What is an ‘MHD’?
An MHD is a self-invented acronym which was first created when I was selling gold and silver coins of the realm in one of my previous jobs.
M represents Mental.
H represents Health.
D represents Day.
The need to take an MHD, or Mental Health Day, at this particular company was, more often than not, far too great.
As we move from job to job, career to career, or experience to experience, we pick up little phrases and colloquialisms that somehow stay with us long after we’ve moved on.
Some remind us of the good times; others, the difficult ones. In this case, though, the phrase ‘MHD’ still brings back that lingering sense of impending doom – and the relentless pressure that came with life in sales – even all these years later.
Environmental Sales Jokers
Every workplace environment is different, because every person is different – the ‘common ground glue’ which holds you altogether is the work itself; day-in and day-out, you’re at that specific location for 8,9 or 10 hours a day, sometimes longer, to do the same repetitive task.
I’m making it sounds tedious – because it was!
Salespeople are a whole different ‘kettle of fish’. Think about the film The Wolf Of Wall Street, where Leonardo Di Caprio perfectly portrays the notorious Jordan Belfort and depicts his horrendous salesman tactics and relentlessness to a tee – He makes it easy for the people who’ve never experienced sales environments to experience them.
‘Flutterbys’ – Bournemouth Pier, Dorset
Everyone’s got a personality, and most of the time, this is depicted by the way in which we act at work; the things we say, the things we do, how we interact with people and so on.
However, salespeople, being salespeople, are very different, because when we become bored, we morph into different characters.
It’s like a Werewolf changing when there’a a full moon!
Activities included, but were certainly not limited to: random objects being thrown around the room; monkey noises emerging from the mouths of Jordan Belfort-like characters; phone calls to clients descending into farce; once-edible food somehow ending up wedged into the earpiece of your headset; paper balls being launched at the weakest person as a form of ‘friendly’ passive-aggressive bullying; nicknames being screamed at the tops of people’s voices; music being ‘cranked’ to an ear-deafening volume; and people suddenly deciding to exercise, bouncing around the office like frogs.
And believe me, there was plenty more on top of that. One can only describe it as pure chaos.
Yet somehow, amongst all of it, you still have to manage the day, hit your targets and come back tomorrow to do it all over again.
A salesperson’s mind is a strange combination – somewhat delicate, yet incredibly resilient.
The Combination
The combination of the people, the way they behave when boredom kicks in, and the relentless sales pressure, targets and micromanagement is enough to crack even the toughest of nuts.
Yet somehow, here I am several years later, writing about it on a mental-health-based blog!
I’d say everything I’ve described above is more than enough to make anybody on this planet take a well-deserved MHD.
On A Serious Note
More and more companies these days are introducing employee ‘perks’ that allow people to take occasional days off to focus on their health and wellbeing. I’m not sure whether they specifically call them ‘mental health days’ or something similar, but the concept is certainly becoming more common.
As we continue to drive forward year after year, decade after decade – especially with the ever-growing influence of social media and, more recently, AI – I believe MHDs need to become a normal and accepted part of working life.
I found this at a random beach about 10 years ago with a natural smile in it – It’s been with me ever since
People shouldn’t be burdened, penalised or scrutinised for taking a personal day to look after their mental health. It should be welcomed – giving someone the time and space they need to return when they’re mentally ready, and ultimately be as productive as they can be.
And perhaps if workplaces looked after their employees a little better in the first place, fewer people would feel the need to take an MHD…
Just sayin’!