An inclusive workplace is one that works for all, and one of its key building blocks is women’s mental health. Marjorie Morrison, SHRM’s executive in residence for mental health, is joined by Tamla Oates-Forney, CEO of SHRM Linkage, to dive into strategies for HR professionals to support women’s mental health as part of creating an inclusive workplace culture. This podcast is approved for .5 PDCs toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification. Listen to the complete episode to get your activity ID at the end. ID expires June 1, 2026. Subscribe to HR Daily to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/voegyz --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r
An inclusive workplace is one that works for all, and one of its key building blocks is women’s mental health. Marjorie Morrison, SHRM’s executive in residence for mental health, is joined by Tamla Oates-Forney, CEO of SHRM Linkage, to dive into strategies for HR professionals to support women’s mental health as part of creating an inclusive workplace culture.
This podcast is approved for .5 PDCs toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification. Listen to the complete episode to get your activity ID at the end. ID expires June 1, 2026.
Subscribe to HR Daily to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/voegyz
---
Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r
00;00;05;12 [Marjorie Morrison]: Welcome to Honest HR. I'm Marjorie Morrison SHRM's, executive in Residence for Mental Health, and also your special guest host for this episode. Today we're discussing how HR teams can support women's mental health as part of an inclusive workplace culture. We're grounding our conversation with three data points. Number one, 59% of CHROs surveyed by SHRM said that they expect a greater focus on mental health this year. Number two, 30% of workers told SHRM they take a pay cut
00;00;39;06 for better mental health support. And number three, 42% of women told Gallup their job has negatively impacted their mental health versus 37% of men. So there's clearly a lot to talk about here. So joining me to work through all of this is Tamla Oates-Forney, CEO of SHRM Linkage. Welcome to Honest HR Tamla.
00;01;04;03 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Tamla Oates-Forney: Thank you for having me.
00;01;05;13 [Marjorie Morrison]: So let's just get started 'cause I know this is gonna be such a great conversation. To give our audience some background, can you tell us a little bit about the mission of SHRM Linkage and how one of its specialties is supporting the unique needs of women at various stages in their leadership journeys.
00;01;23;05 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Absolutely. So SHRM Linkage is a talent and leadership development organization that's really focused on partnering with businesses to help them optimize the talent in the workforce. And like you said, our superpower is focusing on the advancement of women in the workplace, but it's not at the exclusion of men. We've just been at this for over 35 years. And focused on women for the last 26 years.
00;01;42;27 [Marjorie Morrison]: Wow. Mm-hmm. Wow. So like of all the challenges and obstacles that you mentioned, and certainly there's a lot of stress in women's lives, right? As far as how that stress manifests in women, I have my own thoughts, but I'd love to hear yours first.
00;02;01;07 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Well, I have a personal story, quite frankly. Um, I have been a CHRO of multiple, uh, fortune 500 companies and back in November of 2023, I had my own health scare, um, that was brought on by stress in the workplace. Right? And as a CHRO I think studies have shown that aside from the CEO job, the CHRO job is probably the most stressful job in the C-suite. And so having, having that job, I was working. 14, 16 hour days every single day, not taking a vacation and like
00;02;33;15 really running on a hamster wheel. Um, my sleep was disrupted because I was constantly thinking about work and just stressed out, going, going, going, you know, my mind was telling me I can do this. I've always done hard things, but my body said not so much. And so, uh, one day when I was in the office preparing to speak at an all employee meeting, I began to have chest pains. Really bad chest pains. And I knew something wasn't quite right with me. Um, I was immediately rushed to, um, the clinic that was on site. I had
00;03;06;24 two EKGs performed, and they said you needed to go to the ER immediately because it showed that you had had a mild heart attack.
00;03;13;23 [Marjorie Morrison]: Oh my god.
00;03;14;26 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: I was like, that can't be the case. Not me. I mean, I was working out every day. I'm vegan. I don't smoke, don't drink. That could not be the. Case. And so as fate would have it, it wasn't a heart attack, but it was a stress-induced anxiety attack. And so if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone. Right? And so that was a personal story, um, that happened to me and I just vowed to. To really figure out what did I need to do to change my life so that I would not, um,
00;03;45;10 have those episodes anymore or put myself in harm's way because I was very fortunate that it wasn't a heart attack this time, but if I didn't do anything to change the stressful environment that I was operating in, it could have been different.
