Communication Skills for our Mental Wellbeing

This workshop on Communication Skills for our Mental Wellbeing, offered as part of our Future of Work learning program, introduces and discusses ways to develop meaningful communication skills to support safety, positive relationships and healthy boundaries at work.

Effective communication plays a crucial role in supporting mental wellbeing, fostering safety and establishing healthy boundaries. This content helps leaders equip themselves with tools to enhance their communication skills, address barriers and create an environment where employees feel supported and empowered.

Understanding mental wellbeing needs

Availability, capacity and burnout

Individuals who experience burnout often take on tasks over their capacity, and may have limited access to emotional wellbeing resources and emotional support at the time that resources and support are most needed. This can leave many feeling overwhelmed, overextended and overworked, frustrated and burnt out.

Commit to a “mental wellness check”, which is checking in with yourself during each workday. Gauge how you are doing so you can be aware when something needs to be addressed.

• Example: Today I am feeling: great, good, so-so, exhausted, burnt out

Workplace communication

Workplace communication is the transfer of information from person to person within a workplace; it impacts both our mental health and our professional and personal relationships. Workplace communication skills are about:

• Building relationships.
• How you communicate with words verbally, non verbally with body language and in written communication. Be mindful of communication that takes place both in-person and with remote colleagues.

Developing communication skills in the areas of self-awareness, boundaries and responsiveness can enhance your wellbeing.

 Workplace communication skill 1: self-awareness communication

Research has shown that employees who are self-aware are better able to reflect on their skills in the workplace and can build a better sense of teamwork and collaboration. Self-awareness is an important skill in:

• Being able to identify stress levels. 
• Understanding the situations or people who may be triggering.
• Knowing what tools to apply to help with stress management.

Use the table below to help you to become more aware of your emotions in workplace situations.

Self-awareness to identify emotional workplace triggers

 Workplace communication skill 2: boundaries communication

Saying yes when you actually want to say no

Often, people have a difficult time asserting boundaries because there is fear of the possible negative repercussions this may lead to from others. 

However, saying yes to every request or extra task can lead to you becoming overworked and losing your ability to be productive and efficient. 

How to negotiate boundaries:

• Clearly state your needs. 
• Only say no when you have a clear and valid reason for the no. 
• Come prepared with possible alternatives and solutions.
• Set clear communication norms within the team, such as preferred communication channels, response times and setting core working hours. 

Example: Your manager asks you to take on an extra task where there will be a direct time completion conflict with a task that you are already working on. One way to negotiate boundaries might be to say, “At the moment I am working on X task that has the same deadline date. Which task is of most importance to you that you would like me to prioritize? I can do one or the other without compromising quality, but not likely both.”

 Workplace communication skill 3: responsive communication

Reflect and respond instead of react 

When workplace miscommunication and disagreements arise, it is important to pause and give yourself time to reflect and respond, instead of reacting to the situation.

Reacting in the heat of the moment can be harmful to workplace relationships, to your career and to your professional image. 

How to reflect and respond:

It is okay to feel strong feelings around your point of view. However, it is important to pause and think about what was said and what you want to say. Take a break from the conversation. Give yourself the time you need to reflect on:

• the situation.
• your feelings towards the situation. 
• the other person’s feeling towards the situation.
• the best way to approach the situation for the best professional outcome.

Example: I feel we have a difference of opinion about this topic. Let’s take some time to reflect and regroup so we can revisit this discussion with more clarity to come to a workable resolution. Let’s set a date to meet on Wednesday at 12 p.m. to discuss the situation, our points of view and what would be the best possible solution for this specific situation.

Prior to the meeting, making notes on the Reflection Worksheet below about what you would like to discuss with the other person can be a helpful process to reflect on the best solution for the situation.

Reflection Worksheet

Indicate the situation, your desired outcome, your point of view, the other person's point of view, pros and cons for each point of view and the solution that best aligns with the desired outcome. Go into the meeting with these notes and with the intention to solve the problem, and not with anger.