Are you prepared for a deep and meaningful conversation that could reshape your perspective on mental well-being in the workplace? Venture with us as Janice Cardinale from Event Minds Matter joins the show to shed light on the critical yet often neglected issue of mental health in the event industry. With her expert guidance, we traverse the landscape of emotional intelligence, the transformative power of open dialogue, and the We Care program's mission to train industry professionals in mental health awareness. Janice's passion for creating a culture of care that values candid discussions about mental well-being is both inspiring and a much-needed change, especially in the post-pandemic era.
Grasping the significance of mental health support within our professional environments has never been more imperative. This episode not only highlights Janice's journey and the award-winning We Care initiative but also delves into the importance of language, empathy, and the creation of brave spaces for authentic self-expression in our daily work lives. By embracing these practices and championing mental health training, we aim to forge a legacy of well-being that will empower current and future generations in the event industry. Join us for this critical discussion that promises to enlighten, motivate, and challenge how we engage with mental health in the workplace.
Are you prepared for a deep and meaningful conversation that could reshape your perspective on mental well-being in the workplace? Venture with us as Janice Cardinale from Event Minds Matter joins the show to shed light on the critical yet often neglected issue of mental health in the event industry. With her expert guidance, we traverse the landscape of emotional intelligence, the transformative power of open dialogue, and the We Care program's mission to train industry professionals in mental health awareness. Janice's passion for creating a culture of care that values candid discussions about mental well-being is both inspiring and a much-needed change, especially in the post-pandemic era.
Grasping the significance of mental health support within our professional environments has never been more imperative. This episode not only highlights Janice's journey and the award-winning We Care initiative but also delves into the importance of language, empathy, and the creation of brave spaces for authentic self-expression in our daily work lives. By embracing these practices and championing mental health training, we aim to forge a legacy of well-being that will empower current and future generations in the event industry. Join us for this critical discussion that promises to enlighten, motivate, and challenge how we engage with mental health in the workplace.
Speaker 1:
We have had a whole lot of conversations over the last few years around mental health and the event industry is has full jobs, industries to be in and we haven't really taken it seriously enough. We put content out there, but what are we really doing about it?
Speaker 1:
So, janice Cardinal with event minds, matter matter is here to tell us a little bit more about how we can not just talk about mental health, but really support ourselves and each other with a new Program how would you call it, Janice that you're rolling out and advocating for in 2024?
Speaker 2:
First I want to say hello, my name is human and for those of you who may not have heard about this particular Campaign that I got started not so very long ago, actually, at IMAX it's. It's really about sustaining human, like humanity, within our industry, because one of the things that have happened in our industry is we've lost a lot of trust for some of our leaders and we've also, in many cases, people who are struggling with their mental health don't feel safe in the environments that they're in, and Long before cove it, there was always, you know, no real conversation around mental health. Thankfully, with cove it and the silos that everybody was in, everybody began to reach out and get a bit personal about their you know there are circumstances, their journeys, and I know this past summer I approached a tremendous amount of leaders and asked them if they would be willing to share their mental health journeys and that was groundbreaking. For that. Minds matter, which is the community, by the way, that I found it and that I work with about 20 like-minded event professionals on and the whole idea behind event minds matter. We started this to build brave spaces, to amplify the conversation in the industry on mental health and wellness, because what I was hearing from a lot of people was that there was no community near where they lived, and I understand that, because subject matter is still a very delicate one, very sensitive. There's still a lot of people who live in fear and shame and there's stigma around it. And after two years, what I could honestly tell you, with all the content that we've, you know, contributed From education to resources, to initiatives One of the things that has become extremely clear to me Is that people need mental health training and we are actually behind a program called we Care, which started off in Australia.
Speaker 2:
It has just won the Diamond Award by a body of an association, body called LearnX, which you know many different educational programs get you know, set to them for ratings. So the fact that we care about the Diamond Award is incredible. But what is it really about? It's really about training people on how to recognize a problem in the workplace. You know, you don't know what somebody else is going through. You could be on a team and somebody's very quiet or maybe you know, they're just not with what's happening in the brainstorm and there's usually a sign that something is different. So, number one, you have to recognize it. Number two, you know what are you going? How are you going to handle this person? What are you going to say to them? And most people have not had the training to know how to support somebody who is going through a mental health struggle.
