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During the Olympics this year, Simone Biles stepped away from her competition at the height of her career, citing The Twisties and her mental health. Depending on where you looked on the internet, people either supported her fully or were completely and irrationally critical of her decision. 

A couple of days later, she posted on Twitter, “The outpouring love and support I’ve received has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics, which I never truly believed before.”

She, Naomi Osaka, and Michael Phelps have all led the way for Olympic athletes to be upfront about their mental health and to change the conversation that, until now, has been perpetuated that it’s weak to admit they’re facing a mental hardship.

And it’s not just Olympians who face this: it’s all of us mere mortals, too. Mental health isn’t just a media headline. According to research from PRovoke Media, it’s a groundswell that is leading to a paradigm shift, with employees not hesitating to hold their employers accountable for the mental health of them and their colleagues.

As we consider remote working the new normal, particularly in the work that we do, mental health can be addressed in ways it couldn’t when going to a location was paramount to the work that we do, which is what we are going to discuss on this week’s episode of the Spin Sucks podcast.

Resources Included:

• The Twisties
• PRovoke Media
• The Great Resignation
• Challenger, Gray & Christmas
• Spin Sucks Blog Post: How to Create Work-Life Balance By Saying “Heck, Yes!”

About Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communications firm. She is the lead blogger at Spin Sucks and is the founder of Spin Sucks Pro. She is the co-author of Marketing in the Round and co-host of Inside PR. Full bio