Can working with a life coach help your mental health?
Did you know that approximately 32.5 million working days were lost to ill health and poor mental health in the UK in 2019/2020?
Our mental well-being and mental health can significantly impact every area of our lives - but quite often because we spend the most amount of time there, it can affect our work. And more importantly work can affect our mental health.
Think about situations you’re faced with at work. Conversations about your career, changes that are happening in your team, or micro conflicts that arise. How do you deal with them at the moment? If they’re not dealt with appropriately at the time and are left to bubble away, this could definitely have an impact on your well-being, and in turn your mental health. . In that case, this could negatively impact an employee's well-being and, in turn, their mental health.
In no way is coaching a replacement for therapy or counselling, but instead a practical, accessible way to help you take control and work in an intentional way on the things that are important to you.
Used as a preventative measure, it could help raise awareness of behaviours, how to deal with certain situations, and drive ownership for you to take steps to move forward to where you want to be. Promotion? New project? Finding that elusive work life balance? Coaching can help in lots of different ways.
From personal experience I feel that had I worked with a coach about three or four years before I had my breakdown, I would have been able to learn how to set goals appropriate to my needs, understand more about what success looked like for me and be realistic and consistent with the actions I was taking. Would it have prevented the breakdown? Probably not. But I feel that had I worked through things that were making me feel overwhelmed and got clarity on what was important, it could have made a difference.
Dealing with conflict:
You might think that because you’re not throwing punches in the office, that you’re living a conflict free life at work - but it's highly likely that it isn't the case.
The average worker spends two days of their working week dealing with conflict?! And conflict can be a result of many different things; personality clashes, stress, heavy workloads, taking credit for other peoples' work, talking over people in meetings, and not inviting people to things. If not dealt with, these micro conflicts could cause much bigger problems.
Conflict can raise all sorts of emotions for us, even in a work environment. Many are intense, some are debilitating, and others are deep-seated in our values and belief systems. As coaches, we ask about what lies beyond the conflict and emotion to identify what is at the heart of the problem, at which point we can help you move forward.
Dealing with change:
How many times has a change been implemented at work and you’ve been told about it after the fact, or at the last minute? Or a new policy or procedure has been put in place but there hasn’t really been enough information given you about it? Communication is key for projects like this, but sometimes, the people are forgotten and the process is prioritised. If change isn't dealt with correctly, it can cause conflict between teams and individuals.
If change is managed correctly, you’ll move through a transition period from present state to a desired state. But you might not be very good with change (I know I’m not!) and often the majority is catered for, so some of us feel left out, frustrated and fearful of the unknown.
Working with a coach in this situation can help you process what elements you can and can’t control, and ultimately, what actions you can take.
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