Mental health and IT: Change is very hard on the people we are changing, says ex-Reed.co.uk CTO

"The wellbeing of the people must come first," says Chris Bradbury

"Change is very hard on the people we are changing. You have to pause before you consider ramping up the pressure. Just because you feel you can cope with it, doesn't man they can," Chris Bradbury, ex-CTO of Reed.co.uk reminded delegates at DTEXPO today, as he reflected candidly on some of his own failures in digital transformation.

It was an apt statement to make on World Mental Health Day, as Bradbury remembered a particular situation while working at the recruitment firm that helped change his attitude towards the individual needs of his IT team.

"During the move from ‘okay' to ‘good', there was one person we couldn't have done without. Brilliant and productive. We truly couldn't have got there without them," said Bradbury,

"As a manager you tend to find those people, take their capability, and push it out to the wider organisation. So about 12 months in, I took this person aside and said, ‘You're fantastic, we couldn't do this without you. We want to give you more responsibility, more money'. The reaction from most people is ‘Yep, great!'."

But, continued Bradbury, the very best people "take that sort of thing very seriously…

"That person walked out of the business on mental health leave and didn't come back for six months. I just didn't see that coming.

"Is it my fault? I spoke to this person recently to make sure it was okay to bring this up. They said partially ‘No', but it happened on my watch so I have to take responsibility. I put the needs of the business ahead of the people, and that was wrong. And I have to take accountability for my actions."

Since then, Bradbury says he's learned his lesson, and thinks less automatically about how eagerly people may approach shifting circumstances in their roles, particularly when it will involve greater levels of personal stress.

"Change is very hard on the people we are changing. You have to pause before you consider ramping up the pressure. Just because you feel you can cope with it, it doesn't man they can.

"The wellbeing of the people must come first."