Editorial
Prioritizing your team’s mental health and well-being (MH&W) isn’t just the right thing to do — it also makes good business sense. Here’s why.
First, there’s productivity: Every year, 12 billion working days are lost to depression and anxiety alone, which costs the global economy a staggering $1 trillion, according to the World Health Organization. Think of all the absences this might be causing in your team — regardless of whether the employee admits it.
But there’s also growing evidence of the business benefits of investing in employee well-being. An Oxford University study last year analyzed data from 1 million workers at nearly 1,800 publicly listed U.S. companies and found a strong positive correlation between employee well-being and a company’s value and profitability. Furthermore, a simulated share portfolio of the 100 companies that scored highest in well-being surveys consistently outperformed the main stock market indices — 11% better than the S&P 500 since 2021.
Cutbacks in this area are a clear false economy — and leaders should consider MH&W a top business priority.
But that’s easier said than done. MH&W is a complex matter that ties into all parts of working life. So, what are the three most important places to focus on right now?
1. Hybrid Working and Belonging
Despite return-to-office mandates grabbing headlines, the majority of US workers were still working hybrid as of the summer of 2024.
People talk about the hybrid work debate as a relic of the pandemic years, but it's actually still relatively uncharted territory, and remains one of the most pressing issues facing workplaces today, despite the benefits of flexibility, autonomy, cost and time.
But if you're not making good connections, having regular interaction and building and maintaining good relationships, it’s difficult to feel supported, to build trust and to feel that you belong to something.
This lack of connection can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, which affect performance and overall productivity. In turn, they contribute to poor mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
So how can organizations ensure their workplace is one where people are making connections, feel a sense of belonging, but also realize the benefits of hybrid working?
The first step is prioritizing time for connection. Even if you’re fully remote, mandate some days — even if just once a quarter — where everyone comes together and sees each other. Plus, build more into your working week.
One business I work with has a team huddle first thing every Monday to get everyone geared up for the week ahead and discuss what needs to be done, including a five-minute well-being check-in. Then, on Friday, they have an optional meeting for non-work-based catching up. Sometimes this is chatting online; sometimes it’s even gaming together as a break.
Not everyone shares. They don’t have to. But the message is clear: We can talk about the human side of being at work, we know there's stuff going on for people outside of work, and we want you to bring your “whole self” to work and feel comfortable doing so. It helps create psychological safety and a workplace where people go on to thrive and be as productive as possible.
2. Improving Leaders' Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills
Managers who are unskilled in emotional intelligence — or with whom you simply find it difficult to communicate and share – continue to be one of the main contributors to poor mental health at work, yet one of the most overlooked.
It’s something most people understand. Your leader isn’t naturally empathetic, or is simply too busy to focus their attention on the well-being of an individual employee. You raise a concern to them, but there’s no real response (even a negative one), so you shut down and don’t raise it again.
And it’s not just about whether you have a diagnosed mental health problem such as depression or anxiety, either. Just day-to-day, reporting to a manager with poor communication, listening and empathy skills creates stress and pressure.
Highlighting how critical this is, the World Health Organization released guidelines for mental health at work in 2022. They specifically recommended manager training to address poor workforce mental health through learning how to prevent stressful work environments and support staff who feel distressed.
3. Measurement, Measurement, Measurement
Beyond looking at the general case is looking at your workplace specifically. That starts with measurement: of general MH&W data as well as the effect of any initiatives you’re already doing.
If business leaders don’t have data on what areas need support, what they offer feels check-the-box, rather than targeted, and won’t work as well.
Few organizations have dedicated mechanisms to capture data on MH&W in a sensitive and anonymized way. More workplaces need to look at doing this.
Examples include measuring absence reasons (and, crucially, encouraging people to be truthful about them), the use and feedback of any Employee Assistance Programs you have and running internal surveys.
Ultimately, it comes down to leadership. You need leaders who are passionate and trained on mental health and well-being — and you need them now.
Conference
Oct
20
Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo Orlando 2025
Register
Conference
Oct
27
Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo Orlando 2025
Register
Editor's Note: Read more on employee well-being trends:
- Balancing Efficiency, Productivity and Employee Well-Being — Organizations have spent billions of dollars on well-being programs, yet well-being has stagnated and productivity has suffered. What's going on?
- Weave Well-Being Into Your Employee Experience Strategy — Supporting well-being clearly has potential to make a real bottom-line business impact, but offering corporate wellness program alone doesn’t cut it.
- Workers Are Lonely. Here's What Leaders Can Do — There's a rise in remote workers reporting they feel "lonely." But a return to the office is not the panacea some would claim it to be. Four experts weigh in.
Learn how you can join our contributor community.
