Employers’ commitment to employee well-being will be tested in a short time

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When I joined the workforce nearly 30 years ago, mental health issues were not something that employees casually brought up in the office. While most managers were generally supportive, you never knew when you’d meet someone who still saw depression and anxiety as moral failings and would hold them against you.

How times have changed. These days, mindfulness apps and mental health workshops are par for the course in many workplaces. Top law firms Hogan Lovells and Linkletters, and investment banks JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs also offer free therapy sessions – either online or on-site. Not only is it convenient, but this benefit is designed to signal to employees that companies view psychological care as an integral part of getting the most out of their employees.

Other employers are also trying to get their employees practical help – by designating workers as “mental health first responders” and encouraging people to attend workshops on “mental fitness”. The aim is to re-establish the skills involved in managing such issues as positive qualities, thereby removing the stigma.

John Ryan, chief executive of data analytics, Healthy Place to Work, says, “If people are coming into the workplace with mental health issues, a progressive organization will recognize that this will impact performance and that it is self-serving to support them. ” Company that focuses on workplace health. “The biggest driver of sustainable productivity is the health of your organization.”

In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that 12 billion working days are lost each year due to depression and anxiety – costing global productivity $1 trillion.

The message appears to be arriving. In a recent Edelman Trust Barometer survey of 13 countries, 72 percent of respondents said they trust their employer to do the right thing about health concerns. And almost 8 in 10 people expected their company’s chief executive to set an example on healthy behavior – for example, by respecting work/life boundaries – and talk about the importance of mental health.

Some commentators have argued that the change in attitudes is due to a generational change, as young people who are accustomed to sharing on social media begin to replace more reticent older workers. But the Edelman survey found that figure was only marginally higher for those age 34 and younger than for the general workforce.

“People want the same things; Gen Z and Millennials are more vocal about it,” says Sidney Roach, global president of employee experience at Edelman. “Employees have unprecedentedly high trust in their employers, but with that trust comes high expectations.”

She adds, “The employer is now expected to solve things that other institutions cannot.”

However, this is where future problems may arise.

Given how much productive time has been lost due to stress and other mental health issues, historically, it’s good news that employers are trying to make it easier to access treatment. But the more employers involve themselves in the whole area of ​​mental health support, the more they open themselves up to claims that they are falling short.

Work remains a significant source of stress and unhappiness for many people – and training programs and mindfulness apps are not enough to help someone who is stressed because of a toxic manager or an unbearable workload. “If the problem is the workplace, then the Mental Health First Responder (program) is a joke,” warns Ryan. “Organizations have to get in and get dirty with what’s going on.”

A new survey of more than 2,500 American workers by recruiting consultant Robert Walters found that 60 percent said they suffered from workplace stress, and nearly half said that worry about job stability was the biggest reason. Despite a big increase in corporate spending on wellness initiatives since the start of the pandemic, 62 percent still told survey takers their employers are not doing enough to deal with stress.

and separate research by beneficial, who works with companies on their wellness offerings, suggests that companies are only willing to go so far in tackling mental health issues. While more than half of companies said they are spending more on employee support hotlines and digital health tools in 2023, less than 15 percent plan to give their employees extra time off.

This stress will get worse if the economy shrinks. Although some workplaces made significant investments in health programs during and after the pandemic, it is unclear whether these commitments will sustain. Many employers are already moving to reverse promises made on hybrid working, which they see as a drag on productivity. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, despite their generous medical offers, are leading the way among companies pushing for a five-day return to the office.

If companies respond to falling revenues by cutting both staff and spending on mental health, the double whammy of increased workload and reduced support could seriously undermine the progress made so far.