Brett Johnson [00:00:00]:
Welcome to Business Inspires, where our goal is to inspire you to create the business you envision. I'm Brett Johnson, Tri Village Chamber Partnership board member, and the owner of Circle 270 Media Podcast Consultants. Thank you for following and subscribing to podcast. With me is Katie Ellis, president and CEO of the Tri Village Chamber Partnership and cohost of the podcast. It's great to be here with you, Katie.
Katie Ellis [00:00:24]:
As always, great to be here. And today, we have the incredible Andriel Ugbomeh, CEO of Healing Without Limits Consulting and Counseling. Andriel, thank you so much for your time in in coming on here today.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:00:38]:
Yes. Thank you so much. I I'm really grateful for this time and just to be with you guys today and and look forward to a fruitful discussion.
Katie Ellis [00:00:46]:
So can you give us an introduction into workplace mental health?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:00:51]:
Absolutely. Workplace mental health is this idea and concept that in your workplace, you're focusing on infusing mental wellness into your company culture. So it's, the practice and the idea of how do you address mental health in the workplace. Historically, organizations have been very good about addressing physical health, having programs, and and different initiatives to encourage physical health. And so now that times are evolving and there's more emphasis on mental health is this idea that you do the same, but from a mental health perspective.
Brett Johnson [00:01:28]:
So what is the significance of mental health in our you know, let's call it the modern workplace. We we've kind of changed over the last few years. What would you say its impact on both the employees and the organizational success?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:01:42]:
Well, I think the emphasis today is that people are more unapologetic about their needs around mental health. There's more education around it. There's more conversations about it. And people are not as afraid to say, this is something that I need and I expect of my my workplace. So with that being said, it is really impacting organizations from a talent standpoint. Recent stats stated that 81% of people stated that they will look and see how organizations, support mental health before they choose their next job. So with that being almost a 100% of people, that's very significant. And so, the second part of your quick question is about organizational health and employees.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:02:33]:
In order for anyone to be successful, anything they do, they have to be well. If a person is not well, then it's going to impact everything they touch. So when we talk about mental health, when someone is not well mentally, it's going to impact their ability to concentrate. That's going to impact their ability to maybe even get out of bed. Right? Maybe we should start there. Just their ability to get out of bed. And if they do make it out of bed, are they showing up the best version of themselves? Are they are they able to, again, concentrate? Are they able to be innovative and creative? Are they able to even get along with coworkers? Right? If they're a leader, are they able to lead up to their full potential if they're not well mentally? So it's it's very important to know that in order for you to do anything well, you have to be well mentally. So that directly relates to organizational health.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:03:30]:
Organizations wants their employees to do well. Employees want to do well. So by taking a wellness first approach in culture, then it can help organizations reach new lights new heights of success.
Brett Johnson [00:03:43]:
Yeah. It also offers that employee, the individual, the the opportunity to, if this is the right phrasing or not, to to kinda own it, to to to recognize that they they they have, they need some help or should look for help to be their best self. Let's put it that way. Yes. Rather than kinda shoving it down and and and making it a closet problem, I guess you could say, that, you know, now it's kind of out in the open that the the support is there to be the best self that they can be.
Katie Ellis [00:04:12]:
So I was gonna ask about the current trends. Are there are there current trends in workplace mental health, especially in the light of COVID 19 and those long term effects?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:04:24]:
Absolutely. So, due to the pandemic, we have seen, increase in, again, the conversations around mental health in the workplace, what that looks like, and we've seen organizations enhance their benefit packages. I think the recent status around 70% of organizations have done something to some some type of change to enhance their benefit packages. So we're seeing more, again, more conversations about it. We're seeing that it's clearly, a link to overall business success. So we're seeing that conversation more and more. And I think what is also happening is companies are kind of trying to figure out what is the right solution. Is it the right solution to do a training? Is it the right solution to try to do more healthy activities? Is it the right solution to bring in a a mental health consultant to kind of help assess, what's going on? Or is it, the right solution to look at the existing or historical, workplace wellness solutions they've attempted and see how they can complement or enhance.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:05:31]:
So I think leaders are in a unique space where they're looking and searching for the answers and what's right so they can best support their, team.
