Sponsored Article
More people have begun talking about mental health openly in recent years, and companies have increasingly understood the importance of tackling stress and mental health in their employee population. Despite their efforts, though, workplace stress is still a major mental health concern for employees. According to a recent survey conducted by Calm and Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 82% of people say workplace stress is a problem at their organization. The report based on this survey data also emphasized that ongoing stress contributes to employee burnout, lower performance and other unwanted outcomes.
To properly address work stress, employers must identify their prevalent workplace stressors and clearly formulate meaningful responses. Getting ahead of these common stressors before they become major issues can make a big difference for employees’ mental health.
Reacting to Workplace Stress and Mental Health
Most organizations have mental health benefits in place to support employees when they are in crisis or need a therapist. For example, according to the HBR report, the majority of employers (70%) offer EAP or therapy support for employees who are experiencing depression or anxiety. But only 40% offer preventive support for mental health that is more proactive — addressing employee stress, burnout, anxiety and sleep issues before they become serious mental health conditions.
These proactive strategies are much more effective. More than half (53%) of respondents say senior leadership at their organization feels it is important to provide proactive mental health resources, according to the HBR survey. If companies understand the major causes of employee stress and mental health problems, then they can address issues before they become massive problems. Reducing these risk factors also helps reduce downstream costs related to mental health care — an especially valuable result in a time when health care costs and economic uncertainty are growing.
According to the HBR report, 40% of respondents say workplace stress has a negative effect on teamwork/collaboration, work quality and productivity. Common causes of workplace stress include lack of autonomy, lack of flexibility, too much workload, discrimination and negative workplace culture.
This is one reason why mental health is a top priority for so many employers. But as long as they’re facing challenges such as economic uncertainty, labor shortages and rising health care costs, they’ll have to come up with more creative ways to reduce costs while also promoting employee well-being.
Creating Mindful Managers
According to the HBR survey, 75% of respondents say the organization's culture contributes to workplace stress. That’s why it’s important to address systemic problems in the workplace, not just individual challenges of employees. Managers, for example, have a big impact on the quality of an employee’s experience in the workplace. They hold a key role in creating a workplace culture where employees feel their mental health and work-life balance is supported. When managers feel stressed and fail to regulate how they communicate with employees, employees notice that tension, and it can negatively impact their stress levels.
Mindful manager training can help organizations create a better, more supportive culture for everyone. These training sessions help managers become more self-aware, regulate their emotions and create a less stressful work environment for their employees. They also learn how to respond to challenging work scenarios in a more thoughtful way — helping them develop important skills like adaptability and flexibility in an uncertain business environment. With these skills, managers can lead with support, confidence and thoughtfulness and create a better environment for their team. Find out how Calm Workshops can help train your managers to better regulate their emotions and create less stressful work environments.
Conference
Oct
20
Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo Orlando 2025
Register
Conference
Oct
27
Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo Orlando 2025
Register
Actions Organizations Can Take to Prioritize Mental Health
Eighty-five percent of respondents agree that it’s important for organizations to make workforce mental health a priority, but only 27% say that their organization highly prioritizes the mental wellness of their workforce, according to the HBR survey.
Luckily, there are many action items organizations can follow to better prioritize mental health:
- Create evergreen programs: Mental health challenges are ongoing and cannot be solved with a single intervention. When employees see that their employer offers programs year round, they not only have access to ongoing resources, but they also may begin to believe that mental health is truly a priority in their workplace. Find out how to offer a preventive self-care tool for mental health by partnering with Calm Business.
- Integrate mental health breaks into the workday: Mental health breaks can include taking a walk, doing a midday stretch or following guided meditation or breathing exercises. For example, Calm offers a pre-meeting guided meditation in which people can take the first two minutes of their time to breathe and relax. They can then enter their meeting more relaxed and focused.
- Don’t buy into the notion that there’s not enough time to engage with mental health programs: It takes time for people to do many exercises that are good for their mental health, but that doesn’t mean that employers are losing out on productivity. In fact, taking a mental health break or walk can drive higher productivity and focus.
- Get leadership support: Training managers or offering wellness apps won’t help reduce stress as much if leadership doesn’t prioritize mental well-being. For example, if leadership reinforces a workplace where employees work long hours and work-life balance is irrelevant, then these interventions are less effective. Leaders must have a clear understanding of the importance of mental health and clearly support that in their workplace.
Learn More Actionable Takeaways from HBR
There are many major stressors that can cause mental health issues for employees, including economic uncertainty, financial challenges, work stress and more. Adopting a solution to help is not only the right thing to do, but it also will help your workforce be more productive, loyal and satisfied with their job. Find more details on how you can reduce stress in your workplace in Calm and HBR’s May 2023 report, “The Battle Against Workplace Stress.”