00;03;57;25 [Marjorie Morrison]: Wow. Thank you so much for sharing that story. Mm-hmm. I'm curious, and I think our audience would be curious, like what, what kinds of things did you change?
00;04;06;13 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Oh my goodness. So one, I changed jobs, I changed my profession, and so I retired as a sitting CHRO. Um, because I knew that that job was not going to be less stressful, right. Anytime soon. Right? This was like a wake up call. It was for up call, literally and physically it was wake up call for me. So I decided to retire out of the profession, um, as a CHRO. Still, obviously I'm working, but I'm working in a different capacity, leveraging my skills and, you know, my expertise to still focus on talent development. So, um, I changed jobs and then I
00;04;41;26 committed to working out every day still. Um, monitoring my stress, monitoring, um, you know, like my triggers and making sure I was truly, truly balanced and also shutting off. When it was time to shut off, you know, and, and I moved home. So I I, I was living in San Antonio, Texas with my husband and family, and I decided to move back home. So I recently
00;05;07;13 returned home for a couple reasons. One, because I wanted to be closer to family 'cause we were not living close to family. And because my mother is ailing and aging and my sister was boring, the responsibility of taking care of her so much so that she almost had a. A nervous breakdown. Wow. Caregiving. Wow.
00;05;26;24 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: And so there are three of us, and my sister was doing the brunt of the work, and so I moved back home as well to, you know, be present in my mother's life to help alleviate some of the stressful and mental burden that my sister was carrying. By taking care of our mom. So, wow. Made a lot of life changes and I'm back at home and it's uh, wow.
00;05;45;01 [Marjorie Morrison]: I'm so impressed. Yeah. I'm so impressed with you. But I’m so curious, Did you find, or do you find now that you know, what those warning signs feel like when you're getting stressed? Like with these changes that you made, are you able to kind of check in with yourself and say, I need to slow down?
00;06;02;24 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, one, um. Sleep deprivation. So can I sleep? I try and I usually have my Fitbit on, but I don't have it on right now. But I monitor my sleep.
00;06;12;01 [Marjorie Morrison]: Mm-hmm.
00;06;12;12 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: My sleep patterns to make sure that I'm sleeping at least six hours a night. You know, people like you need eight, but normally I get six to seven and before it was like three to five and it was very intermittent, I would wake up and not even realize I was waking up at night. So I monitor. My progress, I work out every day. Um, and then I also, you know, have an accountab have accountability partners to make sure that we are working out, that we are taking time for self-care and things of that nature. Yeah. So having the level of accountability and just being present with my family. So, um, I used to miss things. Before because I was
00;06;46;23 so sure committed to being in the office and doing the work. So much so that I miss things and I'm present with my family now, even like family dinners and things of that nature. So the accountability, monitoring my vitals, um, and just making sure that I am prioritizing myself and my wellbeing.
00;07;04;15 [Marjorie Morrison]: That is so great. So knowing that, like, do you have, um, like advice for HR professionals to help them mitigate stress or their mental health in their own lives?
00;07;14;23 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Well, I think you have to know yourself, um, know what your limits are, set boundaries, and make sure you're role modeling the behavior that you want your teams to adhere to as well. Um, you know, do not ignore the signs if you're having, uh, sleep deprivation. If you're having anxiety, if you're having, I used to have the Sunday scaries, like literally Yeah, on Sundays. After church, after dinner and things like that. It when you were preparing? When I was preparing for Mondays, I, I began to have anxiety about preparing for Mondays because I
00;07;47;07 knew that my calendar, it was like from the time I got to work until the time I. Afterward I had back to back to back to back meetings. And so monitor that. And then I, I think also I would say get an accountability partner either on your team or a peer that can check you when you're not quite yourself or if you're like burning the candles at both ends and, and really don't see how that is impacting how you show up. Right. Um, in the
00;08;15;20 workplace. So those are some of the things.
