#187: Scott Armstrong: Breaking The Mental Health Stigma In The Workplace
05/09/22 • 53 min
1 Listener
Today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, and this year’s theme is a topic very close to my heart: loneliness. Most people who experience mental health issues tend to have one thing in common – they all feel extremely lonely in their daily struggle. To help shed light on this topic, I am speaking with Scott Armstrong, who is not only the Editor in Chief of Arabian Business – the region’s leading source of business news, analytics, thought-leadership and features – but also an advocate for mental health awareness. Scott and I discuss our individual struggles with mental health, why leaders must make mental health a priority in the workplace, how companies can support their teams, and how we can remove the stigma surrounding mental health.
Discussion points
- 02:03 Scott’s career and life journey
- 05:12 Scott’s mental health journey
- 09:23 Dealing with pressure
- 12:00 Asking your team about their mental health
- 13:45 Companies and mental health
- 16:23 The Great Resignation
- 20:55 Are companies doing enough?
- 27:20 Is the Middle Ease attuned to mental health?
- 32:00 How the UAE is championing mental health
- 33:53 Employers’ fears
- 35:25 A time Scott was impacted by mental health
- 44:55 Mental health support for young people
- 47:10 Mental health education
Show Sponsors:
- Smartkas: Providing food security as a service
- Arabian Business: The region’s leading source of business news, analytics, thought-leadership and features.
- Najahi Events: The UAE’s leading event promotor
Socials:
Spencer Lodge
https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/
https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV
Scott Armstrong
Today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, and this year’s theme is a topic very close to my heart: loneliness. Most people who experience mental health issues tend to have one thing in common – they all feel extremely lonely in their daily struggle. To help shed light on this topic, I am speaking with Scott Armstrong, who is not only the Editor in Chief of Arabian Business – the region’s leading source of business news, analytics, thought-leadership and features – but also an advocate for mental health awareness. Scott and I discuss our individual struggles with mental health, why leaders must make mental health a priority in the workplace, how companies can support their teams, and how we can remove the stigma surrounding mental health.
Discussion points
- 02:03 Scott’s career and life journey
- 05:12 Scott’s mental health journey
- 09:23 Dealing with pressure
- 12:00 Asking your team about their mental health
- 13:45 Companies and mental health
- 16:23 The Great Resignation
- 20:55 Are companies doing enough?
- 27:20 Is the Middle Ease attuned to mental health?
- 32:00 How the UAE is championing mental health
- 33:53 Employers’ fears
- 35:25 A time Scott was impacted by mental health
- 44:55 Mental health support for young people
- 47:10 Mental health education
Show Sponsors:
- Smartkas: Providing food security as a service
- Arabian Business: The region’s leading source of business news, analytics, thought-leadership and features.
- Najahi Events: The UAE’s leading event promotor
Socials:
Spencer Lodge
https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/
https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV
Scott Armstrong
Previous Episode
#186: Dr. David Meszaros: Solving World Hunger With Technology And Smart Farms
According to the UN, more than 10 billion people will live on planet earth by 2050. But this poses a serious question: how will we feed everybody?
With the damaging impact of climate change, increased urbanization and ongoing soil erosion, this is a problem that cannot be ignored. Thankfully, AgTech Entrepreneur, Forbes 30 Under 30 nominee and Founder of SMARTKAS, Dr. David Meszaros, might have the answer with AI-powered smart farms. In this episode, I speak with David, who is a true visionary in every sense of the word. We discuss why food security is critical, the differences between smart and traditional farms, and why farms powered by AI and robotics are the future if we want to secure food for life.
Notes
- What is SMARTKAS?
- The idea behind SMARTKAS
- Food security
- Importing fruit & vegetables
- Water usage of smart farms
- Impact on traditional farmers
- Improving land uses
- Soil erosion
- How birds damage crops
- What makes SMARTKAS different
- Competitors
- Partners
- Entrepreneurial lessons
- Lessons from the pandemic
- David’s inspiration
- SMARTKAS’ future
Show Sponsors:
- Smartkas: Providing food security as a service
- Arabian Business: The region’s leading source of business news, analytics, thought-leadership and features.
- Najahi Events: The UAE’s leading event promotor
Socials:
Spencer Lodge
https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/
https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV
Dr. David Meszaros
Next Episode
#188: Professor Mark Woolhouse OBE: Covid-19 Corruption And The Mismanagement Of The Pandemic
Did lockdown really help prevent the spread of Covid-19? Or did we make the global crisis even worse? There’s no doubt that the pandemic had a catastrophic impact on the world. Millions of lives were lost, livelihoods destroyed, and the cost to the economy was hundreds of billions of dollars. I am excited to share my conversation with Prof. Mark Woolhouse OBE – a leading epidemiologist, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh and Advisor to the UK government – as we discuss the pandemic, the decisions that were made and alternative ways for managing the outbreak. Prof Woolhouse is also the author of the new book “The Year The World Went Mad” - a scientific memoir about the pandemic - so he is the perfect guest to share whether or not lockdown made (and still makes) sense, why politicians chose to ignore expert opinions, how the UK managed the spread of the virus and how we should deal with future outbreaks.
Discussion points
- 04:32 About Mark
- 6:50 Who advises the government
- 08:30 UAE vs UK Covid-19 response
- 12:58 Working with politicians
- 14:50 How the UK handled Covid-19
- 15:50 If lockdowns make sense
- 18:24 Alternative solutions
- 21:34 Why politicians ignore experts
- 23:15 Covid-19 statistics
- 27:15 How it feels to be ignored
- 28:53 Other scientists’ frustration
- 31:19 Finance benefits
- 32:42 Empathy for politicians
- 34:58 The measures that Mark supported
- 39:50 How should we deal with future outbreaks
- 46:00 Has the world moved on?
- 49:17 The risk for minorities
- 56:45 Mark’s book: The Year The World Went Mad
- 01:02:00 The number of people died VS those that suffered in other ways
Show Sponsors:
- Smartkas: Providing food security as a service
- Arabian Business: The region’s leading source of business news, analytics, thought-leadership and features.
- Najahi Events: The UAE’s leading event promotor
Socials:
Spencer Lodge
https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/
https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV
Prof. Mark Woolhouse OBE Buy Mark’s book: https://sandstonepress.com/books/the-year-the-world-went-mad
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