As it is known, mental health is a significant part of our lives. It is as important as our physical health. In fact, both are correlated. If a person is struggling with depression or stress, that is going to affect their physical health in the long run and vice versa.
However, even though very important, mental health often has to take a backseat, considering how we do not make time to nurture our inner selves. We mostly prioritize our physical health by following a workout routine and maintaining a healthy diet. But what we often forget is to take care of our mental well-being.
In this podcast, Rachel Druckenmiller talks about her journey in mental wellness and how it plays a crucial role in our lives.
Key Takeaways
- Check-box wellness programs breed resentment. Rachel saw programs of pedometers, flu shots, and premium-discount incentives produce employee frustration — the opposite of what wellness was supposed to do — which pushed her toward culture work.
- Loneliness out-harms smoking and obesity. She cites a 2015 study showing loneliness is a bigger mortality and morbidity risk than smoking, air pollution, or obesity — reframing social connection as a primary workplace health lever, not a perk.
- Protective mode and peak performance can't coexist. Employees in chronic stress cannot simultaneously be creative, collaborative, or innovative — a direct business case for treating mental health as operational, not HR-adjacent.
- Toxic managers cause the damage wellness portals can't fix. A promoted top performer with no people-skills — unregulated emotions, low empathy — creates more employee mental-health load than any perk can offset.
- Post-pandemic loss is compounding and unacknowledged. Loss of normalcy, freedom, predictability, safety, health — Rachel trains leaders to name this openly instead of snapping back to "business as usual," which disrespects what teams actually carried.
- Every major business decision is a wellbeing decision. Her test for leaders: for each major call, ask whether it elevates or undermines people's wellbeing. That's what "integrating wellness into strategy" actually looks like.
- Supportive colleagues can offset a weak boss. Peer community often has more day-to-day impact than the manager; a toxic narcissistic boss, however, is unfixable — the only healthy move is to leave.
In Rachel's Words
On why programmatic wellness fails
I started to feel that what we were doing in the name of wellness wasn't helping people. Companies moved to incentive programs — complete five things, get money off your premium — and people started to resent their wellness programs. That seemed counterintuitive to me.
I'm a big advocate of integrating wellbeing into the overall strategy. Every time a company makes a major decision, ask: is this decision going to elevate or undermine people's wellbeing? The same people keep showing up for the walking challenge. What about the people who aren't showing up?
On the real workplace mental-health drivers
Managers and the negative interactions they have with their people — feeling undervalued, unappreciated, unseen, unheard — that has a way more significant effect on wellbeing than whether or not they ate broccoli or got 10,000 steps.
When you're in protective mode mentally, you cannot also simultaneously show up as your best, most creative, problem-solving, collaborative self. The two cannot coexist for long.
On leadership and the pandemic
Certain employers are like, "All right, things are opening back up, business as usual." No — the world and the people in it have fundamentally changed. We are not living in the same bodies or the same brains as two years ago.
Leaders need to acknowledge this has been hard. Share how they've struggled and what helped. Create opportunities for people to come together, feel less alone, and get skilled up in coping. And ask individually: how can I best support you right now?
On connection and loneliness
Loneliness had a greater impact on people's risk of morbidity and mortality than smoking, air pollution, and obesity. Social connection is essential — it's huge.
Supportive colleagues can in some cases be more impactful than your boss. You're not spending that much time with your boss, but you are with your colleagues. If they're toxic or critical or out of touch — you're not going to change them. It's not healthy to stay in positions like that.
About the Speaker
As the CEO of UNMUTED, a training and development company, Rachel Druckenmiller is on a mission to ignite resilience, connection, engagement and compassion in organizations, leaders and teams. Recognized by The Daily Record as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women of 2022, Forbes as a Next1000 honoree in 2021, the #1 Health Promotion Professional in the U.S. by the Wellness Council of America in 2015, and a 40 Under 40 Game Changer in 2019, Rachel is a national thought leader in the field of employee engagement and wellbeing.
She has facilitated nearly 300 virtual learning experiences since March 2020 as a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator and leadership trainer. Rachel has spoken to leaders at a wide range of organizations, including Citizens Bank, Sherwin-Williams, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Education Association and the American Heart Association. Follow her on LinkedIn, subscribe to her Unmute Yourself LinkedIn newsletter and learn more about her work on her website at racheldruckenmiller.com/.
Connect with her on Linkedin.
Show Notes
(02:23) Tell us about your journey in the area of mental wellness.
(05:28) Do you think mental health is often overlooked and physical wellness is more prioritized?
(07:58) What do you think are the main factors that play a big role in a stable mental health?
(11:50) What can employers do to help employees with their mental health?
(15:13) What is the importance of mental health in the workplace?
(17:00) Is having a poor mental health and mental sickness same thing?
(19:37) What are the factors affecting employees' mental health at work that often leads to burnout?
(24:30) What is your take on corporate wellness programs? Do you think they can help with ensuring a good mental health for the employees?
(28:00) Do you have any other valuable suggestions for our listeners?
Recommended Resource: 25 Best Workplace Mental Health Podcasts
