Not Feeling 100%
Whilst working at one organisation we introduced a Slack status that said “Not Feeling 100%”.
For those that don’t use Slack, it’s a messaging platform that allows employees to communicate and collaborate and is great for organisations that are primarily remote.
You can set your status to say ‘away’ or ‘commuting’, things like that. But admins can edit the status templates.
Let me tell you how it came about.
We had started a conversation about menopause at work. I had asked for volunteers to set up a working group to discuss how we could support people experiencing symptoms of menopause whilst working. The conversation swiftly evolved to include menstruation at work and whether people needed support around this too.
As a remote organisation we talked about the days that people felt well enough to work but didn’t want to have their camera turned on in meetings, or they just wanted to sit and do work on their laptop without attending meetings. As we continued talking we soon realised that these feelings didn’t just relate to being on your period or having menopause symptoms. There were undoubtedly times where everyone felt like that, and for whatever reason they weren’t feeling 100%
I posted about the update on LinkedIn, not really thinking much about it. It just seemed like a very natural thing for us to introduce as a hugely caring employer.
Here is the post:
Today we introduced a new status update to our Slack
Not Feeling 100%
👉For the days that you're well enough to work but not quite feeling yourself
👉For when you're well enough to work but your pet died and you're still feeling sad
👉For when you're struggling with period pains and are wrapped in a blanket and don't want to put your camera on
👉For when you need some space because your mental health isn't at its peak
This week at YuLife we have introduced our new Wellbeing policy, we've had digital blackouts, we've held a vulnerability session....this felt like a good way to end the week.
At the time of writing this article the post had been liked by over 139,000 people and had reached almost 11 million people.
Why it did it resonate with so many people? Why did it cause so much debate? Let’s explore some of the topics within the post. It may inspire you to introduce something similar where you work.
Mental Health
This is such an important topic and always seems to be a hot topic (and for good reason). Many of us have and do struggle with mental health issues so I think it really spoke to people. There was much discussion around the use of “100%” - with some suggesting that many of us are not 100% on most days. We used this phrase because it’s quite common in the UK and really conveys the sentiment that we wanted to get across. I do agree that it may not translate to all cultures.
There was a question around whether using this Slack status would make you seem vulnerable. I definitely agree that you would be showing some vulnerability by using this status, however, if you have a culture that encourages vulnerability and supports people bringing their authentic self to work then there is no reason why introducing this status wouldn’t be useful for people. If the culture is more parent / child and quite dictatorial then I would agree that it should be introduced with caution.
The Debate
Some people felt that this status was encouraging people to work when really they should be off. I’m not sure that life is that black and white. That you can either work or you can’t work. I’m pretty confident that a high percentage of people have attended work whilst ‘having a bad day’ or ‘not feeling 100% great’. There are a myriad of reasons why people might not be feeling great (tiredness from being up with children through the night might be one example!) If implementing this status then the comms around it is hugely important. I would certainly suggest explicitly saying that if you are not well enough to work then you should follow the normal process. The purpose was never to get people working when they are unwell.
Some comments on the post were from people that were concerned that it would go against employees if they were open enough to share that they weren’t feeling 100%. People were concerned that if there were redundancies on the horizon it would mean that those people who hadn’t been feeling 100% would be on the list for redundancy. Again, this is where I think communication when implementing is important. Someone on LinkedIn asked me how I would track people using the status. My answer was, well I wouldn’t be tracking it because I didn’t need to. If someone felt that they needed the support of HR then everyone is encouraged to reach out. I don’t think anyone would expect us in HR to reach out to them because they had used the status on a number of occasions.
The Slack status would be seen by their line manager, team members and colleagues in the wider business that interacted with them on a regular basis. It would be for those people that had a good working relationship with them to reach out if they felt comfortable doing so.
Taboo Topics
I had dared to mention period pains on LinkedIn! I know there were many people that appreciated that as they took the time to message me directly. Talking about taboo topics is the only way to make them seem more ‘normal’, less embarrassing and to get other people talking about them.
A taboo topic refers to a subject or issue that is culturally or socially forbidden to openly discuss due to strong societal restrictions or discomfort. These topics often evoke stigma, judgment, or controversy, leading individuals to avoid or approach them cautiously in conversation.
From a workplace perspective these topics are important and affect many individuals but I would urge caution to maintain professionalism and respect the boundaries of the workplace environment. It is always worth assessing the workplace culture and if your workplace encourages open discussions on personal health then it will be more appropriate to discuss them in a wider environment. Topics such as menstruation and menopause fall into the taboo category because, whether we like it or not, there are some people that will feel uncomfortable talking about them
Implementation
There were many people that reached out to me that were keen to introduce this is their own organisations. People felt that it was a small action but a great way to support people with their mental health.
One question that was asked:
Should you reach out to someone if they had chosen to use that Slack status?
The simple answer is that you should do whatever you feel comfortable doing. There is no pressure on anyone to disclose why they are not feeling 100% and there is no pressure on anyone to ask questions.
It may be helpful for you to say something like - “Hey, we were due to meet today, would you like to push it back to tomorrow?”. This shows that you have seen the status, you’re showing empathy and potentially making their day a little bit easier.
People also followed up to see how it was working after a few weeks / months and the answer was that it was a huge success. People were clearly using it and it wasn’t just the same people over and over. People all across the business were using it.
Not once did I have a conversation with a line manager because they were concerned it was being misused or overused.
It was definitely the right decision to implement it and I was pleased to see that so many other organisations were following.
If you’d like to discuss please do post in the Elevate Hub LinkedIn group.