Five Ways To Build Better Mental Health In Your Workplace – Health & Safety
Key areas for employers to focus on to build effective
mental health strategies.
We live in anxious times. A multitude of factors, including
greater awareness of mental health conditions, better diagnosis,
and the uncertain and stressful era we live in, has catapulted
mental health awareness to the forefront.
Mental health conditions are widespread. Four in ten employees
in Europe reported struggling with a major or moderate mental
health condition in the last 12 months, with 68% reporting some
level of emotional ill-health, according to our 2024 Global Benefits Attitudes
Survey (GBAS), Western Europe (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Employees across Europe report high levels of
wellbeing issues
Poor mental health has a wide range of negative impacts on
people’s work. When people are mentally unwell, they are less
productive, more likely to need time off work, and could require
extended time out to recover from burnout.
At the same time, public healthcare systems across Europe are
under strain, especially when it comes to support for mental health
issues. Stretched budgets and long waiting times mean people’s
needs are often going unmet.
Employers are keen to step into the gap and look after their
people. After all, happy, healthy employees are more productive.
However, employers are worried they aren’t doing enough.
Responses to our 2024 Global Wellbeing Diagnostic
Survey highlighted that less than four in ten
organizations in Europe believe they are supporting people’s
emotional wellbeing effectively.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health was a key focus, as
people struggled with an abrupt cutoff in social interaction and
spending time indoors. Organizations mobilized emotional and social
wellbeing support and services to try and address issues linked to
isolation and lack of connection.
More recently, ongoing geo-political uncertainty and rising
inflation and cost of living globally have further impacted
emotional wellbeing in the workplace, with over half of employees
in Europe stating that financial issues have had a negative impact
on their overall health and wellbeing. Data from our 2024 Global
Benefits Attitudes Survey highlights that employees with financial
worries are more likely to miss medical appointments, be socially
isolated and struggle with anxiety and depression.
The interconnection across the areas of wellbeing cannot be
underestimated. Our research data highlights that employees who are
struggling emotionally are also less likely to take proactive steps
to address mental health issues, are more likely to make poor
lifestyle choices and are more prone to struggling with addictions
(Figure 2). With social disconnection and financial wellbeing
issues also impacting emotional wellbeing, it’s clear that
employees need more support with their mental health.
Figure 2: Social wellbeing positively impacts healthy lifestyle
choices
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Foster an enabling environment
Creating a supportive environment in the workplace is vital.
Three pillars will help to build the right culture are
prevent, protect, and
promote.
- Prevent means supporting employees to feel
mentally healthy. This includes creating a workplace culture that
enables employees to be open and honest about their mental health,
without fear or stigma. Ensuring psychological safety for all
employees in the workplace is an area that organizations with
highly effective wellbeing strategies and programs are doubling
down on, with senior leadership demonstrating their commitment to
creating safe and inclusive environments for all employees. - Promote means improving people’s awareness
of mental health issues and giving them the skills they need to
recognize and act early when they need to. Managers are a key group
to empower through training – employees who feel that their
manager has a sincere interest in their wellbeing are twice as
likely to take steps to improve their wellbeing compared to those
who don’t believe their manager cares according to our 2024
Global Benefits Attitudes Survey research in Europe. - Protect means giving the person and their
families the help and support they need to recover or manage their
mental health condition and put them in the best possible position
to get back to work and thrive. This can range from more
traditional approaches such as an Employee Assistance Programme
(EAP), healthcare plan and short-term disability program, to
resilience training and telehealth support.
-
Check your Employee Assistance
Programme is still best in class
When it comes to supporting people, Employee Assistance
Programme (EAP)s have always been a key part of the toolkit.
However, they are often under-valued, under-promoted, and
therefore, unsurprisingly, under-utilised.
If you haven’t reviewed your EAP in recent years, then now
would be a good time to take another look. EAPs have been going
through a transformation, with many now offering enhanced services
and new approaches to supporting mental health in and out of the
workplace. The rapid advances in health technology, alongside a
greater willingness amongst individuals to access care remotely,
have made the EAP experience more efficient and personalized while
reducing stigma.
Virtual appointments enable fast access to treatment and reduce
barriers to care. Individuals are now able to select counsellors
based on personal preferences and expertise, rather than simply
being allocated a therapist based on distance to travel.
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Align your strategy with what
people need
An effective listening strategy is key to creating a robust
wellbeing program that supports and address employee needs. This
goes beyond including one or two questions linked to health and
wellbeing within an engagement survey, and ensures the organization
truly understands what it’s employee demographic needs to
thrive and be engaged and productive.
Often organizations believe wellbeing programs must be extensive
and include multiple offerings to address a variety of physical,
emotional, social and financial needs. However, insights from our
2024 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey research highlight that
employees are seeking help and support at a much more basic level,
with physical activity, improving their diet and getting the most
out of the benefit programs ranking in the top five ways they
believe they can improve their health and wellbeing (Figure 3).
Figure 3: What support do employees need to improve their
health and wellbeing
| My physical health | My emotional health | My financial situtation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Be more active – exercise | Get outside / experience nature | Grow my savings and wealth |
| #2 | Eat better | Social interaction | Getting most from benefits |
| #3 | Time to deal with issues | Be more active – exercise | Access to money in emergency |
| #4 | Finding best quality care at lowest cost | Habits to improve mental health | Insurance against financial losses |
| #5 | Getting most from benefits | Counselling | Manage my spending |
Making data driven decisions is key to success. Organizations
need to understand their employee demographic, their health risks
and their needs. Only with a complete picture can an effective
program be designed and implemented.
-
Learn from what
organizations with highly effective wellbeing strategies are
prioritizing today…
Companies that really understand wellbeing have integrated it
into their key business processes and ways of working. Wellbeing is
made a priority, whatever the prevailing climate for the
business.
These organizations are tackling the causes of burnout and
stress and breaking down the stigma around mental health. They are
also connecting their wellbeing strategy to their diversity, equity
and inclusion (DEI goals and ensuring that their wellbeing and DEI
communication strategies are aligned (Figure 4).
Figure 4: What tactics do highly effective companies
employ?
Doing now
- Sustain with resources
- Develop a mental health strategy
- Prioritize
- Communicate and collaborate
- Cohesive messaging
- Integrate with workplace safety
Planning next
- Build the multi-year roadmap
- Personalize tools
- Focus on managers
- Measure, measure, measure
- Double down on mental health
- Solve for financial wellbeing
-
…and what they plan to focus on
in the future
Next on the wellbeing leaders’ to do list is developing
wellbeing-related key performance indicators for leaders, and
training managers as mental health first responders.
They are putting together multi-year road maps, committing to
wellbeing and setting out future priorities. And they’re
telling a great story about wellbeing, bringing support to life and
helping people throughout the organization to feel part of the
strategy (Figures 3/4).
What next?
The upshot of these five steps? When employers get it right,
it’s worth the effort, ensuring a happy and productive
workforce. Our 2024 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey highlights
that organizations with effective wellbeing strategies and programs
report human capital and financial outcomes that are two times
higher than organizations with less effective approaches in place.
If you do one thing today, start thinking about your mental health
strategy. Based on the research we’ve discussed above, how much
does your strategy need to evolve to meet people’s needs?
Technology can play a vital role in helping employees to access
support with their mental health. A new generation of EAPs are
offering people a wider and more comprehensive range of support,
thanks to the convenience of apps and video technology.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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