00;08;17;12 [Marjorie Morrison]: Those are great. Mm-hmm. Those are really great strategies. Mm-hmm. And, um. You almost have to allow yourself to be vulnerable, you know, with the accountability partner. Mm-hmm. And to have trust and, you know, yeah. For both of you, for each other.
00;08;27;26 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: I gotta tell you, when I shared my story about, uh, my anxiety attack that I thought was a heart attack and I shared it with other women, my team knew obviously because it happened so publicly in the workplace. Um, but when I shared that, I was really, really surprised to know. That so many other people were going through the same thing. But they were suffering in silence. Yep. Um, and stress is a silent killer. Right. It will kill you. And that causes a lot of other challenges, mental health challenges, physical health challenges, et cetera. So, um,
00;08;58;23 yeah.
00;08;59;04 [Marjorie Morrison]: I, I always say that, you know, when you share your lived experience You create a space for other people to make it okay for them to share theirs. Absolutely.
00;09;07;00 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: For some reason, um, people think that those of us that are in the C-suite or, or CHROs, they think we're super human. That we don't have some of the same struggles that others have and or that we're, you know, I don't know. We're super human, but like we have the same struggles that everybody else else has. And, and so when we talk about our transparency, um, one, I think it's freeing. It's been freeing for me, but it makes it okay for others to share.
00;09;32;09 [Marjorie Morrison]: I love that, that it's like it benefits both of you, which is so nice. Absolutely. Absolutely. More specifically, you mentioned caregiving. Mm-hmm. Do you have any tips for HR teams or HR people who are. Managing and working with women who have these dual roles.
00;09;47;25 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Yeah. I think the good, here's what I think, now it's become more of a prominent topic of conversation. Yeah, yeah. Whereas before, again, people were making it work, suffering in silence mm-hmm. And doing it in silence. But because it's now become such a prominent topic, um, a lot of HR, a lot of companies are infusing benefits into their total rewards program to offer. You know, caregiving benefits, whereas before they didn't. So I think making it okay to talk about, and so again, me sharing my story about me moving back home to be closer to my
00;10;20;13 ailing mom and having caregiving duties up with my mom makes it okay for my team to share what they're going through. Right? So creating a space where people can talk about their needs. And also creating a space where people can infuse how they live into how they work. And a lot of that also involves taking care of not only your children, but your, your aging parents, right? Mm-hmm. And so, um, I think again, not just creating the space, but also looking at your, your benefit and your total rewards
00;10;49;20 offering to ensure that their. It's inclusive of giving people the opportunity to, to care for their parents. And a lot of companies now are moving to kind of this unlimited PTO. Um, um, and so you can use it not just for vacation, you can use it for caregiving and things of that nature. So I think now it's not taboo to talk about it anymore. Right. Because so many people are experiencing it and. If you have caregiving responsibilities, it could impact your ability to perform at work, right?
00;11;19;23 Right. And so if you're able to talk about it and you have resources around you to help you through it, it makes for a better employee experience, right? And you show up better. At work.
00;11;31;06 [Marjorie Morrison]: So do you feel like those I, because I, I am so excited that we are focusing on it now. Mm-hmm. Right. And I think what I hear you saying is that back in the day, it wasn't even something that was anyone talked about. No. Now it's such a big part of our, our life and I've heard someone say. Three out of four employees have some kind of caregiving responsibility. Like what? What else can companies do? I mean, so it sounds like you're saying unlimited PTO is one of them creating an environment for people to talk about it. Mm-hmm. Are there other things.
00;12;01;09 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: I think you gotta look at again, your total rewards offering and look at what. Are some of the benefits that are available now that were not be beneficial before, not benefit a part of the benefit package. Mm-hmm. And see what you can infuse in terms of your offerings to your, um, to your employees. Uh, I think that's something that they can do. And, and I think also creating space for sh people to share best practices. Yeah. 'cause I mean, just last week, two weeks ago, one of my employees. Had an issue with their mom and had to fly out of the country
00;12;33;16 to go to make sure that their mom was okay. Wow. And so creating flexibility for them to be able to work from anywhere Right. Versus being in the office all the time. And so I think creating that flexible work arrangements that they need in order to care for their, their aging parents or their ailing parents when they need to. Mm-hmm. And make it okay for it to happen, you know? And so, and I think she felt comfortable sharing. What she was going through because I shared so much about myself so.
