Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Study reveals the effects of children's mental health on working parents and what companies can do to help

On Our Sleeves

Mental health remains a concern for all age groups, but especially children. The U.S. Surgeon General recently declared children's mental health a national crisis. On Our Sleeves, the national movement for children's mental health based in Columbus, has identified a connection between the mental health and wellness of kids and the success of the country's workforce. A recent study by the group found that working parents are deeply concerned about their children's mental health and those concerns have grown in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The worries disrupt and distract their work productivity, and many working parents fear saying too much about it out of fear of losing their position or the job entirely. On Our Sleeves executive director Marti Bledsoe Post led the study.

"Being a working parent in today's environment carries with it a lot of pressure," Post said in summarizing the feedback from parents in the study. "They described themselves as feeling like a hamster on a wheel, a ball of tied up spaghetti you are trying to untie, a juggler, an air traffic controller, and an elastic. Then one parent described this complicated dance we are doing as having just enough time to make a connecting flight but little hiccups or changes can throw everything off. And the response to our study has been that many parents are trying to do so many things and do them well and sometimes that interrupts my ability to stay at work a full day. I might have to miss something or come back to it but it's so important because it's my child's mental health on the other side of that particular situation. So in these quotes they shared with us, you can feel that tension. All of those metaphors are complicated things to be experiencing."

Those metaphors resonate with Zenniere Bowry-Thomas, who lives in Lewis Center with her husband and two young children.

"There are times where I feel it's a lot, and I have to step back and take some time for me," Bowry-Thomas said. "Because if I am not good, then my family isn't good. So there's an aspect of focusing on your well-being so you can be there for your kids. I cry, and I sometimes make sure my children see me crying. I share with them that mommy is going through a rough time right now, because I don't want my kids to bottle up their feelings. I have to model that behavior."

For Zenniere and her family, the last couple years brought conversations about death and race, especially with her son who's now 7 years old.

"Even though my children may have known that at some point I could die, the images made it different," Bowry-Thomas said. "We have a pandemic and there's a possibility you can get sick and die. It really exacerbated the conversation around life and death and with that comes loss. So as a child you're coming to face the fact that loss can occur with your loved ones. That is one aspect of what the pandemic brought. I had a situation during the pandemic where my son was not invited to a party. We found out he wasn't allowed in the home because he was a black boy. So we have the pandemic, and we're having racial tension in the household."

Direct conversations with her kids helped, but Zenniere also found inspiration from a friends group she started with a group of women she's known since elementary school.

"One of the recommendations was for my husband and I to go to the family and have a conversation and be authentic around how we're feeling and how we could come to a compromise because we wanted our kids to be able to play together," Bowry-Thomas said. "I shared with them that what I would hope is that you don't see the value of the relationship because of the color and that he brings a lot more that you don't see from the naked eye. It hurt for him to be excluded. Having that conversation, it resonated with the other mother and the husband. Being authentic, coming with positive intent and the result of that was a great way of receiving my message. Today I am happy to say that after coming out of that conversation, my son is able to continue to engage with that family. So that's one example of how I took their counsel and made the effort, and we had good results coming out of it."

As it relates to employers, Zenniere hopes more companies recognize the intersection of being a working parent and showing up well at work.

"If my son or daughter has a situation at school, it might impact my workday," Bowry-Thomas said. "I have to be able to talk with my associates and leaders. I may not say exactly what's going on but I may have some key terms like today is a day I'm having some issues with my son and from a mental health well-being I may need to take a few hours off."

For study author Marti Beldsoe Post, when company culture accepts mental health matters, working parents and caregivers can focus on their children's needs and also manage their work responsibilities.

"What we are asking now is that we take the next step and break down the stigma one step further to say it's not just about the mental health of an employee it's also about how that employee's family is faring under the chronic stress," Post continued. "If we can create more of an accepting culture around talking about mental health and the need for mental health breaks or self care or quality time or the breaks to take children to appointments or whatever that might look like, then we're going a long way to reducing the stigma even further. And the reason this is so critical is that employers want to help their employees be their best selves and contribute their best work, and employers are often a place for resources and problem solving. So we want to make sure that conversation is happening in the workplace so that employers can be part of the solution as much as possible alongside families."

One Columbus company making mental health part of the culture - The Shipyard, a marketing firm of 150 employees. CEO Rick Milenthal describes what it takes.

"You must build insurance programs that give people affordable, easy, and confidential access to mental health," Milenthal continued. "It is the first thing on our list each year. As a result, you have three free visits and low co-pays for mental health. You also need to not only allow but even celebrate folks taking time for mental health. And then as leaders, sometimes you don't want to show your own vulnerabilities. What we feel as leaders is that nobody wants to hear our problems. When you own or lead a company, it's true that many employees feel your life is blessed. But if they can see that you also face challenges. You don't have to share your whole life. What I like to say is - don't compare your inside with other people's outside. All of us have somewhat of a shell on our outside, and that's when you feel alone or that the world is doing just fine. So when you as a leader can be expressive about your humanity and your challenges, it goes a long way for the culture of your company."

The intentional shift began a few years ago after the suicide of his business partner's son. Though not perfect, striving to foster an environment where mental health matters has made a difference but it also requires business leaders to be attentive to their staff according to Milenthal.

"It's hard to do, and we're not going to do it well all the time," Milenthal acknowledged. "All of us have to work hard and take a breath and say - I wonder what's going on with that person. I know that's a high-performing person. There's something happening, and usually there is. There's something that has nothing to do with work and certainly nothing to do with anyone shirking their responsibilities."

On a broader scale, The Shipyard also joined a partnership to bring an annual music festival to Columbus that made advancing the conversation of mental health a priority. The WonderBus Music & Arts Festival returns to The Lawn at CAS the final weekend of August.

Meanwhile, On Our Sleeves plans to repeat its Impact of Children's Mental Health on the Workforce study to see what if anything has changed over the past year and dig a little deeper to identify and delineate the nuances families face.

Here's a link to obtain the full report

Mike Foley joined WCBE in February 2000, coming from WUFT in Gainesville, Florida. Foley has worked in various roles, from producing news and feature stories to engineering Live From Studio A sessions. A series of music features Foley started in 2018 called Music Journeys has grown into a podcast and radio show. He also assists in developing other programs in WCBE's Podcast Experience. Foley hosts The Morning Mix, a weekday music show featuring emerging and established musicians, our Columbus-area and Ohio-based talent, and additional artists that inspire him.