How leaders can help manage mental health in the workplace
Eileen McMahon suggests new strategies for improving communication in the world of hybrid work (410 words, 2.5 min)
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“Communicating by video is very different from communicating by phone or in person,” said Eileen McMahon, Senior Partner at Torys LLP. “It’s creating a new world that requires a whole new skill set to navigate.”
During a presentation at the 2022 National Pharmaceutical Congress Summer Webinar, McMahon (photo below) gave an overview of the updated experience of tech, tools, and sustainability in the workplace.
“There’s a new skill set required [now that] private life has spilled over into our work life and vice versa,” she said. “That [new] type of hybrid work, that blending, [has caused] new mental and physical health issues to arise.”
“I’m speaking much more with [my team] about mental health issues than ever before,” McMahon said, describing similar conversations with clients and colleagues. “People are rethinking their careers, saying, ‘Do I really want to be doing what I’m doing?’ Everyone is a little off as we adjust to the new world order.”
To mitigate the impact of the transition to the new way of doing things, McMahon said, “human-centric leadership is critical.” Leaders must develop new skill sets to encourage and improve staff communication and to “get better interaction going, as opposed to silos,” she said.
McMahon polled the NPC audience on the impact of new modes of work on collaboration and brainstorming—46% said collaboration was more difficult now—and its effect on mental health, which a majority said had worsened.
The results of both polls, she said, were consistent with what she was seeing across the board from “companies, consultants, law firms, and accountants.”
She advised leaders to “try to ensure people are connected” by proactively bridging the gap between people at different career stages and encouraging mentorship. She also recommended “walking the physical and virtual floor” by checking in with all team members in appropriate ways. “Making a physical connection” by bringing someone a Starbucks or setting up a team call to help someone with their workflow can ensure people feel connected, she said.
“Most importantly, it’s important for leaders to take care of themselves,” McMahon said. She cautioned against the social stigma that prevents people in senior roles from speaking out about their mental health. “We’re all struggling in some ways with this new world environment. It’s important to take care of yourselves [so that] you can be as strong a leader as you can be.”
THIS WEEK 09/20/22
Merck announced that Health Canada has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an anti-PD-1 therapy, for the adjuvant treatment of stage IIB or IIC melanoma following complete resection in patients 12 years of age or older.
The U.S. FDA has approved Mallinckrodt’s terlipressin (Terlivaz), an injection indicated to improve kidney function in adults with hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) with rapid reduction in kidney function.
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals reported that the U.S. FDA has granted approval eflapegrastim-xnst (Rolvedon) injection. This medication was developed to decrease the frequency of infection, as manifested by febrile neutropenia, in adult patients with non-myeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anti-cancer drugs associated with a clinically significant incidence of febrile neutropenia.
Bristol Myers Squibb announced that the U.S. FDA approved deucravacitinib (Sotyktu), an oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy.
LISTEN NOW
In season seven of the NPC Podcast, Michael Stone, General Manager for Canada of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, talks about taking on a leadership role during the pandemic, attracting younger, tech-savvy talent and the relevance of an education degree in pharma. Hear him in conversation with podcast hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea and Mark McElwain.
CANADIAN HEALTHCARE MARKETING HALL OF FAME
The Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame awards were established in 2002 to honour healthcare marketers who have contributed to our vocation and inspire others.
More than 100 honourees have been selected during the past 18 years. In the selection committee’s view, they represent a cross-section of the qualities that make our business unique and fulfilling. NPC Healthbiz Weekly will acknowledge one past Hall of Fame Honoree each week.
2003 Inductee
Sandi Leckie
Toronto
Editor’s note: Sandi Leckie died in 2016.
A fixture in the healthcare biz for the last 30 years, Sandi Leckie concedes she was blessed by lady luck. Indeed, she says, “I never made a cold call. Each of the jobs I got evolved. I never interviewed for a job.” From the time she graduated from nursing school in the late ‘60s and went to bat for better pay and working conditions for Ontario nurses, it was clear that fate would play a key role in Leckie’s “never a dull moment” career.
After a tenacious campaign to organize and help implement the unionization of staff nurses in Ontario, Leckie found herself to be “unpromotable” within the healthcare institution where she worked. But a chance conversation with a visiting drug rep propelled Leckie toward the pharma industry, and shortly thereafter, she was hired as a rep with McNeil Pharmaceuticals. “That was in the days when they didn’t hire female reps,” says Leckie wryly. “There were only three of us selling drugs at one point in time.” But Leckie defied the gender barrier and was soon the recipient of a Salesperson of the Year Award for the highest increase in Tylenol sales.
Leckie’s sonar soon homed in on other areas of gender bias in the industry. Never the shrinking violet, she jumped at the chance to confront her director of marketing when a male trainee revealed he was making more than she was. It was a maverick move that Leckie admits got her nowhere, souring her professional relationship within the company, but luckily opening new windows of opportunity. Without missing a beat, Leckie found herself pursued by Purdue to fill a job in the marketing department. She humorously recalls how timely the opportunity was, noting, “I didn’t even know what marketing was. [I thought] I’ll try that. Sounds good to me.”
Sought after by PR firms and ad agencies, Leckie went on to work as an account exec for a few years, becoming increasingly familiar with industry organizations such as the Pharmaceutical Marketing Club of Ontario (PMCO). “There were only two women at the PMCO and I remember going in and thinking, ‘one day I could be president of this club,” says Leckie who, with typical determination, sat at the registration desk for a year “so that I could learn who everybody was.” She agreed to be secretary and soon made her way through the ranks to become PMCO prexy.
Her ultimate ambition, to run her own business, was realized in 1990 with the launch of Spotlight Consulting. The company specialized in a variety of sales, marketing, and CHE functions and grew to annual sales in excess of $1 million with a network of eight suppliers and three employees. “My greatest achievement was running Spotlight, just taking that ball and running with it. To keep a small business open for 12 years and make it very successful was the biggest challenge.”
These days her CHE talents are being put to good use in the healthcare publishing industry. She has joined the team at Chronicle Information Resources with a mandate to “do cross-media platforms and look at other ways that people who are advertising can get their message across to their target audience.”
Register now for the 16th Annual National Pharmaceutical Congress on Wednesday, November 2
As Canada’s most important stage for leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, the Congress is an opportunity to learn, reflect, and network with the industry’s most prominent thought leaders and visionaries.
Join us at the Mississauga Convention Centre on November 2 for five panels featuring reflections, ideas, and innovations from luminaries in the Life Sciences industry:
The Future of Rare Disease & Oncology
Omni-Channel Marketing
Updated Perspectives for the New Normal
Evolving Roles in Commercial & Medical
Pharma’s New Role in the LifeSci Ecosystem
NEXT WEEK
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