Mental Health in the Workforce: How to Support your Employees
Support your employee’s mental health every day, not just on World Mental Health Day.
- By Alex Saurman
- Oct 10, 2022
Monday, October 10 marks World Mental Health Day. Mental health has the ability to affect everyone. Even if you don’t have a mental health condition, chances are, you may know someone who does.
Mental health conditions may affect nearly one in five people, according to the Department of Labor. The World Health Organization estimates that of all working-age adults, 15 percent are affected by mental health conditions.
In recent years, the conversation on worker mental health has been brought more and more to the company table. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees saw an increase in mental health issues. According to a survey from The Standard, 46 percent of employees surveyed said they were “suffering from mental health issues.” Before the pandemic, that number was only 39 percent. A survey from the Society for Human Resource Management illustrated the high rate of mental health concerns. More than 40 percent of the 1,099 employees surveyed said they felt “hopeless, burned out or exhausted.”
It's evident that mental health affects a large portion of workers. If you’re an employer, you may be wondering what you can do to help your employees. Here are a few ways you can support your workers.
Educate workers. OH&S SafetyPod episode “How to Support Employee Mental Health & Wellness” offers ideas for supporting employee mental health. One of these ways is through education. Educate your workers on mental health and provide resources. This will allow them to learn more about mental health conditions, understand what they may be going through and help encourage talking about mental health in general. You can find a list of resources on websites like NSC.org. Learn more about a culture of empathy, the value of flexibility and more on the podcast.
Reduce the stigma. A report published by MindShare Partners in 2019 revealed that of those surveyed, 60 percent "ha[ve] never talked to someone [at] work about their own mental health." In order to combat mental health conditions, we need to talk more openly about them in the workplace.
Create a health and safety program. The Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) says a program like a Comprehensive Workplace Health and Safety Program can help create a work environment that is "psychologically safe." CCOHS recommends including "occupational health and safety," "psychological work environment," "workplace health promotion" and "organizational community involvement" as the main elements of the program.
Work with Human Resources. Human Resources can play a pivotal role in employee mental health. The National Safety Council (NSC) suggets including mental health coverage in health insurance, offering short- and long-term disability, telling employees about resources and ensuring paid time off includes time for mental health and that employees do not have to give a reason for using this time.
To learn more about supporting employee’s mental health, check out resources like the Harvard Business Review’s 8 Ways Managers Can Support Employees’ Mental Health, OH&S SafetyPod’s episode on Understanding and Prioritizing Mental Wellness in the Workplace and NSC’s page on mental health and wellbeing.
World Mental Health Day may only be celebrated once per year, but the need to support mental health is important every day.