00;13;01;17 [Marjorie Morrison]: It's really like talking the talk and walking the walk. Right? Yeah. So when we think about inclusive workplaces mm-hmm. Is those, is that a similar kind of a strategy that you would talk about? Like what we would do for caregiving. And is that the same for any kind of issue that someone would have?
00;13;16;29 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Well, I think, you know, inclusive work environments create space for everyone to contribute and succeed. And knowing your, um, your, your, your population, you, you need to really understand what are their needs. Right, assess what their needs are in terms of, you know, and being able to infuse how they live into how they work and see what resources, there are a lot more resources available to address mental health, to address caregiving and things of that nature than they were before. So I think that's very important. One of the things I
00;13;49;15 think is, well, that companies should look at. Look at the data. Look at data, and what does the data tell you you need to do. So you don't wanna just put. New programs in place for the sake of putting it in place. Right. But, um, I remember when I was a CHRO and one of the things we were noticing is that our healthcare claims were increasing rapidly. Right. And if you look at the reasons behind it. Mental health was a huge driver. Yeah. Of, of those claims. And then you have to ask yourself, why is that
00;14;19;12 and what can we do that's in our realm of responsibilities, uh, as employers to help mitigate some of those issues and challenges. Right. And then, you know, then if you look at your absenteeism and why are people absent? Is because their kids are sick.
00;14;33;24 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: It's because their parents are sick and they're trying to juggle. Right? Then you look at the data to say, well, maybe because we. Are experiencing a high degree of absenteeism because people are having to go care for their parents. What can we do to help address that, such as, not li not limited to, but such as providing more flexible work options so that they can do both and versus either or.
00;14;55;14 [Marjorie Morrison]: Mm-hmm.
00;14;56;00 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Right.
00;14;56;17 [Marjorie Morrison]: I think that's so great. Mm-hmm. And that, that can be for leadership too, right?
00;15;00;03 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Absolutely. It's for all employees, right? Irrespective of your level, your irrespective of your gender, ethnicity. It's for all employees and our, our goal and our role as HR professionals is to make the workplace work for everybody and to the extent. It's not working for everybody. Again, you gotta ask yourself why and what can you do in order to reverse whatever negative trends that you're seeing, right? So leverage data and insights to help shape and inform what you need to offer, um, to ensure that you are creating a, a space. Where everybody can
00;15;34;02 thrive.
00;15;35;02 [Marjorie Morrison]: I love this concept of linkage, right? I love the fact that you get to empower, right? And it sounds like women now are this, like that women have always been this incredible focus. And you're gonna make such a difference in these lives. Can you share with us like some, some things like of your day to day that you've done or that you've gotten to work on, that you make, make you feel really proud or that other HR professionals could kind of use in their own work to emulate?
00;16;03;28 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: We we're really looking at, again, how do you optimize talent in your work? Place. Right? And to the extent, you know, you're, you're not optimizing the talent, then how can we help you create programs, um, and interventions to change that trajectory? For instance, women make up 47% of the workforce. That's fact, right? We make up 47% of the workforce and we are the most educated in the workplace. But if you look at the level of matriculation throughout leadership roles and ranks. We're, we're not matriculating at the same rate as men. As evident
00;16;38;03 by the fact that if you look at the Fortune 500 CEOs, only 11.6% of them are women. So do you have to ask yourself?
00;16;44;24 [Marjorie Morrison]: Right.
