How Businesses Can Center Humanity in Workplace Culture

Beyond Benefits, I M Human Creates Safe Spaces For Employee Vulnerability When employees feel safe to share their mental health needs, businesses can benefit. That's the message Ian Shea of I M Human shared with NPF fellows. by Rachel Jones, National Press Foundation For Ian Shea, years of expertise in investment banking and building his own company didn’t shield him from the impact of being forced out of his prized start-up. He was headed to New York to raise another round of funding when the jolt came. “My business partner called me and said, ‘We’re continuing without you. You don’t have to get on the plane,’ ” Shea recalled. “And then subsequently, I got a call from the board and they both said, ‘You’re out.’ ” As Shea told NPF Covering Workplace Mental Health fellows, a single-minded focus on career success had disconnected him from his own emotional well-being, at a moment when it was battered. But once the initial shock and depression subsided, Shea’s self-reflection and reinvention fueled the creation of I M Human, a consulting firm that helps companies design wellbeing strategies. At the heart of his approach is creating a safe place for employees to feel vulnerable. “You have to build trust in the organization such that people believe that the organization actually cares,” Shea said of his firm’s strategy. “So where we always start with every organization, whether it’s the NYPD, whether it’s New York City schools, whether it’s behavioral health providers, whether it’s LinkedIn, HSBC, is we start with building an emotional map. And the reason you build an emotional map because a lot of times people are experiencing something emotionally, they don’t have the words for it, right?” In other words, Shea helps companies create an overall workplace culture that supports wellbeing. Some other points he highlighted included: The concept of “life moments”—significant personal events or challenges—is a powerful tool for fostering empathy and human connection within teams Traditional corporate benefits for mental health have a very low utilization rate, typically between 3-5%, making them an inefficient solution. Building trust, psychological safety, and a practice of active listening are the foundational elements required before any wellbeing initiatives could be successful. Employees will reveal what they truly need if organizations created a safe space to ask and listen, and co-creating solutions with them led to higher engagement and buy-in. Organizations had the potential to be the primary “containers” for personal growth and wellbeing in modern society, filling a void left by the decline of other community institutions. Shea said his work rejects the notion that corporate mental health support is fueled by trends and data alone. Business success depends on a human-centered approach. “This is not just lip service, this is not just kumbaya stuff,” he said. “It’s a right time to fulfill a societal need and a financial need.” Speaker: Ian Shea, Founder and CEO, I M Human This program is sponsored by the Luv U Project, with associate sponsor the American Psychological Association. This video was produced within the Evelyn Y. Davis studios. NPF is solely responsible for the content.