with their weight know this success formula key?

• What is one potential roadblock?

Take the first step to greater coping skills

The First Step

23The Case of Sam

Sam is struggling to cope with job stress in his current role and work demands. He thinks he is trapped with no options.

This unhealthy coping between age 34 and 39 put 60 pounds on his 5’8” body frame over a period of 30 months.

He drastically increased his body fat. At age 39 he was put on hypertension medication.

At 42 he became a Type 1 diabetic (late onset).

At age 43 he was put on medication for clinical depression.

He developed the habit of over-eating at night to feel better (e.g., chips, ice cream, pop, and fast foods).

His lifestyle choice after work was dominated by watching TV at night and snacking. He hasno structured pro-health habit (e.g., exercise, hobbies or outlets).

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The case of Sam

24Sam’s ERC Pathway

Understanding Sam’s ERC pathway

Mental

Experience Beliefs

Expectations Values

Environment

Internal & external stimuli

Emotions

Pleasure

Pain

Resources

Coping skills

Decisions skillsUnhealthy

coping choices

Healthy coping

choices

E R C

Interpretation Process Action

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At-risk coping

A person’s sole purpose is to move away from pain

Avoidancecoping

A person makes no choices to avoid anxiety and instead may provoke people, places and things as a strategy

Process coping

Process a person goes through to cope

Effective coping

Healthy coping that enables a person to react to life in a healthy and safe manner

Creating reality

The ultimate coping style –the person is not focusing on coping with life but creating it

Current coping crisis risk continuum:Where Sam started his journey to creating

Risk Continuum

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Nine developmental coping micro skills

Coping Micro Skills

Grit

Locus of Control Self-efficacy

Emotional intelligence

A-B-C insights Resiliency

Decision making

& problem solving

Cognitive behavioural

insights

Psychological hardiness

321

654

987

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Environment controls me

Locus of Control

Locus of control

Internal External

Taking charge: Locus of control

Learning how to take charge of what is within your control

The desired outcome: I affect/control what happens to me.

I control my destiny

They control my destiny

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Sustainability Coping Micro Skills for Employees

Such as:• How to clean out your negative thoughts• Learn to calm your stressed mind with visualization• How to boost your confidence at work with good thoughts

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/workplace-award/

Micro Skills for Employees

Leadership micro-skillBy Dr. Bill Howatt

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Leadership micro-skillBy Dr. Bill Howatt

Micro Skills for Leaders

Such as:• How to foster a coaching culture at your workplace• Do you have patience, or are you stressing out your staff?• How to reduce the stigma of mental health issues at work

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/workplace-award/

Micro Skills for Leaders

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Different triggers that indicate when coping skills training can be helpful

Discipline issues around self management (e.g. anger, acting out when under pressure

Attendance issues

THI Coping skills score less than 65%

Self evaluation of need and motivated to develop intrapersonal skills (coping skills is a cognitive based developmental skill)

Performance managing intrapersonal skills

WCB (e.g. PTSD, chronic pain)

STD/LTD (e.g. mental health

Triggers

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Coping skills: The ROI/VOI impact

Improved discretionary effort

Decrease in preseenteeism

Faster return to work

Increase return to work experience and coping

Improved productivity (e.g. problem solving)

Improved mental health

Improved job readiness

Lower risk for accidents

Improved employee

coping skills

Improved organizational ROI

ROI/VOI Impact

32Online Course

Pathway to Coping – online course

Benefits of the course to employers:• Provides a supportive social environment

encouraging employees to seek help• Creates an engaged workforce that is

motivated to succeed• Reduces absenteeism and turnover rates• Builds positive employee/employer

relationships where employees want to come to work

• Enhances both the psychological and physical health of your employees, which will lead to higher employee job satisfaction and increased productivity

Benefits of the course to individuals:• Develop new, more adaptive ways of coping• Find peace• Get ahead personally and professionally• Improve relationships

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Size = coping capacity

Optimal resiliency requires daily focus;there are no shortcuts

Optimal Resiliency

Stress

Resiliency

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Leadership micro-skillBy Dr. Bill Howatt• Created by Morneau Shepell and The Globe and Mail

• Gives organizations a unique perspective on the total health of their workplace: physical, mental, work and life and their impact on engagement and productivity

When you participate, you will receive:• Survey for your employees: each employee receives an individual report• An aggregated report for your organization• Actionable insights into improving the total health of your employees• Opportunity to win an Employee Recommended Workplace Award

To pre-register for 2018, visit www.employeerecommended.com

Employee Recommended Workplace Award

You’ve worked hard to build a healthy workplace. Get recognized for it!

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Thank you, and please let us know if we can helpDr. Bill Howatt Chief Research & Development Officer, Workforce Productivity

bhowatt@morneaushell.com