00;16;45;07 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Why is that? Yeah. If women are such a significant part of the workforce but they haven't matriculated mm-hmm. Through, at the same rate throughout the workforce, why is that? Right? Is there something systemic going on in your organization that's preventing them? Mm-hmm. From advancing at the same rate? Right. And so we help assess what's going on in a respective organization that's, and, you know, what are some of the development programs we can put in place, um, sponsorship programs that we can train leaders on, mentoring programs that we can train
00;17;17;18 leaders on coaching that we can, you know, um, can implement that could help reverse that trajectory. Because as an organization, especially given what's going on in the work. Place in the workforce. If you look at workforce participation rates, they're declining. If you look at the labor pool, the labor pool is shrinking. We are retiring more people than we are adding to the workplace. Wow. And if you look at skills, there are skills gaps. So we have a labor shortage. So throughout any company, if you want
00;17;45;22 to win, you have to make sure you're maximizing right your talent. And if you look at your pool of talent, and there is an under utilization. Of that talent, that's where you need to focus. Right. And studies show oftentimes women are underutilized. It's not because women don't have the capability to grow and learn and lead. Right, right, right. There may be other things that, that's preventing them from doing so. Right.
00;18;14;08 [Marjorie Morrison]: Yeah. It's so interesting to think about sometimes I, and I've spent the last, I don't know, 14 years being a CEO. Mm-hmm. And I often led with what, what they call sort of, you know. Um, this authentic leadership mm-hmm. We talk a lot about that, but sometimes I think companies aren't ready for that. Mm-hmm. And women do that. Not that men don't, but women. I personally think have an easier time to say, oh, I'm not sure I understand that. Can you help me with that? Or can you, like, we, we show vulnerability. Mm-hmm. A little bit easier. I don't know if this is factual. Yeah. But that's my experience. And so I love how you
00;18;47;26 started this by saying we're not inclusive to just women. Because it, the idea of empowering women Right. And helping them succeed and, and, and grow is also not making them have to be like a man. Right. Or not act like a man. No, but like leaning into. Their, their, their talents. And that might mean, like you said, the caregiving stuff or parenting or things that they might be juggling more.
00;19;13;08 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: I, I just think I, I, I would love to look at leadership agnostic of gender or ethnicity or anything like that. What are the leadership attributes that you look for in a leader? Irrespective of who it is. And then how do you assess talent against those things?
00;19;28;09 [Marjorie Morrison]: Uhhuh.
00;19;28;22 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: And that's what women should be assessed against. Mm-hmm. Like we are, we're great leaders who happen to be women. Right? So we're leaders first. Right? And um, and so I think companies, it would behoove them to really, really articulate. What makes a good leader in this company? What are the attributes that that do? And then how do we assess all talent against that?
00;19;52;27 [Marjorie Morrison]: Mm-hmm.
00;19;53;19 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: And where we see discrepancies. You have to ask yourself why is there discrepancy? Is it the system or is it the person? Mm-hmm. And if it's the system, then you have to work to change that to make sure that your policies, procedures, practices, development programs are inclusive and that you are accounting for. Right. The differences that are unique for women, like, you know, we go have babies. Right. That's just an example. Right, right, right. And oftentimes that takes you out of the race for, could be six to 12 weeks. A lot could happen
00;20;24;08 in six to 12 weeks. I. Yep. So how do you reengage them? Mm-hmm. Or how do you reengage us when we come back into workplace? Mm-hmm. Having been gone to bear. Child. A child. Right. You know? Right. And so you have to account for that, you know, in your promotional processes and things like that to make sure that women are not getting left behind mm-hmm. Because they have a unique need. Or they, um, you know, they, they leave for a moment of time to give birth to a child and come back into, and that's just one example. Right? Exactly. Yeah. That's just one example. So you have to make sure
00;20;55;11 that your, your programs make sure that you are accounting for that absence. And their off ramp and reentry mm-hmm. Back into the workplace doesn't, um, put them at a disadvantage for growing and matriculating in your workplace. You know,
00;21;08;18 [Marjorie Morrison]: it's like also just interesting to think about like the story that you shared, right? It's not about having people work all the time. Yeah. It's not about having it be that, you know, you can't turn it off. Right. Because that doesn't work in the end. It's like I've had it. Right. So it's almost also, it sounds like coaching and mentoring on, on the, on the balance. And I really don't like the term work-life balance. Mm-hmm. Because I, I don't actually think wherever it's balance integration, I just think it's integration. Integr. I love that.
