Taking care of your employees has more relevance in the workplace than ever before
As Richard Branson once stated, “employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” Whether Branson was referring to something simple like his employees feeling valued by the organisation or providing his staff with the tools needed to perform their roles, this quote has a much larger meaning and relevance in the workplace today. Over the past 3 years, we have seen organisations on a global scale evolve rapidly to prioritise physical safety of their employees. But have organisations risen to the occasion when mental health and employee well-being are on the agenda for discussion?
You better believe it, poor mental health is costing your business
A recent study from the Committee of Economic Development Australia (CEDA) revealed that poor mental health is costing our economy around $70 billion dollars every year. Whilst physical compensation claims have decreased throughout the last 2 decades, claims for mental health have increased and are predicted to double by 2030. Included in this figure is the cost of reduced productivity by those suffering with mental health, of $7 billion dollars per annum, as well as $10 billion dollars per year in sick leave. Additionally, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that within the last 12 months, 1 in 5 Australians experienced a mental health disorder.
Whilst the cost to the Australian economy might be higher than anticipated, understanding how prominent mental health disorders are amongst Australians should be at the top of the agenda for Culture Managers and Senior Leadership teams. It has been reported that over 53% of Australians in the workforce would not disclose their experiences of depression or anxiety to their employers due to feeling they might be discriminated against. This percentage was much higher for employees who felt that their organisation was mentally unhealthy, compared to those who would not disclose a mental health condition in a mentally healthy organisation. Despite these high numbers and high cost, only 40% of affected people will seek support the support they need.
Why is the stigma around mental health still so prevalent?
Whilst these figures reveal alarmingly high numbers of sufferers choosing not to disclose their mental illness to their employer, it begs the question as to why so many employees choose not to disclose this information. Beyond Blue reports that the main reasons for not disclosing mental health conditions were embarrassment, fear of discrimination and concern how this could impact employment opportunities. Often people with depression and anxiety may be seen as being lazy or incompetent within the workplace, contributing to the stigma and feelings of shame. In fact, those suffering with depression found that employees felt it easier to report that they had a cold rather than suffering from a mental health condition as the stigma they may experience could be worse than their condition.
Despite noting an uptick of mental well-being initiatives being developed, the survey by CEDA revealed that managers still feel unsure how to assist staff who are suffering from mental health issues. Research has shown that supportive relationships between leadership and employees can reduce interpersonal conflict and support improved mental health outcomes. Additionally, people who received positive support from their employer were up to 5 times more likely to return to work. Simply put, organisations can’t afford to not address mental health and well-being in the workplace.
What can organisations do to support mental health and well-being?
You’ve likely heard of (or maybe even experienced it yourself) many organisations adopting initiatives such as fruit boxes and free yoga sessions for their employees with the intention to improve the mental and physical well-being in the workplace. Whilst this is a positive step, there still remains much more progress to be made to reduce mental health stigma in the workplace. The Productivity Commission has noted that building a strong psychosocial safety climate where mental health is treated as highly as physical health will prove successful at generating net savings after implementation costs.
Increased training of managers can improve confidence through improved mental health knowledge, contribute to reducing stigma in the workplace and will lead to more supportive managerial behaviours. It is also important for managers to identify triggers for poor mental health within their organisations so these can be addressed effectively, such as stress or inflexible working arrangements. Businesses should focus on implementing workplace policies, practices and programs that are widely promoted in business activities, assist in encouraging employees to seek help for mental health conditions. Business leaders should demonstrate their commitment to positive mental health in the working environment to encourage open conversations and reduce the stigma, with the ultimate goal to create and maintain a mentally healthier workplace.
Daniel Ko, Head of People and Culture at InfoTrack, is passionate about implementing tangible mental health initiatives that support the mental health and wellbeing of all employees. “We are proud to support our InfoTrack employees in seeking help by working to maintain a mentally healthy workplace. Not only are we pleased to offer several mental health initiatives such as flexible working arrangements, providing healthy food options in each of our offices, a free gym membership for each member of our team, regular catch ups and check ins with management; we also provide our people with ‘Be Me Days’ which are additional leave days that allow our people to spend time on things that are important to them such as connecting with their families, charity work or having a mental health day. Our leadership team are also strong advocates for our Employee Assistance Program. To reduce the stigma associated with reaching out for help we held a week’s worth of mental health initiatives during the week of RUOK? Day. At one of the events three members of our Executive team shared their individual experiences with the EAP program and championed the value of the service and the benefits of reaching out for help when you need it.”
It’s clear that by contributing to reducing mental health stigma in the workplace, in the long run this will achieve beneficial results to any organisations bottom line and significantly impact how your team and clients perceive the organisation. With mental health cases predicted to rise and cost businesses $140 billion annually by 2030, organisations who haven’t already taken steps to implement meaningful and impactful mental health initiatives within their company should consider what toll this could take.
