Leading from the front: First-of-its-kind mental health first aid for CEOs

With over 60% of employees in Singapore   and more than half reporting greater sensitivity to stress compared to the previous year, we need alignment and commitment on workplace culture throughout organisations, not just from the HR team.  This starts with CEOs, who set the tone and culture of the organisations they lead, yet very few leaders have the skills or knowledge to be proactive role models on mental wellbeing or know what types of programmes and behaviours have the most impact on fostering a healthy workplace. 

The deterioration in employee wellbeing, which also impacts business performance, coincides with the new Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL) – which includes anti-discrimination for mental health issues – due to be enacted in 2025. This puts CEOs and leaders under increased pressure to make sure that they translate their mental health strategies into formal policies and procedures, especially given the enforceability of WFL, which in itself presents a business and governance risk to employers who are not prepared for the legislation. 

Fittingly, the global theme of World Mental Health Month in October this year, was “It’s time to prioritise mental health in the workplace.”  With that and the new legislation in mind, WorkWell Leaders recently held a first-of-its-kind Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training session specifically designed for CEOs, facilitated in partnership with Intellect, the only licensed MHFA provider in Singapore.   

Participants were educated on recognising mental health conditions and equipped with strategies to engage in effective conversations about wellbeing. This training was particularly relevant, as nearly half of the more than 30 CEOs who attended – all leaders of large organisations, representing over 13,000 employees in Singapore – had personal experience with counselling or therapy, yet only 13% felt comfortable discussing this with their teams. 

“The CEO role is often a lonely one where colleagues and family find it difficult to relate to the unique pressures they face, but in order to lead well, CEOs must be well themselves.” – Bob Grove, Executive Director, WorkWell Leaders

The CEOs reflected that they need to have the courage to share their own wellbeing vulnerabilities as role models to give permission to others in their organisations to do the same and to demonstrate that by doing so, employees can still be successful and become leaders themselves.   

The big takeaway from the MHFA for CEOs session illuminated the significant role leaders play not only as first-aiders but as architects of organisational culture, including managing a multi-generational workforce, the importance of fostering trust in leadership, and the synthesis of top-down initiatives with bottom-up programmes. A consensus emerged around three pivotal strategies for CEOs aiming to implement effective MHFA:

1.   Simplification: Simplify policies and values to reduce cognitive load on employees, ensuring that mental health initiatives are accessible and actionable.

2.   Job redesign: Identify and mitigate work stressors through thoughtful job redesign. This approach can alleviate burnout and enhance overall employee wellbeing without compromising productivity and results.

3.    Be, not do: Shift towards a culture of “being” rather than “doing” was advocated, focusing on nurturing a supportive ecosystem across the wellbeing spectrum from healthy to at risk to struggling and in recovery, rather than overwhelming employees with isolated and ad hoc wellbeing initiatives that employees find difficult to relate to.

Wallace Ignacio Torres, Vice-President, Site Operations of Amgen Singapore expressed appreciation for open dialogue among C-Suite leaders, adding, “I think this is a good opportunity for us to reassess what we are doing and confirm what we’re doing right, but most importantly, think of what’s the next step.”

READ MORE: AI therapy: Bridging the workplace mental health gap

While the MHFA training primarily focused on organisation-wide leadership of wellbeing, the additional benefit to the CEOs attending was a better understanding of how to manage their own wellbeing as well as those of family and friends. 

According to InfoQ, 49% of CEOs feel that they are suffering from mental health issues.  The CEO role is often a lonely one where colleagues and family find it difficult to relate to the unique pressures they face, but in order to lead well, CEOs must be well themselves.  

About the author: Bob Grove is Executive Director of WorkWell Leaders, a registered charity and collective of CEOs and leaders that focus on making workplace wellbeing a strategic priority to support business growth.