00;21;36;28 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: It's integration and it's in, it's very individually. Mm-hmm. Individualized, Ava, I should say. Um. And I think we, we have to stop thinking that we're super human. You know, while I was working 14, 16 hour days, I was still a wife, a mom, um, you know, you know, a caregiver from a distance. 'cause my sister, you know, she's amazing. Like my sister is my shero. She was doing a lot of the work, taking care of my mom. But I was like the a financier, like I was doing the financials, if you will. Mm-hmm. Providing. Support that way, but that
00;22;10;10 wasn't enough. But I was doing all of that Right. While still showing up every day to work. Yeah. And neglecting myself. And as I said before, my head was saying that I can do this. I've always done hard things. I can balance that. But I am 53 now, you know? So I can't do the same things that I did at 20 that I, that, you know, um, and so my body shut down and said, enough is enough. I wasn't listening myself and my body. Shut down to say enough is enough. And, uh, I'm glad I'm here to still be able to talk about
00;22;40;05 it. But, you know, I think you, you know yourself, you know your body, you know your triggers and things like that. Do not ignore them. Right. Do not ignore it. Right. You know.
00;22;48;23 [Marjorie Morrison]: I think what happens a lot of times is that we talk about mental health, like it's this one thing. Mm-hmm. Or this one size fits all and it's different for everyone. It's different. And for you, it manifested in a. Panic attack. Mm-hmm. Or anxiety attack, not uncommon for people. And when they have them, they're, you know, it's so, so, so scary. It's scary and it, but it, it might manifest to someone that's really, you know, in a different way. And I think what's important is, that's why I was asking you the question about do you know how it feels when you're out of balance? Yeah. Or when you're out of whack. And I think
00;23;20;15 that's the key for. Uh, equally for HR of anyone uhhuh, you know, because it's, sometimes it's, it's the workload, right? But then it's also what is that work? Mm-hmm. If it's people coming into your office and sharing really difficult stories, traumatic stories, and that then you feel like you have to fix it. Now all of a sudden it's like, I have to fix this, and. We don't need to fix things. Right. Yeah. Like most of the time when we're talking to someone isn't because we need them to fix it. It's 'cause we
00;23;50;00 need someone to listen. Listen. Mm-hmm. Yes.
00;23;52;01 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: But I will tell you that, you know, um, as a CHRO, I took on the burden of other people. That's, that's, you know what I'm saying? And that's something that you can't do that, right? You listen and advise and counsel, but you can't internalize. Their, their pain, their hurt, their anxiety. Mm-hmm. And oftentimes we try to do that. And that's something that I really try to say this is, is this is within my realm right. Of responsibility and authority. And then there are times that you have to call in professional help. You know, and that's what I think as
00;24;24;07 companies, we also have to train leaders on how, one, to recognize the signs, but also to know. What their boundaries are should be. Exactly. And what tools do they have at their disposal to use and when to defer those to, um, professionals who do this for a living. Right. And so.
00;24;43;28 [Marjorie Morrison]: That's, that's actually having the opportunity now to talk to a lot of our members and our companies. I hear that. All like frequently again and again and again, which is we want our managers, our people managers, our HR professionals to be empathic and to be caring. Mm-hmm. But to know. When the line has gone too far. That's right. That's right. Because no one benefits from that. No. Right. And then knowing where they need to go as far as for accommodations or for benefits. That's right. And and referring them out. And we tend to go into these
00;25;16;01 fields. I'm in mental health. Mm-hmm. Even in HR. 'cause we care. We care about people's and we tend to be someone that. People feel comfortable talking about. Mm-hmm. But it is such a hard skill that, and I think you learn it when you're, you know, learning how to be a psychotherapist, but to not take on that pressure, not to take on fixing it, because that, that, that alone could be what can, you know, break you in addition to the workload.
00;25;43;12 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Absolutely. And I think that as HR professionals, we have to one, make sure that. We are equipped first, that we are equipping other leaders. Secondly, to know what their role and responsibilities are in this regard and what resources are available to help them or at their disposal. And so that takes a conscious intervention, conscious conversations to have about what. To do what not to do. Right, right. Even though some things are well intended, it it, that's not your
00;26;16;10 area of expertise. So knowing your role is critically important and I think HR professionals can help leaders understand that, um, in a more deliberate way.
