Part 2: Diandra on Workplace Mental Health, FMLA, and Building a More Human Workplace

This conversation concludes our two-part Season 19 opener with Diandra Ford-Wing. In Part 2, Diandra joins G-Rex and Dirty Skittles to ask one hell of an important question: why are employees expected to navigate grief, burnout, mental health leave, and returning to work almost entirely alone? Together, they imagine a more human workplace built on emotional intelligence, practical support, psychological safety, and leaders who actually know how to lead people.

Trigger Notice + 988 Crisis Reminder

This episode includes references to suicide, depression, mental health crises, workplace trauma, and medical leave. Please listen with care.

If you or someone you know is struggling or experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 in the United States and Canada to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Help is available, and asking for it is an act of strength.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/
• Global crisis resources: https://findahelpline.com/

Awards & Downloads

Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads is a 2024 People’s Choice Podcast Award Winner (Best Health), 2024 Women in Podcasting Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), 2026 Podcast Tonight Award Winner (Best Mental Health Podcast), and 2026 NYC Podcast Award Audience Choice Winner (Best Hosts), with over 4.5 million downloads and listened to in over 160 countries.

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Mental Health Quote

“Losing people won’t kill you. It can teach you how deeply you were capable of loving them.” — Inspired by Diandra Ford-Wing

Episode Description

What happens when an employee is too mentally unwell to work—but also too overwhelmed to navigate the system that is supposed to help them?

In Part 2 of our Season 19 opener, Diandra Ford-Wing, G-Rex, and Dirty Skittles take an unfiltered look at workplace mental health, FMLA, toxic leadership, grief literacy, and the emotional cost of being treated like a replaceable number.

Diandra shares how FMLA gave her the time she needed to recover after a suicide attempt, while Dirty Skittles describes the exhausting hoops she faced when severe burnout left her unable to form sentences or manage complicated paperwork. Their experiences reveal a brutal contradiction: people often need the most administrative help at the exact moment they are least capable of advocating for themselves.

The conversation also examines what happens when employees return from leave. Who prepares the manager? How should coworkers respond? Why are struggling employees expected to disclose private medical details just to satisfy someone else’s curiosity?

Together, the group imagines better systems: trained leave coordinators, crisis support that exists outside traditional HR, emotional intelligence standards for managers, return-to-work plans, ongoing leadership education, and workplaces where asking for help feels safe.

Diandra also reflects on the advice she would give her 16-year-old self, the hardest lesson she has learned through loss, and the tattoo she shares with her twin sister commemorating the 16,282 days their mother was alive.

This episode is a call for workplaces to stop treating mental health as a personal inconvenience. Employees are human beings—not machines, metrics, or cogs in somebody else’s wheel.

Keywords: Diandra Ford-Wing, workplace mental health, FMLA mental health, burnout leave, grief in the workplace, toxic workplace recovery, emotional intelligence, employee wellbeing, return to work, mental health accommodations, leadership training, workplace crisis support, psychological safety, bereavement reform, human-centered leadership

Meet Our Guest — Diandra Ford-Wing

Diandra Ford-Wing is an author, speaker, Sales Director, and workplace grief advocate committed to creating conversations about loss, burnout, resilience, and humanity at work. Through her speaking platform and her debut novel, Red Bird, she uses personal experience and storytelling to help others feel less alone while encouraging organizations to respond to grief and mental health crises with greater compassion.

• Website: http://booksbydiandra.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diandrafordwing
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diandrafordwing
• Book: Red Bird by Diandra Ford-Wing

Key Takeaways

• Human resources primarily protects the organization, so employees need independent and accessible mental health support.
• FMLA can provide essential recovery time, but the application process may overwhelm people already experiencing a crisis.
• Employees returning from mental health leave do not owe coworkers the details of what happened.
• Managers need practical training in burnout, grief, emotional intelligence, crisis response, and psychologically safe communication.
• Supporting someone can be as simple as checking whether they ate, rested, brushed their teeth, or need quiet companionship.
• Losing someone can change you without ending you, and healing does not erase the love that remains.

Actionable Items

• Prepare a return-to-work sentence before taking leave or coming back: “I appreciate your concern, but I’m not discussing the details. I’m ready to focus on moving forward.”
• Create a personal crisis folder containing benefit contacts, insurance information, leave policies, medical providers, and one trusted person authorized to help you navigate paperwork.
• Leaders should schedule regular, private check-ins that ask about workload, safety, capacity, and support—not just performance metrics.

Important Chapters

• 00:00:46 — Taking the first step toward workplace reform: Diandra explains why simply getting into the room and beginning the conversation can create meaningful change.
• 00:01:56 — The need for workplace grief and crisis support: The group discusses why HR alone cannot provide the independent emotional support employees need.
• 00:03:40 — When burnout leaves you unable to advocate for yourself: Dirty Skittles describes how mental exhaustion made navigating medical leave and workplace procedures nearly impossible.
• 00:05:43 — How FMLA supported Diandra’s recovery: Diandra shares how her mother and manager helped her access leave after a suicide attempt.
• 00:06:44 — The exhausting reality of FMLA paperwork: The conversation exposes the deadlines, documentation, costs, and administrative pressure placed on people in crisis.
• 00:08:14 — Returning to work after mental health leave: G-Rex and Dirty Skittles discuss privacy, intrusive questions, and preparing a script for coworkers.
• 00:10:41 — What meaningful support can look like: The hosts share why simple, low-pressure check-ins can matter more than advice or demands for conversation.
• 00:12:45 — Building assessments and crisis-response systems: The group imagines tools that could help managers and leave coordinators identify escalating levels of distress.
• 00:14:45 — Why emotional intelligence must be a leadership requirement: Diandra reflects on how therapy changed the way she would lead and why technical skill alone does not make someone fit to manage people.
• 00:18:42 — Good managers, self-check-ins, and changing work culture: G-Rex discusses the leaders who made employees feel seen and the self-care questions she now asks herself.
• 00:21:21 — What must change first?: The conversation turns toward realistic reforms, including workload expectations, psychological safety, and leadership accountability.
• 00:25:38 — Why an EAP is not enough: The group challenges companies that point employees toward limited assistance programs without fixing harmful workplace conditions.
• 00:26:59 — Men, stigma, and asking for help: G-Rex directly addresses the shame many men experience around burnout, grief, and mental health leave.
• 00:28:00 — The advice Diandra would give her younger self: Diandra returns to age 16 with one clear message: things will get better.
• 00:29:18 — The hardest lesson loss taught her: Diandra explains why losing someone will not kill you and shares the meaning of the tattoo honoring her mother’s 16,282 days.
• 00:30:26 — Anxiety theme songs and favorite words: The episode closes with humor, reflection, and Diandra’s refusal to accept the word “can’t.”

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