Why you need to get past a yes-no view of employee mental health
A company that bases its mental well-being programs on whether an employee is either mentally okay or not okay is coming up short.
As most of the world slowly but surely emerges from the upheaval of the pandemic, skilled workers and top performers have recalibrated their views of what they expect in terms of benefits and culture. One clear expectation created from the pandemic is that the most sought-after employees want to work for companies that are committed to authentically connecting with, supporting, and caring for their people.
Inauthentic employer brands that use check-the-box programs to give themselves a gold star, or that simply pile on apps and tools because they’re cheap and shiny, won’t make the cut. Neither will companies that simply take a binary view of mental health. That’s the traditional, stigma-inciting yes-no perspective that goes something like this: A company bases its mental well-being programs on whether an employee is either mentally okay (in which case no programs or tools are needed) or not okay (in which case the employee is offered treatment-based care, like a referral to the employee assistance program).
Related: Keep an ear to the ground: How employers can stay on top of employees’ mental health needs
This binary view of mental health allows no gray area in between, no prevention, no continuum of care, and certainly no evidence of a culture of caring in the organization.
The job market is about to heat up and company culture is in play
Let’s take a step back and look for a moment at the whole frame of company culture and the expected churn in employee retention coming up.
A full 25% of workers are considering quitting their job after the pandemic, according to research by Prudential Financial. Having a poor company culture is a major driver. When asked to grade their current employer’s “ability to maintain employee connectedness and culture during the pandemic,” 42% of those looking to move on gave their companies a “C” — average — or below. The urge to leave because of company culture is exacerbated for companies by the renewed zeal for wanting to work remotely.
According to the Prudential study:
- 87% of American workers who have been working remotely during the pandemic would prefer to continue working remotely at least one day a week, post-pandemic
- 68% of all American workers say a hybrid workplace model is ideal
Company culture and mental health awareness: Employees see the link
Realizing the sheer number of workers who are considering leaving their jobs, and knowing company culture is a major contributing factor, you might ask, “What can I do about our company culture — especially right now?” It’s a big question with lots of answers. But one certain thing you can lean into is this: You can leverage the fact that employees are increasingly evaluating a company’s culture in part by how it shows it cares for its workforce — and specifically, how a company supports employee mental health. Consider that, according to one significant study into the attitudes of employee mental health:
- 86% of survey participants thought a company’s culture should support mental health
- 75% of Gen Z employees and half of millennials had left roles in the past for mental health reasons, both voluntarily and involuntarily, compared with 34% of respondents overall
And that survey of 1,500 U.S. employees was conducted by Mind Share Partners, SAP, and Qualtrics in 2019 — before the coronavirus pandemic hit and turned work-life upside down. What’s needed in response is a mental health program that supports everyone, everywhere in the organization, and that helps employees navigate their own mental health journey and do it confidentially and confidently. We believe it’s a model that employees will eventually expect just as they expect a competitive salary and PTO today.
Why? Because as the research from Mind Share Partners, SAP, and Qualtrics concluded, the most commonly desired workplace resources for mental health are a more open and accepting culture, training, and clearer information about where to go or who to ask for support. We fully agree with their summation that “mental health is becoming the next frontier of diversity and inclusion, and employees want their companies to address it.”
Unfortunately, too many employers still aren’t listening. A recent study by Unmind and WELCOA found that barely 1 in 3 employers (37%) feel they have a strong understanding of the mental health and well-being of their people. No wonder the stigma of mental illness persists. The study from Mind Share Partners, SAP, and Qualtrics found that nearly 60% of employees have never spoken about mental health to anyone at work.
A nonbinary solution for the new workforce
So, where do you start? Start with this north star: Employee mental health is no longer a binary issue. It’s not about them and us. Nor is it about being either mentally unhealthy or mentally well. It’s about everyone in the organization — reaching each person, and because you do that, you have a positive and measurable impact on the entire organization.
Now you might be asking this simple question: Why does everyone — yes, everyone — need access to tools and programs for mental well-being? The answer, which research has shown strikes a chord with employees, is that just as everyone is somewhere on the spectrum of physical health, so is everyone somewhere on the spectrum of mental health. It’s that simple.
So, companies that offer a mental well-being solution that is easy for employees to understand and engage with, and that empowers employees to navigate their own path along mental well-being, are fundamentally adopting a mental health culture. A culture of connection and caring — and yes, removing the stigma around mental health — starts with a clinically backed, holistic well-being program that not only supports people to feel it’s OK to talk about mental health and its symptoms, but that actually encourages conversations around topics like stress, depression, anxiety, and mental health in general.
As we come out of the pandemic, the most desired job applicants and the top performers that companies especially want to retain will also expect a culture of well-being to be smartly built. What do we mean by “smartly built”? We mean the solution needs to be intuitive, accessible, easy to use, and help employees efficiently set their own path for mental well-being. It will provide technology and resources to:
- Enable employees to measure their mental health continuously with self-assessments, tools, and support for every worker, not just the 1 in 5 Americans with reported mental health concerns
- Proactively treat the whole person — psychologically, socially, and physically
- Offer easily accessible tools and programs focused on the seven aspects of daily life that nourish the whole person: happiness, sleep, coping, calmness, health, connection, and fulfillment
- Help people navigate their own mental health and offer direction and signposting to other existing programs, such as a company’s EAP
Mental health support for everyone: Everyone wins
When companies take a nonbinary approach to employee mental health, the whole organization is reached and everyone benefits. They not only contribute to a healthier company culture and develop a stronger, more attractive employer brand, they also enhance the organization’s current spend on existing health and well-being benefits and employee performance. They will do more than attract A-players. They’ll make giant leaps for retention, performance, and brand reputation.
Dr. Heather Bolton is a clinical psychologist and BABCP-accredited cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) therapist. She is Head of Psychology at Unmind, the trusted workplace mental health platform. Before joining Unmind, Heather worked in the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) for nearly 10 years, focusing primarily on improving access to therapy for people with depression and anxiety disorders.
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