The pandemic awoken workplaces to the importance of focusing on wellbeing and mental health. With people feeling burnt out, isolated, disconnected and an increasing anxiety as to the uncertainty around them, workplaces started becoming more aware about the impact they could have on their employee's mental health, and how they could better support them.

Pic credit: Workable

In this article on the Harvard Business Review, it is clearly stated:

Employees need and expect sustainable and mentally healthy workplaces, which requires taking on the real work of culture change.

Workplace factors that affect mental health

In the recent Mind Share Partners’ 2021 Mental Health at Work Report, they found a few factors that significantly affect the mental health of employees:

1. Emotionally draining (e.g., stressful, overwhelming, boring, or monotonous) work.
2. Lack of work-life balance (e.g. unclear boundaries, not having time for self) & burnout.
3. Poor communication practices and a low sense of connection to or support from one’s colleagues or manager, definitely exacerbated by the fact that most of the workforce was (and perhaps still is) remote.

Four common mistakes that companies are making

In consulting with many companies on mental health and wellbeing, I've noticed that there are 4 common mistakes they are making:

1. Not thinking of mental health support in a holistic way. Wellness apps, yoga days and tech gadgets can help you take care of your mental health, when the stress or challenge is acute, or to build awareness. They are definitely important. However, to really improve wellbeing for all employees, companies need to look beyond once-off or short term measures and start taking a big picture, strategic view towards sustainable mental health.
2. Misalignment. For mental health initiatives to take root, there must be alignment between what is said and what is done. For example, if the message to employees is to prioritise well-being, policies must be in place to support that. Leaders need to end meetings on time, and remind staff not to send emails past working hours. If there is misalignment, employees can start to feel cynical about such initiatives.
3. Mental health stigma. Stigma surrounding topics related to mental health issues remain a huge issue that many companies find challenging to tackle. Employees fear that bringing up mental health issues might harm their careers. Companies need to identify what is needed to mitigate possible stigma, and educate all employees on being able to have discourse surrounding such issues. This will facilitate more open communication, safety and inclusion in the workplace.
4. Continuing to work (or expect people to) in same way as pre-pandemic. When the situation around changes, especially in such a drastic way, people are forced to re-evaluate their priorities, and shift the way they do things. Companies must recognise the new climate and make changes to the policies, offering and ways they offer support in order to have more sustainable ways of working

Solutions

1. Provide sustainable mental health support by making the support (a) accessible (b) consistent and (c) pervasive.

• Accessible means that support is available, easy to access. Some employees prefer more private ways to access the support (i.e. apps can provide private and direct coaching/therapy), while others prefer more relational and social ways to support (i.e. communities, doing activities together).
• Consistent means that support is given consistently throughout the year, instead of waiting for particular days (e.g. wellness day). Leveraging on various platforms, existing and newly created, will mean that employees receive constant messaging about their well-being and are more likely to create new habits.
• Pervasive means that support is widespread throughout the company, not just relegated to certain departments or themes. Every team using certain practices and language that become part of the culture of the company, and practices are implemented by all leaders (not just down to the personality of the leader).

2. Shift the culture such that everyone has a role to play. For example:

• Mental health should not just be a tick in the box, it should be an organizational priority (e.g. taking pulse surveys, and ownership of this a part of the company's strategy). Furthermore, mental health policies must be clearly communicated to all employees.
• Leaders can also share their own stories and experiences to model vulnerability - a move that can encourage people to speak up. Hopefully that will help people to come forward for more difficult conversations surrounding mental health to be normalised.
• Equipping leaders, managers and all employees on basic mental health awareness and how to navigate such discussions and conversations. They play a crucial role in creating a psychologically safe environment, where people feel safe to be their authentic self.

3. More sustainable ways of working. Changing their ways of working does not mean that productivity or engagement has to drop. On the contrary, making changes towards greater sustainability can support employees and lead to better engagement and retention over time. For example:

• Allow for flexibility. Now that people have experienced what life is like working from home, with one of the major benefits having greater flexibility of time, companies will need to look into how they recreate a similar environment for their employees. For example, they can take time off during the day to attend to family matters but make up for it later in the evening.
• Set norms together. Having conversations where people come together and be able to co-create new norms for greater sustainability or new ways of working together. This allows for greater autonomy, inclusion and voice.
• Sufficient resources. Ensuring that employees are well resourced to be able to their job can go a long way in supporting their mental health. This could mean ensuring they have enough budget to pull off a particular project (or getting creative on how to get a larger budget), communicating clearly so that they know where to focus their attention, or ensuring they are not working on back to back projects with no respite.

"Promoting autonomy, establishing boundaries and creating norms around communications, responsiveness and urgency can go a long way towards building a mentally healthy culture."

(Kelly Greenwood & Julia Anas)

4. Appreciation & Recognition. "Why should I recognise or appreciate them? Shouldn't they be happy to have a job in these times?" was what a leader said to me once. He didn't see the need to do more than what he was doing. However, what he doesn't realise is that recognition and appreciation are two of the most important tools for increased motivation and satisfaction (Mussie et al; 2013) because people feel:

😀 Valued and impactful

😀 More connected and purposeful

😀 Happier and more productive

Sustainable mental health

In conclusion, companies that recognise that they have a duty to care for the whole person - not just whether they complete their job or achieve their targets, but whether they, as a human being, will have employees who feel supported and can do their best work. 

Not prioritising mental health in the workplace can have serious consequences. It can lead to decreased productivity, high staff turnover, and a workforce that is burnt-out. Other mental health issues could also be lying in the dark (e.g. depression) not mentioned by employees, as a result of the stigma attached to issues related to mental health.  Such issues could cost companies billions of dollars each year, if not addressed. 

-----------------------

Next Steps:

If you're looking for a partner who can walk alongside you to create a culture of sustainable mental health, reach out to us at Happiness Scientists.

Disclaimer:

I share authentically what I think possible solutions might be, but it is purely from what I have studied (scientific evidence) and my own experience in coaching & training others in this area for the past 11 years. I am not here to diagnose or treat. If you need further help, please do seek the necessary support.

References:

https://hrmasia.com/employers-urged-to-step-up-mental-health-support-for-staff/

https://hrmasia.com/the-working-blues/

https://hbr.org/2021/10/its-a-new-era-for-mental-health-at-work