Managing for Mental Wellbeing in the Tech Industry

What is the work you’re doing today?

I lead the mental wellbeing strategy for the rail industry at the Rail Safety and Standards Board. I’m working towards improving how employers protect the workforce and manage mental wellbeing in the workplace. Traditionally clinical psychologists were stuck in therapy rooms, but I think we have an important role in working with organisations to ensure evidence-based interventions are implemented in the workplace.

What are your goals for the talk?

My goal is to share the lessons we have learnt around managing employee mental wellbeing in the rail industry, and encourage the uptake of evidence-based interventions. I want to get tech leaders thinking about mental health and the impact of good people management. Often when people want to support colleagues, they can be paralysed by the fear of doing the wrong thing. Employee wellbeing isn’t the dark art that it can sometimes feel like. There are tangible things people can do in the workplace, that doesn’t require have a doctorate in psychology or being a therapist. I want to start to demystify mental health and wellbeing, and hopefully get people thinking and talking about a subject that can sometimes feel intimidating.

What do you want people to leave the talk with?

I want people to come away with an understanding of mental health and wellbeing, and what good mental health and poor mental health can look like in the workplace.

What do you think is the next big disruption in software?

The tech industry is all about sociotechnical systems. A lot of time in invested in thinking about the tech, but it’s the human beings which are the most unpredictable part of the system. I don’t know exactly what the next big disruption will be but I am confident that human factors will play a role.