How to Product Manage Your Mental Health
Ten years ago I was diagnosed with depression. Due to stigma, I kept my diagnosis a secret. In 2016, however, I decided to publicly open up to my employer, Microsoft, about my diagnosis. Today, I continue to be a product manager at Microsoft but now also advocate publicly for mental health. Mental health is becoming an increasingly critical topic in the workplace, but oftentimes employees don’t know how to navigate mental health needs at work and employers don’t know how to support employees’ mental health. This interactive workshop teaches participants how to self-monitor their mental health state, walks them through creating an individualized mental health action plan in preparation for times of decreased health, and informs employers on how they can create a supportive mental health environment that allows employees to thrive. Attendees will walk away with a concrete, self-written set of metrics indicating the state of their mental health and an individualized action plan for when those metrics indicate declining mental health.
There are three key things participants will walk away with after attending this workshop:
- How to identify and track current levels of mental health
- How to take action when mental health isn’t at optimal levels
- How leadership in the workplace can foster a better environment for mental health