Brett Johnson [00:05:39]:
Well, you speak about leaders, and and it you know, those HR professionals are a piece of this as well too. How can they, whether together or just individual, foster a culture that prioritizes that mental health in their business?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:05:54]:
Yeah. Absolutely. That's a great question. And oftentimes in this space, you are collaborating with the HR department. And so one of the most basic principles, or the foundation, if you will, is infusing mental wellness into all aspects of that business. And so what that looks like is really understanding the lay of the land. Where does your organization stand? What are the things you're doing well? What are the things that you can improve? So it's understanding where you stand. And then from there, ensure that you infuse and address the things that, or ensuring that you address the things that are presenting, the state of your organization.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:06:32]:
And then from there, it's about ensuring that the things that you preach aligns with your daily practice and operations. And so it truly is twofold of understanding where you stand, understanding where you may be doing well from from a cultural perspective, what things you can improve in addressing that, but ensuring that if you say as a leader that this is what we value, this is our commitment to wellness, that that trickles down to your your operations and and your daily procedures.
Brett Johnson [00:07:01]:
Yeah. Basically, walk the walk and talk the talk. Yeah. Absolutely. Makes sense. Makes sense.
Katie Ellis [00:07:06]:
Can you talk about some of the benefits in investing in mental health for employees?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:07:13]:
Certainly. There's a lot of of tangible benefits. One is reduced turnover. So the idea is that if you are taking good care of your people, and you are supporting them from a holistic standpoint, they're more likely to stay. So you're gonna save costs on turnover, because you're retaining your staff. When someone turns over, it costs, a company around 70% or 75% of that, staff member salary to make up from lost productivity, to make up from recruitment costs, to pool your best talent to train them, the cost that you occur from a HR standpoint, just getting them up to par, to be legally able to work in your workplace. So you're gonna, again, save costs on that turnover. Also, disability costs, workers' compensation, loss of productivity.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:08:09]:
Companies have, been losing around $300,000,000,000 in the US because of lost productivity, workplace stress, turnover. So it is really significant. Also, another really big, part is saving money on insurance costs. Recent, research has indicated that organizations can save a average of $1400 per employee per year, on their insurance if they invest in some type of mental health workplace wellness program. So for a company of around, let's say, like, 350 people, that can be a few $1,000,000 in savings when you add up all those numbers and look at average cost of the staff members. So it's pretty significant, the savings you can see if you invest in a workplace mental health program.
Brett Johnson [00:08:57]:
That's pretty amazing. That that's a big number to really look at and and and sit there and look at that. Yeah. That's amazing. Can you share a success story or maybe a case study from a business that has successfully integrated mental health strategies?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:09:13]:
Absolutely. There's a university in Ohio, so higher education, that implemented a workplace mental health strategy. They were concerned with, their staff members experiencing depression, and how that was impacting the overall workplace. And so they implemented a workplace mental health program. They did training with their leaders about how to recognize the signs and symptoms of depression and then what to do if your employees are impacted. They did focus groups. They they gathered feedback from their staff to really understand what was going on, and they provided ongoing support to the staff to ensure that the program was effective. And they saw they saved around, about $5,000 per employee, for a year, because of implementing that program, which was around just over a little over $1,000,000 in savings in just 12 months.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:10:11]:
And so that is a beautiful example of how effective, a workplace mental health program can be. I know oftentimes when you're doing programs like this, there also sometimes can be a concern about how fast will we see the results. I mean, you know, organization may be in a crisis and they're like, I need talent now. I need to see, you know, changes now. And so you can see changes in the next 6 to 12 months with, a workplace mental health program. And, again, I mentioned that the average you'll see on insurance is around $1400 per employee per year, but this organization save almost $5,000 per employee per year. And it's just the idea that when you are healthier mentally, that you're you're less likely to go to the doctor. One thing that I I like to share when I'm I'm talking about insurance, to to paint a really clear picture is that when someone has any kind of mental health challenge, it has the ability to manifest physically first.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:11:14]:
And so if it manifests physically, you might have a headache that doesn't go away. You may have stomach pain and GI symptoms. You may be nauseous. The list goes on. And so when you, experience those, those symptoms, the first thing that we likely all would do is go to the doctor, right, to make sure you're okay, to see what's going on. And because of how our our health care system is made up in our country, we have kind of this, medical model first, which is that we make sure a person is medically clear first. And then after we've run a series of tests and really, you know, make sure that you're okay, then they might start having a conversation about, well, is this something going on emotionally? And and it makes complete sense why our our system is set up that way is to save lives and to make sure people are healthy. But what happens to organization when a person is missing work to go to 5 to 10 appointments to pinpoint that they may be having too much cortisol or too much stress.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:12:16]:
Right? Too much cortisol is being reduced, so they're experiencing stress that's causing the organization money. So when you invest in a program that really embodies taking good care of you from a holistic standpoint, people are a lot more likely to be healthier, and then being healthier reduces the cost on the insurance plan and saves the organization money.
