Mental Health and Wellness in IT: Safeguarding our most precious resource

Join us for online socializing at 5:30 PM CST (23:30 UTC), followed by a Professional Development presentation at 18:00 CST (00:00 UTC).

Note that Daylight Savings Time is coming next weekend, be prepared for computer chaos as the clocks "spring forward" and skip the 02:00 hour next Sunday morning!

The 2021 presentation schedule for I-380 Data group is firming up. If you have requests, suggestions, or just want to make your thoughts known please email or join us during the socialization part of the meeting!

Speaker Biography:

Tracy Boggiano is the 2020 PASSion Award winner, recognizing her for outstanding services as a volunteer in the Data Community. She is a Microsoft MVP in the Data community, a blogger, and a frequent speaker.

Session Abstract:

One in four Americans suffers from a mental health challenge each year. In the tech community, this number rises to 42%. In the UK that is 48%. This is a worldwide problem in the IT field. The stigma associated with discussions around mental health, as well as how it can negatively impact your work and home life, make people reluctant to discuss the topic. Now is the time to start discussing mental health in tech and how to take advantage of the opportunity to safeguard our most precious resource: people.

We'll discuss how mental health affects job quality, including sharing examples from my professional life. We'll discuss the four primary workplace factors which play a pivotal role in mental health challenges in the tech community. I'll provide tips on what is best to say and not say to people you know whose lives are being affected by their mental health. Lastly, we'll cover how to make your workplace a safe place where mental health can be talked about and how to encourage your company to offer resources to help maintain everyone's mental health.