00;26;25;29 [Marjorie Morrison]: It's. It's more important now than ever. Yes. Because what we're finding, especially with younger adults, they're coming into the workforce very comfortable sharing their mental health. Mm-hmm. Challenges. Right. It didn't used to be that way. Mm-hmm. Now I say younger because older people are, have more of a stigma. They're a little bit more private, but younger people are very comfortable coming in and saying, oh, I'm neurodivergent, or I'm, you know, I have a DH, ADHD, or I'm this or that. That's now putting on this extra layer mm-hmm. Of what do we
00;26;56;16 do to, you know, manage the, some accommodations or things like that. So I think I am, you're spot on with that, that training is so Yeah. Important for sure. And I think all of it ties back to women because we also have these multifaceted lives where we're also juggling and not that men don't, yeah. I mean, they, they, they do as well. And I'm. See, I'm so inspired by some of these younger . I have a phenomenal
00;27;23;15 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: husband, almost 27 years, and he, you know, when I was traveling and doing all those things, he was there. But there are also things that I am genetically predispositioned or just because of who we are as women, like, you know, we go through perimenopause and menopause and things like that, that really impacts. Our bodies, our mental right, our mental wellbeing and all those things. And, uh, uh, several women have go through postpartum depression after giving birth to a child. And you, you know, you have to be able to understand all that and understand it in the context of life. Right. And then work integrating
00;27;56;20 into, into . Marjorie Morrison: That' s right. You know, that's, you know.
00;27;58;08 [Marjorie Morrison]: And again, it's for yourself Yeah. And for the people. That's right. You know, that you're caring for at work.
00;28;02;28 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: Yeah.
00;28;03;17 [Marjorie Morrison]: Oh, Tamla, I knew this was gonna be such a great conversation and Yeah. You are amazing and I'm, I'm just grateful that you get to go do this work because I know the impact that you're gonna have, that you're having. Yeah. And um, we, there's, you know, we've got to figure out how to, like, I love the way you framed it and I would just say help. These women, you know, grow into these, you know, and, and sometimes I've heard men say, well, how come we don't get this kind of support? And it's like, no, but they actually do.
00;28;32;19 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: No, I'm here to support everybody. I said, my role and my goal is to make the workplace work for all and to help companies optimize their talent. And oftentimes women are suboptimized if you look at that. And so how can I help them bring out the best. Of those that have not been optimized in the workplace. And so, um, I would not be where I am, were it not for the men in my life. So shout out to all the men. I love it for being so supportive of me. None of us are self-made. I
00;29;02;28 just think we have to be intentional and we have to use data and insights to make sure that we are focusing on the right things. We're again, even with mental health, that we're leveraging data and insight to make sure that we are evolving our workplace to be able to. Um, address the challenges that our, our workers face so that they can be their best self, you know so.
00;29;25;23 [Marjorie Morrison]: Tamla, before we finish, I mean, you've given us so many great nuggets and you've shared so much, I've learned so much. What actionable kind of things can you know, feedback or advice do you have for HR professionals?
00;29;38;26 [Tamla Oates-Forney]: I think first and foremost, use data and insights to, to inform your focus. Um, as I said before, as a CHRO, I saw how, uh, my disability claims and my, uh, healthcare claims are rising, and a key contributor to that was mental health claims. And so that you have to ask yourself why, and then you dig deeper in terms of what you should do about it. Secondly, I think equipping leaders. With the tools that they need in order to understand and recognize what those things are and what
00;30;11;03 the boundaries are, and what they should and should not do, and what resources are available to them to help their teams.
00;30;18;00 [Marjorie Morrison]: I love it. And that's gonna do it for this week's episode of Honest HR. A big thank you to Tamla for sharing her deep insights with us. Honest HR is part of SHR m's. HR daily flagship content series. Head to SHRM dot org slash HR daily to learn more and sign up for our newsletter. You can also catch us on SHRM's social media like, comment, and be part of the conversation. Thanks for joining. See you next time.