S05 | E03 The Need to Prioritize Mental Health in the Workplace with Wendi Safstrom
- Author
- Lindsay Recknell
- Published
- Wed 18 May 2022
- Episode Link
- http://www.mentalhealthforleaders.com/
Nobody is immune to mental health issues, and they affect all aspects of your life. Even your physical and economical vitality (or lack thereof) can be linked to your mental health. That’s why it is so important for organizations to make mental health in the workplace a priority, especially as we work together to try and establish a “new normal” in the wake of the pandemic.
Earlier this year, the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation published a report detailing the current state of mental health in the workplace. Today, Wendi Safstrom, President of the SHRM Foundation, joins me to discuss the findings of this study and why mental health and wellness needs to be prioritized within organizations. Wendi also shares ways to get senior leadership engaged in the process, and how you can implement these conversations and programs into your business—even if you feel you lack the tools and resources to do so.
As you prioritize employee mental health, your people and organizations will thrive. Tune in to learn more and see what’s next for SHRM.
About Wendi Safstrom:
Wendi Safstrom is a senior non-profit leader committed to serving the public through philanthropic program management, cultivating strategic partnerships and managing and developing high performing teams. She has both association and nonprofit management experience including; national program development and administration, membership strategy, marketing and product development, grant management, development and donor stewardship, and leading cross functional teams. Safstrom currently serves as President for the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (SHRM Foundation), where she leads the development and implementation of SHRM Foundation's programmatic, development, and marketing and communication strategies in support of SHRM Foundation's new mission and vision, creating growth plans and ensuring alignment with SHRM goals.
Prior to assuming the role at SHRM Foundation, Safstrom served as Vice President at the National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, where she led the development and implementation of their Foundation's most recent five-year strategic plan, and was responsible for all Foundation programming, including workforce development initiatives, scholarship and event management, community relations and engagement initiatives. In 2016, she served as lead project director for the development of a $10 million contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to develop the hospitality industry's first apprenticeship program, and was instrumental in the Foundation's reorganization and relocation of operations from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C., transforming the staff and culture.
Safstrom has also held human resource management roles with the Leo Burnett Company and Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. She has a BS in Business Administration from the Eli Broad School of Business at Michigan State University and was recognized as a member of the 2014 "Power 20" by Restaurant Business Magazine as a leader in philanthropy within the restaurant industry.
Mentioned in This Episode of Mental Health in Minutes:
