Mental health awareness has been growing in recent years, especially post-pandemic. But there is still a long way to go to make workplaces more mental health-friendly. Here, we examine how mental health can impact your work, how to handle mental health crises at work and how workplaces can prioritize employee well-being.

By Lora Korpar

Everyone, from social media influencers to politicians, is discussing mental health. But it can still be easy to forget that millions of people deal with mental health issues daily.

Because of post-pandemic burnout, returning to work is even harder on our emotional well-being. The World Health Organization (WHO) says depression and anxiety are estimated to cost the global economy $1 trillion a year in lost productivity.

Dr. Elliott Carthy is a specialist registrar in forensic psychiatry who focuses on mental health in the LGBTQ community and those with intellectual disabilities. He also has a YouTube channel on which he regularly reacts to mental health issues in movies and TV. 

Allison Raskin is a mental health advocate, author and co-host of the YouTube channel and podcast Just Between Us. She is also working toward a master’s degree in psychology.

I spoke with Carthy and Raskin to explore how mental health issues impact your work experience, how to handle mental health issues that arise at work and how businesses can prioritize employee wellness.

Mental Health Impacts On Workplace Performance and Enjoyment

You don’t leave your mental health issues behind when you clock in for work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says poor mental health can negatively affect job performance, productivity, communication with co-workers and even our physical capabilities for daily functioning.

Mental illnesses like depression are linked to more unemployment and disability, the agency added. Depression reduces cognitive performance about 35% of the time and physical ability to complete tasks about 20% of the time.

“If you're struggling with your mental health, it affects everything,” Raskin said. “So depending on how your symptoms manifest or what you're suffering from, it can affect your concentration in terms of even how much you care about what you're doing... If your mental health is in a safe, healthy place, it might mean that you're excelling at your job, that you're excited to get there every day, that your output is more than when you're not doing well. So I really view mental health as the end-all-be-all.”

Negative work environments can create issues or exacerbate existing ones. The WHO says factors like poor communication from management, inadequate health and safety policies, low employee support, and low levels of control over job trajectory can hurt workers' mental well-being.

According to a study by Mind Share Partners, mental health pressures can cause people to leave their jobs. In 2021, 50% of U.S. workers surveyed reported leaving a job “at least in part to mental health reasons.” When looking at younger generations, this number was even larger; 81% of Generation Z and 68% of millennials cited mental health as one of the reasons for leaving their job.

“We all manage stress and emotions in different ways,” Carthy said. “And I think that stress that doesn't have an outlet that's healthy or constructive to manage just becomes completely overwhelming because the workload just keeps piling on. It can massively reduce your enjoyment.”

Carthy added that burnout – particularly since the pandemic began – is a major factor in many people’s mental health, even for those who do not live with mental illness.

“Burnout is not a diagnosis, but it is this state of physical and psychological exhaustion,” Carthy said. “And I think finding ways to acknowledge that burnout is real and it's happening, identify it early and try and create a safe environment to manage it and deal with it, is key to not just people's health or their ethical, moral and medical grounds, but also for productivity and efficiency in the workplace.”

“We've been in a state of vigilance for over two years,” Raskin added. “And I fully believe we're still in the pandemic… And in terms of burnout, [we should have] some self-compassion that what we used to be able to do no longer feels as easy for us.”

Handling Mental Health Issues at Work

In addition to workplace stressors, our problems or mental illnesses can affect us at work. Raskin says it is important to prioritize your mental health even in a culture that makes us think work always comes first.

“I think a big problem in a lot of workplaces right now is that people are doing too much,” Raskin said. “They're probably taking on the jobs of multiple people instead of one person. And so that's going to weigh on you.”

Raskin suggests making time in your schedule for a good night’s sleep, full meals and exercise to maintain a better work-life balance.

“All these things… can feel really repetitive and silly, but the change is actually kind of profound,” Raskin said. “I always think it's all about priority. My mental health comes first above everything because it has its tentacles in everything.”

Raskin and Carthy said taking days off work for your mental health is as important as taking days off for physical health.

“I think what we're talking about is a change in attitudes to the way that we see mental health – it’s trying to see it on par with physical health,” Carthy said. “It all starts with the culture within the workplace. You need a culture within the workplace that is able to try to prevent burnout. Or if somebody is [burnt out], how do you spot it? And then how do you actually deal with it? This includes talking about it in a way that feels safe and feels open and knowing that you're not going to be perceived as weak.”

“Yes, maybe [taking a mental health day] means that you miss one meeting and that your perfect attendance isn't maintained,” Raskin added. “But if you don't take that mental health day, what are the repercussions? If we don't care for ourselves in the short-term, what's going to happen in the long-term?”

Shame still exists around taking a mental health day. To reduce discomfort, Raskin says employers should tell employees to use sick days for physical and mental health issues.

“Hearing an employer say something like that to you really makes you feel more empowered to take that mental health day,” Raskin said.

Speaking about our struggles is not easy. Carthy said you should only share what you feel comfortable with. Also, higher-ups should make their companies and organizations a safe environment for employees to share.

“It's about creating a place where people are free to speak about it if they want to speak about it, but they're not forced to, because that can just reinforce some of the stigma and the shame,” Carthy said. “I don't think there is a clear right answer [to how much you should share].”

Making Workplaces More Mental Health Inclusive

Though everyone’s mental health journey is different, businesses can put in work to make their environments more inclusive.

Harvard Business Review says this requires changing how businesses treat mental health. This includes making leaders part of the discussion, not just pushing issues onto human resources departments. Managers shouldn’t just ask employees “How are you?” but should follow up with “How can I help you?”

“In healthcare, we see this word a lot – ‘resilience.’ How can we help you be more resilient?” Carthy said. “How can we help you cope with the stress more, rather than how can we actually reduce the levels of stress, which I think is a bit counterintuitive. So it all starts with a culture within the workplace, which I think also starts with understanding what the concept of mental health is, how it differs between people and the difference between mental health and mental illness.”

Carthy said companies’ mental health awareness should include more stigmatized mental health conditions like schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

“It's just not equating mental health with mental illness – they can be two completely distinct entities,” Carthy said. “But if you try and create a culture that's safe to speak about one, usually you end up helping create a culture that's safe to speak about the other.”

The WHO says that in addition to making a more inclusive work environment, companies need to understand individual employees’ needs and provide resources for support. Raskin says one way managers can do this is to allow employees the flexibility to seek the care they need.

“A lot of therapists see people during business hours, so it can be really difficult to fit both a full-time job and weekly therapy sessions in,” Raskin said. “But if you work in a place that is OK if you block off 2-3 p.m. every Tuesday on your calendar, don't ask too many questions and just let you have that time for your mental health, I think that's a huge asset.”

Raskin added that reducing workload and the stress of deadlines can also improve employee mental health.

“I think the shift that I'm really hoping is happening is accommodation, for bosses to recognize that if their employees are not doing well then that hurts everyone,” Raskin said. “Simple things can feel like they're the end of the world if you don't get them done right away, so [they should be] given the opportunity to take a little more time to relieve some of the stress to not have too much on one person's plate.”

Carthy suggests employers communicate with employees to create a “culture of openness.” 

“[Employers should have] an open conversation with them about, ‘How can we create a workplace that is positive toward people's mental health?’” Carthy said. “Yes, [the work] can be stressful at times, but also it can be a real source of giving somebody purpose and structure and actually can be really good for you.” 

Top takeaways

How to handle mental health issues at work

• Poor mental health can hurt work performance, work enjoyment and whether you stay in a job.
• Post-pandemic burnout is a major stressor and employers should create calmer and more open work environments to address it.
• Prioritize your mental health, even if it means taking some time away from work.
• Workplaces should create cultures that encourage an open dialogue on mental health and treat mental health sick days the same as physical health ones.
• Employers should lessen workload and allow employees the flexibility to seek mental health care.