Speaker 2:
And, lastly but not least, one of the other things that's really important is the language around mental health that we use. Now, if you're somebody who's already had emotional trauma, now if you're somebody who's already had emotional intelligence training, then you will know that when you're listening to somebody, the first thing you would say is I acknowledge what you're saying and I respect it. And here is what I want to suggest. That's emotional intelligence. So a lot of us don't use that. A lot of people were never trained in that. It's funny. I think sometimes these days in colleges and universities, instead of calling it psychology, they should call it emotional intelligence. But when we look at initiatives as an example with an organizations in our industry, one of the issues I find is that there has not been a caring culture created within the organization. So people don't feel safe about talking about anything to do with mental health. But the minute you open up the door to creating that safe space, people start to talk. And it's incredible.
Speaker 2:
I was with a group of college students this week. I sit on the board at a college here in Toronto for event management and creative design. I started off by asking them had any one of them ever experienced mental health. I will tell you, the three-quarters of the room raised their hands. So the ones who didn't, I asked so for the people who didn't raise their hand, have you know somebody with a mental health struggle? Of course they raised their hand. But what I found most interesting throughout the time that I was speaking to the students is that some of them have had mental health training, some of them are in therapy, some of them have come from a different country, they're foreign students and they don't feel like they have, you know, any kind of community behind them that they can go to and talk to. So it was a very interesting conversation and when we started, you know, with the VEVMINDS Matter and then added in this we Care program, what I recognized was that, you know, there were so few people in the industry with any kind of mental health training, and so where this has taken us is to trying to mandate it within the industry, and when I talk about mandating, when we started our whole program.
Speaker 2:
We didn't do this for the generation that I'm in. I'm 64 years of age. I've had a business for 20 years in events on the corporate entertainment side, which my daughter runs today. But one of the things that I thought about was what's going to happen with the next generation? Do we want that next generation to be? You know exactly how we've been. Do we want them to work 24-7? Okay, and take that RFP on a Friday and have it ready for Monday, leaving their family behind? Or do we want them working under toxic leadership? How are they going to handle the future? So this is part of the reason why we've approached the EIC, we've approached the associations to take a look at this training more seriously and potentially add it to, for example, a CMP certification or a CMM certification.
Speaker 2:
But can you just imagine the difference that it would make if people were trained where you work? I can tell you that in the morning, when you go into your office and people are walking by, they're going to say something to you. That's kind, that's empathetic, that's sincere. How many I remember going into my office and often I would get out of my desk which I was the first office in the place and then I would walk down and I would say good morning, how are you? Everything okay, and just by saying that, it creates conversation. So this is the reason why I talk about you know, hello, my name is human, because nine times out of 10, when you go to a conference or a meeting or an event, you won't remember the names of the people that you met, but what you will remember is how those people made you feel, and I think that's the whole reason why you know we have the situations in our industry that we do, and I have to say, you know, when I heard Liz was starting a community, I was really impressed by that, because we need more community. Liz's community is different than mine, but it's equally as important as mine is.
Speaker 2:
People need a place to go to be able to talk about things, everything you know and it's not just about AI or the trends you know I've done the trends in the past too but it really is about opening up and being able to be your true self, and I think there's just a fear, you know, around that. So I think if you want to explore the we Care program, you know you can search it online, you can come to Event Minds Matter and I can direct you in the right place. They actually have what's called a caring playbook and it's a course, believe it or not. That's only online for an hour and it costs you all of $95. So this is not expensive. This is inexpensive and you know, you may want to start with your leaders or your managers, but ultimately, you want to give your employees the opportunity as well.
Speaker 2:
Another thing that I often find is that when I asked a leader from an organization what they're doing around mental health, I've often gotten a lot of talk around benefits, and benefits are great, they're important, and some companies have better benefits than other companies do. But it's not just about the benefits. You know. It has to be about, you know, building that space within the organization. So, you know, often when I'm speaking to them, they said no, no, we're good, we have everything we need.
Speaker 2:
And then I think to myself wow, is that what they think everybody needs is just some benefits? No, that's not what everybody needs. But we are climbing a mountain. I call it Kilimanjaro, I call it that. Every time we reach a peak, we are very excited, and the peak we have to reach next is to get mental health training mandated in the event industry. So I welcome you all to comment on the post from Event Minds Matter, to follow Event Minds Matter and to support us in what we're trying to do. And if you think that it's important, it's that's what we want. Thank you very, very, very much.