Mental health’s time as a taboo workplace subject is, thankfully, coming to an end. It is high time that mental health was normalized, and there has been no greater leveller of our wellbeing than the globally shared impact of COVID-19. 
The number of people affected by mental health is forecasted to continue rising. And with high achievers now drawn to the companies that take care of them, through incentives or occupational mental health support, it is vital that you update your policies and approaches to mental health. 

Disrupting mental health stigma 

The Time to Change campaign reported that public attitudes to mental health have improved by 9.6% since 2009.  Social media and employee advocacy have been key players in improving the visibility of the benefits of occupational mental health in the workplace, and big employers like Google are championing psychologically healthy places of work, with employees regularly sharing their positive experiences. 

Another example is this screenshot, which went viral after a CEO congratulated an employee for taking a sick day to benefit her mental health, but this remains an outlier in corporate behaviour. 

How can I improve mental support in my organization? 

There should be 4 main considerations when businesses are looking at how best to implement a positive, occupational approach to mental health in their workplaces. 

1. The psychologically healthy workplace 

According to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Center for Organizational Excellence, a work life balance is essential to occupational mental health. Former Google CHRO Liane Hornsey suggested in an interview with GDS that it is not necessary to measure employee absenteeism, as long as desired outcomes are rigorously assessed and achieved on time. 

2. Achieving work life balance 

The UK’s Mental Health Foundation states that achieving work life balance is the greatest occupational mental health challenge of our generation. And according to the Harvard Business Review, there is no evidence to support that longer hours increase productivity – in fact the opposite is true. Ignoring the need of a healthy work life balance and appropriate working hours will lead to more mistakes amongst your workforce and a higher turnover of staff. To keep staff content you need to be the employer that appeals to all aspects of their lives, providing them with a working environment that makes them want to strive for greatness, whilst simultaneously giving them time and permission to unwind. 

3. Avoiding work burnout 

A study conducted by Gallup showed that two thirds of full-time staff currently experience work burnout, and that burned out employees were 63% more likely to take sick leave. Kronos carried out a similar study which found that 46% of HR leaders claimed that employee burnout was responsible for up to half of their annual staff turnover, and in the same study 87% of respondents said that improving retention was a high priority. 

For businesses to stay ahead of the curve and maintain their retention rates, staff need to feel safe to take space and time to recuperate from any potential overload. Ensuring that your workforce isn’t burned out will help attract talent moving forward, protect current employees and help you to achieve business goals. 

4. Mental health today

Mental health is a fact of life. When impacted negatively, it can harm business productivity, staff welfare, and retention figures. If a business chooses to embrace occupational mental health and provide a safer working environment for its staff the opposite benefits are also as clear. There is significant evidence to show that companies can now attract and retain talent through advocating occupational mental health and implementing adequate measures. Businesses which prioritize this will have significant advantages over their competition in the war for talent.

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