Mental health challenges in the United States have been surging for years. Research by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) found that one in five Americans had experienced diagnosable mental illnesses in any given year, with half going untreated.
Today, the pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues. The APA found that 78% of Americans said the pandemic is a significant source of stress, and a Kaiser Foundation study found 4 in 10 adults reported symptoms of anxiety.
Research by the National Health Expenditure Accounts found that mental disorders “top the list of the most costly conditions in the United States.” This level of low mental wellbeing has bottom-line implications, including:
- Poor customer service
- High absenteeism
- More job-related injuries
- Poor employee health
- Higher healthcare costs
- Lower engagement
- A cynical workplace culture
Despite these well-publicized challenges, employers are not giving employees the mental health support they need. A Gallup poll revealed that, in 2020, only 34% of respondents described their mental health as excellent, which is significantly down from the 43% who did so in 2019.
Now, more than ever, employers must change course and address employee mental health, which is both cost-effective and can deliver quick ROI. Research shows that when employees receive effective treatment for mental illness, it can lower medical, disability, and absenteeism costs and increase productivity.
Stigma & Education
Stigma around mental health is rampant in American workplaces. It manifests as implicit or explicit disapproval of employees who disclose their mental health issues or seek help for anxiety, stress, or depression.
A study by The Hartford found that while 70% of U.S. employers recognize mental health as a significant workplace issue, 31% of employees surveyed said they fear repercussions for taking leave, such as getting fired, laid off, skipped over for a promotion/raise or reduced hours.
Mental health stigma is unfair and counterproductive; it prevents employees from getting help, living happy lives, and being more productive. Unfortunately, a McKinsey study revealed that stigma ranked last when employers list their mental health strategies.
Leadership must support comprehensive workplace education programs to ensure employees are not afraid to acknowledge their mental health issues and get support. Programs must address self-stigma (internal), public stigma (social), and structural stigma (in the workplace).
Programs should include mental health literacy, training managers to recognize signs of distress, and encouraging leadership and employees to share their mental health challenges in workplace communications to both normalize and promote acceptance of mental health issues.
Easy and Affordable Access
EAPs are important for addressing easy and affordable access to mental health services. But while 93% of employers offer an EAP, only about half of employees are aware they have access to one.
HR must regularly communicate EAP options, including mental health benefits, in company communications, and make sure employees understand that EAPs are not only for crises or substance abuse issues.
Because delays in accessing mental health services can lead to serious consequences, companies must ensure quick access to health practitioners who handle inquiries and arrange virtual or face-to-face counseling sessions.
EAPs must also be extended to family members (nothing distracts a worker more than a spouse or child with mental illness issues). And companies should allow employees to receive mental healthcare during work hours.
And because lower-paid employees can struggle with the out-of-pocket costs for weekly counseling, companies must reduce or eliminate copays or deductibles for mental health counseling visits and medications.
Managers & Mental Health
Managers play an out-size role in mental health. Good managers, for example, don’t overburden workers with unrealistic demands, are empathetic and provide constructive feedback, give workers trust, respect, and treat everyone fairly, which sets the stage for a mentally healthy workplace.
Bad managers, on the other hand, lead to high stress, low employee self-esteem, and can make employees miserable. Bad managers hurt workplace performance and negatively impact employees’ sleep, family life, and overall mental and sometimes physical wellbeing.
Bad bosses are all too common, according to a study by the American Psychological Association that found that 75% of Americans say their “boss is the most stressful part of their workday.”
Managers who don’t support mental wellbeing are bad for the bottom line. According to Gallup’s State of the American Manager report, managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores, and 50% of employees left a job to get away from a manager.
Gallup found that one of the most important company decisions is choosing managers. Yet, many managers are promoted solely because they have good functional skills but lack leadership abilities, including skills to support the mental wellbeing of their direct reports.
“Organizations have to train leaders, managers, and all employees on how to navigate mental health at work…and create supportive workplaces,” said Mindshare Partners’ Kelly Greenwood and Julia Anas in Harvard Business Review. “Managers are often the first line in noticing changes and supporting their direct reports. Building an environment of psychological safety is key.”
Policies Must Support Mental Health
Workplace policies play a role in employee mental health. They can either reinforce the mental wellbeing initiative or lead to cynicism and distrust.
Employers must evaluate how workplace policies minimize employee stress, contribute to work-life balance, and support mental wellbeing.
For example, do company policies encourage time off and vacations? Do they prohibit 24/7 emails? Do they allow micromanagement, which shows employees they aren’t trusted? All of these and more are key to ensuring a company culture implicitly and meaningfully supports mental wellbeing.
Employees should be encouraged to share their concerns and needs with managers, including regular requests for employee feedback. Once employees know you’re listening, they won’t be shy, and their comments will provide valuable clues on what to change or augment.
Mental Wellbeing and Company Reputation
Workplace mental health is no longer a private matter. It’s increasingly scrutinized by the public and investors and contributes to employer reputations, recruitment, and consumer loyalty.
Bad reputations make for hiring woes, greater turnover, and the need for higher salaries. Employers with a reputation for highly stressful and unsupportive workplaces are at a disadvantage as potential employees review employers on websites like Glassdoor and Indeed.
One study found that a bad reputation costs a company at least 10% more per hire, the top three factors that contribute to a bad reputation are concerns about job security, dysfunctional teams, and poor leadership.
Moreover, as McKinsey research shows, consumers increasingly consider how companies treat their employees. And because customer-facing employees with stress, anxiety, depression are visible to everyone who touches your business, how you treat your employees is very apparent.
For the Pandemic and beyond, employee mental health has taken center stage with employees, consumers, and other stakeholders and investors. It’s part and parcel of how companies are judged reputationally, and employers must now take employee mental health seriously. Your bottom line depends on it.