Katie Ellis [00:12:37]:
That's absolutely incredible. And, you know, we're getting these, the benefits that the workplace gets to have, but, obviously, we are whole beings. And so it's just, it would be interesting to see how else they're affected in the rest of their life getting, you know, this care for their mental well-being. So, Andrea, when we first met, I was thrilled that this was being created in the way that you've created it in your organization. And I had heard that the World Health Organization was speaking of this epidemic of mental health issues that was going on. And so, of course, if there was a way that the chamber could support our businesses in the intersection of business and mental health, we wanted to do so. So I'm so happy that we not only have you as a member, but that we were able to work out a partnership for our members to get a discount, for your services just by being a member. So was it important for you to do this partnership to offer to chambers for a specific reason? And I know that you're also, offering it to other chambers as well.
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:13:45]:
Yes. Absolutely. So grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the tribulation chamber, and all the great work you're doing. The reason why this partnership is so important is because when we talk about the modern workplace, what we know is that times are changing. Right? And so with chambers being kind of a hub to support, empower, and uplift businesses, and also kind of a a reservoir of resources for businesses, it made sense to partner with, the chambers to, collaborate on empowering organizations. Our program truly focuses on, empowering organizations to reach, you know, new levels of success and to truly be, you know, to truly reach their goals. And so with that also being the Chamber's, mission and and vision, it it just was kind of a no brainer on on a partnership.
Brett Johnson [00:14:44]:
Yeah. So, you know, we've got businesses listening to this podcast. I mean, what what should a business do if they're not sure if this is something they need? I mean, what what how is the best way to to contact you? Or do you have something that they can kind of evaluate what's going on and and and and look in the mirror per se and and see if this is something we need to move forward on?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:15:07]:
On our website, under under the consulting tab, we have a 10 question quiz where it will ask you questions to evaluate the state of your organization. It will look at, areas like retention, productivity, engagement. It'll also look at what is the correlation between your financial health and employment, your it will also look at the intersection between your financial health and your workplace wellness programs. And so it will truly go a deep dive into what's going on in your organization and what are your goals. And so if you're interested in this program, but you're not sure if it's the right fit or you're just shopping around for ideas, we welcome you to go to our website under the consulting tab. Take that 10 question quiz, and then you'll hear from someone on our team with those results.
Brett Johnson [00:15:57]:
Sounds easy enough.
Katie Ellis [00:15:58]:
Yeah. And we also, on the chambers, we'll provide it in the show notes. We have, a connection to the landing page for chambers, and I think we have that quiz there as well too for folks. So, Andrea, what would you like your legacy for this work that you're doing to be?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:16:19]:
Oh, Katie, that's a loaded question. Yes. My legacy, I I what I would like my legacy to be for this work, we say 10, 20, even 30 years down the road, is that as a community, we truly understand when we infuse our our communities with wellness, we empower us all to be the best version of ourselves. And so we understand that, how we understand the connection between workplaces, schools to our community. And we understand if we empower everyone to be well, that everyone has access to live a fruitful life. And that, again, in 10, 20, 30 years, that this is a normal conversation in the workplace, and it's something that's prioritized.
Katie Ellis [00:17:10]:
I'd love that. Thank you so much. We so appreciate your time and this work that you're contributing to the the community. And, how else can we get ahold of you other than visiting your website? Is there anything, or is that the best way?
Andriel Ugbomeh [00:17:25]:
Contacting us on our website, we have all our contact information. We have a contact us, consulting, a contact us, under a consulting where you can fill out, some of your information, and we'll get in touch with you. So there's multiple ways you can get in contact with us through our website.
Brett Johnson [00:17:42]:
Oh, that's fantastic. Thanks for joining us. I mean, I this has been very enlightening, and and I know Katie and I both love to see this wave of of mental health being discussed. I thank goodness it's it's taking root and and taking steps forward. It's fantastic. Listeners, thank you for joining us. Don't forget to check out our podcast page on the Tri Village Chamber Partnership website. Look for the podcast tab at the top of the home page, and tell us what you think about this or or any of our other episodes.
Brett Johnson [00:18:10]:
That email is info at chamber partnership dot org.