Feature
Over the past few years, there’s been growing recognition of mental health in the workplace. As climbed among the C-suite’s list of priorities, so has employee wellbeing.
The COVID-19 pandemic certainly spurred a lot of this, as stress, burnout and anxiety skyrocketed in the workplace. And while today we may better understand the toll that poor mental health can take on the workforce (and bottom lines), recognition is not the same as action.
Employee mental health is still on the decline, and despite green shoots in 2023, there is still a lot for organizations to do if we want to set the stage for a happier future.
We’re Not OK
In 2023, workforces remain plagued by familiar mental health issues. One study found that between January and June, 34% of US workers self-reported a worsening level of mental health, and 37% said their sense of belonging was lower.
And when the Business Group on Health surveyed more than 150 large US employers last June, it found a whopping 77% reporting an increase in mental health issues among employees in 2023, compared to just 44% the year prior.
All of this in spite of increased employer interest in employee wellbeing in 2021 and 2022, and a flurry of new tools and solutions developed to address the issue.
We are very aware by now that all of this translates into lower engagement, decreased productivity, higher turnover and poor culture. And employee experience leaders are feeling the brunt of this.
Reworked’s first-ever State of the Employee Experience Leader report, released recently, uncovered that addressing employee disengagement and turnover were the two biggest challenges for EX leaders this year. In addition, the survey found that the most difficult part of managing a hybrid workplace is actually supporting employees emotionally, which 50% of respondents ranked as very or moderately challenging.
So, it bears the question: why? And, perhaps more importantly, how do we fix this?
What Got Us Here
As Reworked contributor Tamar Cohen offered in an article published last May, the macroeconomic conditions of the recent past have all led to a loss of trust and security.
Pandemics, global conflicts, inflation, layoffs, stagnant wages and political uncertainty are all deeply destabilizing and have left us weary at a human level, not just as employees. Relentless cost-cutting measures taken this year have also left many employees having to do more with less, and a Gallup poll found most employees no longer trust their organizations.
The unfortunate part is that it has taken employers this long to make the link between workplace stress and physical health outcomes — if they have at all by now.
“There’s so much research showing that chronic stress in a workplace over time can create serious health outcomes, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” Meg Lovejoy, research program director of the Harvard/MIT Workplace and Well-being Initiative, told Reworked earlier this year.
A lot of us are also exhausted without evening realizing it, thanks to microstress — small obstacles that individually don’t seem like a big deal but eventually erode wellbeing and cause burnout.
Related Article: With Employee Well-Being, an Ounce of Prevention ...
How Companies Can Respond
Most wellbeing programs encompass a number of different aspects, including mental healthcare benefits, employee assistance programs (EAPs) and other resources for struggling individuals. And that’s a fantastic start.
But, there are additional steps companies can take to further enhance employee wellbeing. Here are four relatively simple considerations:
1. Improve Accessibility
Even the best mental health resources are ineffective if employees don’t know they exist. Enter: the intranet. Placing information about EAPs or even relevant articles about mental health, charities and hotlines for substance abuse or addiction in a prominent position on your company’s intranet helps ensure people who need the information can find it.
Contributor Suzie Robinson also suggests making company policy easily searchable and encouraging employees to converse openly about mental health on social pages or comment sections.
Related Article: How to Build a Workplace Vitality Culture for Well-Being and Success
2. Conduct Sentiment Analysis
Companies have long tracked customer sentiment using metrics such as reviews, comments and customer surveys, and some have had the brilliant idea to use the same method on employees. These tactics can uncover hidden issues or low mental wellness among employees, or even measure the effectiveness of specific programs such as EAPs.
Just remember, for this exercise to work, confidentiality is key, and employers should keep privacy in mind when applying this method.
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3. Build Community
While we have all the tools we need at our fingertips for communication in a remote or hybrid environment, contributor Andrew Pope argues that we’ve focused too much on productivity and collaboration, and not enough on creating social connections.
“Virtual networking has suffered in the face of demands for productivity,” he wrote in his article, noting, as an example, that the use of Microsoft’s enterprise social network (ESN) Viva Engage decreased by over 30% between 2021 and 2022.
This kind of arrangement leaves employees lonely and disengaged. One report from Gallup found that employees without a best friend at work are less engaged than those who have one. As a result, Pope wrote, our usage of ESNs and employee resource groups (ERGs) should aim to nurture communities where people can bring their whole selves to work.
4. Get People Moving
While employee fitness programs that incentivize weight loss can be controversial, encouraging movement as a means of improving mental health and reducing stress might be a better approach.
Considering that most knowledge workers — whether in the office or working remotely — spend upwards of six to eight hours at their desk each day, giving them the chance to get some physical activity during work hours can show employees that you’re willing to prioritize their health.
Of course, it’s also important to make sure employees are empowered to do what makes them feel best, and that any such program is inclusive and accessible to everyone, including employees with disabilities.
Related Article: Can Wellness Initiatives Wipe Out Employee Stress?
There’s an App for That
Many companies have turned to employee wellness apps to address mental health concerns. For instance, accounting firm Grant Thornton told Reworked they give employees access to Happify, a science-based app with activities, games and meditations that are intended to help reduce stress and negative thoughts while building resilience and mindfulness.
Another company, Synchrony, is leveraging Thrive Resets from Thrive Global to help its most customer-facing employees take mindful breaks.
These are just a couple of the solutions. There is a wide array of tools available to help with this. In fact, some estimate that there are anywhere between 10,000 and 20,000 mental health-related, self-help apps out there. The key is finding the one that’s right for you and your employees.
Can AI Solve a Human Problem?
Another development influencing mental health efforts in the workplace is the rise of AI-enabled tools.
One particularly interesting use of the technology in the workplace is tracking employee sentiment. Dr. Vivienne Ming, CEO of Socos Labs, told Reworked that corporations like IBM and Google are using AI and sentiment analysis to “understand how employees think and feel” during key moments in their lifecycle, such as onboarding, and develop plans to address stressors or negative sentiment.
There is one other tangible way AI might boost happiness on the job: taking a few items off our to do list. Given its strong ability to automate the most repetitive and mundane of tasks, overworked employees may find that they have more breathing room during the day to focus on the work they enjoy the most.
Of course, the success of these technologies, from apps to AI sentiment tracking, depends on how we use them. It is critical for companies to focus on support, not surveillance, and ensure no punitive measures are taken based on data or information the technology collects.
Employers also need to consider that humans are unique and nuanced, and mental health looks different for everyone.
Hopes for a Healthier 2024
Ultimately, not much will change without a corporate attitude adjustment. Employee wellbeing isn’t something you can achieve through an application or an exercise challenge. It requires that you embed empathy, respect and sacrifice into your culture.
Yes, there will be short-term trade offs required that might fly in the face of the “profit at all costs” mindset some companies may have. But striving for a happier workplace is the only way to maintain a functioning one.
