Ever felt like your job is a constant cloud over your head, casting a shadow on your overall well-being?
If so, you're not alone. Thirty-nine percent of working adults say their work environment negatively affects their mental health.
This is a shocking and serious statistic for HR and other organizational leaders. When employee mental health is at risk, so is an organization’s success.
Here’s the good news: With the right strategy and tools, leaders can address declining mental health in the workplace, both proactively and retroactively — and create a productive, efficient, and sustainable workforce for everyone.
In this article, we’ll cover what every HR leader needs to know about true mental health awareness and action. We’ll explore causes, impacts, and potential solutions for your organization, no matter what your employees are struggling with.
The term “employee mental health” refers to an employee’s sense of mental and emotional well-being within the workplace. In essence, the term encompasses how an employee’s workplace makes them feel.
Some of the most common workplace mental health issues include:
Many workplace factors contribute to poor employee mental health. But here’s what’s at the heart of most of them: Employees feel they’re being asked to do a lot, but are receiving very little support and care in return.
So, what is causing employees to feel stretched too thin?
The importance of mental health in the workplace isn't only crucial on a broad scale — impacting employees both in and out of work — but it’s also a driving factor for business success:
There’s clear evidence that employee mental health is of critical importance. But many HR leaders still struggle to provide and implement solutions.
Here are a few ways that are both effective and sustainable:
To address mental health in the workplace, companies must first understand what employees are struggling with.
Send out regular employee engagement surveys to collect:
Include questions specifically designed to gauge stress levels, work-life balance, and overall job satisfaction to gain insights into the mental well-being of their workforce. These surveys should include open-ended questions to allow employees to share their experiences and concerns in their own words.
Managers can then see how their workplace culture or benefits impact employees every day and then create a solid action plan in response.
Shame, stigma, and a perceived lack of empathy often prevent employees from addressing their mental health. Without this psychological safety, productivity plummets.
Employers should promote a culture of empathy at work by encouraging open communication, actively listening to employees' concerns, and providing training on emotional intelligence and compassionate leadership.
At the same time, employers must help their employees move forward — not just wallow in defeat.
Empathy at work isn't “crying on the floor with your employees,” writes Maria Ross, author of “The Empathy Edge.”
“[Empathy at work] is a method of trying to understand why somebody sees a situation, their performance, or the responsibilities of the job in a certain way,” she writes. “When you have an empathetic leader, and you have an empathetic culture, engagement, performance, loyalty, and job satisfaction improve.”
Curbing loneliness and creating workplace connection isn’t just about bringing everyone back to the office. In fact, TELUS Health Senior Vice President Paula Allen says that where a person works is less of the issue — it’s more about the quality of our connections to our colleagues, not quantity or proximity, that matters.
To create quality connections at work, and improve mental well-being in the workplace, people leaders need to:
Benefits and programs must be holistic if employers wish to adequately address their employees' health and safety. This means they must meet each employee where they are, accounting for diverse needs and life circumstances.
Most employees are on board. Our recent survey of U.S. workers found that 89% — especially millennials and frontline staff — consider employer-provided mental health support important.
Wellness programs range from stress reduction classes, smoking cessation programs, employee resource groups (ERGs) and more.
For example, a comprehensive domestic violence policy and process — which might include offering parking lot escorts, designating an onsite safe room, hiring extra security guards, and offering referrals to an ERG — helps to support employees holistically, said Lynn Fairweather in a Paylocity HR Mixtape podcast.
But, these supports are going to look different for each employer.
“[Leadership teams] must think creatively — every case has unique needs and there is no one-size-fits-all answer,” Fairweather said. “The only way to truly know what an employee needs is to avoid assuming and ask questions like, ‘How can we help you feel safer at work?’ or ‘What would make it easier for you to perform your job?’”
Whatever the program, genuineness is key. Ensure your wellness offerings aren’t superficial, check-the-box activities that leaders aren’t invested in and that employees don’t need.
Fifty-seven percent of workers can’t confirm the existence of mental health benefits in their workplace. That’s staggering.
Benefits programs are only effective if they’re accessible. To ensure your employees can leverage your programs, be sure you do the following:
HR leaders are responsible for providing their employees with the highest level of support. Let Paylocity help! Beyond our core payroll and HR software, we also have features for directly measuring and improving employee wellbeing:
Want to learn more? Request a Paylocity demo.
