Your top performers may be experiencing mental health challenges and not know it
Although outward signs can indicate that an individual may need help, obvious changes in behavior do not tell the whole story.
Amid chronic worker shortages and increasing rates of employee burnout, labor participation rates are threatened and employers are challenged to retain top performers. Employees, meanwhile, are continuing to struggle with the unique challenges of working through the pandemic and have begun to ask for, and expect, more from their employers. Many companies have responded by providing broader benefits offerings. But more specifically, quality science-backed support for employee mental health is now critical to attract and retain top talent. But some needs — especially those of high-performing individuals — can easily go unnoticed and untreated.
Even before the pandemic, substantive mental health support was gaining traction as a necessary workplace benefit — important not only for employee wellbeing, but also for company success and moral obligation. In addition to feeling more fulfilled, employees with positive mental health tend to be more productive. Indeed, poor mental health and stress can negatively affect job performance, productivity, and employee engagement, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Related: Infographic: What’s driving workers’ stress?
Although outward signs of depression, anxiety, and other conditions can indicate that an individual may need help, obvious changes in an employee’s behavior do not tell the whole story of their mental health. Some of your top performers could, in fact, be experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition that aren’t visible, and some may attribute their symptoms to a physical cause — such as a lack of sleep — or a stressful time that will pass. Assuming your best talent isn’t at risk can lead to inaction and subsequent negative outcomes.
High achievers don’t always have it all figured out
Most people think they know what mental ill-health looks like. Whether it comes from advertisements for anti-depressants or other gloomy depictions in the media, there are common stereotypes for depression, anxiety, or other mental health disorders we’ve all learned to recognize — individuals looking visibly withdrawn, unmotivated, or disconnected from the world around them.
But these symptoms fail to reflect the reality of mental health. High achievers — people with a long list of accomplishments and an impressive job title — may struggle mightily with their mental health. These individuals may set themselves high standards and push themselves harder to achieve success, sometimes fueled by anxiety or fear of failure. Skewed work-life balance may link to loneliness or stress, masked by unhealthy coping strategies.
As a result, someone experiencing a mental health issue can remain productive, but at the cost of living with significant distress that’s not outwardly expressed. What’s more, due to the stereotypes that shape many people’s understanding of mental health, not only can difficulties go unnoticed by colleagues and loved ones, they can also be overlooked or disregarded by the person themself. Hence, they may not know they should seek support, or may not feel able to do so for fear of negative judgment.
So, mental wellbeing is not an either-or question
Since the mid-20th century, mental healthcare operated under what is called the “single-spectrum” model. In this model, mental health and mental illness are placed on opposite ends of the same spectrum, with an individual’s state at any point in time mapped somewhere on that continuum. The problem is that the single-spectrum model:
- Fails to recognize the complexity of an individual’s experience
- Frames mental health as a false binary, suggesting that at any given time one is either experiencing mental health, or they are not
Because mental health problems are so common, and are increasing during the pandemic era, an evidence-based approach to wellness is needed in the workplace. This is the dual-spectrum model of mental wellbeing (also known as the dual-continua or dual-continuum model). It says that every person at every moment is living in a state where two separate and distinct realms of mental health intersect: positive mental health and mental illness.
The dual-spectrum model recognizes nuances in wellbeing that are hard to identify with a single-spectrum understanding. For example, employees with a diagnosed mental illness may still flourish at work and at home. Meanwhile, employees without mental illness may still fail to thrive.
In short, this evidence-based approach to mental health acknowledges that individuals can benefit from care without necessarily experiencing severe symptoms. The dual-spectrum model also provides opportunities to consider an employee’s wellbeing holistically. It equips us to recognize that everyone, at all times, can benefit from intervention — whether that targets mental illness symptoms or positive wellbeing. These realities can coexist and are not mutually exclusive.
Removing stigma and embracing openness around mental health
One reason the mental health challenges of high-performing employees can go unnoticed is stigma. More than half of those experiencing mental illness do not access care, often because they fear being treated differently or losing their job for seeking support.
And for companies that do offer mental health resources, it’s important to choose science-backed tools that can deliver personalized, holistic support. Limiting your offering to treatment-only or reactive solutions can contribute to the single-spectrum view of mental health — that one is either “okay,” or they’re not — removing any opportunity for nuance and preventative care.
Mental health stigma is clearly a barrier to creating an organizational culture where individuals can safely seek effective care. However, evidence suggests that this trend is beginning to reverse. A 2018 report from the American Psychological Association found that Gen Z and millennials are more likely to seek out mental health support than older generations. Perhaps as a result of media coverage and increased use of behavioral health services, younger people are much more open about discussing mental health.
The result is a trend toward the normalization of both discussing and receiving mental health care for everyone — including high performers.
The pressing need for a sustainable approach to mental health
With the unique challenges we face today, robust mental health care is a crucial component of maintaining the holistic wellbeing of employees. Applying a dual-spectrum understanding to preventative employee wellbeing solutions can help organizations recognize that every individual can benefit from access to behavioral health care.
This approach removes barriers to high-quality behavioral health support and promotes not only an engaged and productive workforce, but helps employees to lead a more fulfilled life, both in the workplace and at home.
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