Did you know that employee depression costs employers more than any other mental health condition? It’s true, and it may be affecting your bottom line.
Employee Mental Health Statistics You Should Know About
Employee mental health problems seriously impact performance, productivity and the company budget, and they are rampant. According to 9 Workplace Mental Health Statistics That Show Why This Year’s World Mental Health Day is So Important…
- Half of employees with anxiety say it interferes with their relationships at work.
- 3.5 percent of workers have ADHD.
- Depressed employees lose 27 work days per year.
- 20 percent of employees say they have a poor work-life balance.
- These mental health problems not only affect your employees, but also your company.
Use These 3 Tips to Increase Employee Mental Health
Clearly, mental health problems are very present in the workplace. Thankfully, there are measures employers can implement to promote employee mental health. Here are a few ways to help workers improve their mental state:
1. Provide benefits that encourage mental health — 80 percent of employees who are treated for mental health issues report increased job satisfaction and productivity.
Help your employees fight for their mental soundness by offering benefits that support mental health (i.e., ensure health insurance covers mental health expenses). This may be the most effective way to help workers stay mentally and emotionally healthy, which will benefit your company as much as it will your workforce. It may even lower your bottom line as a result of increased productivity.
2. De-stress your company culture — If your organization is a stressful place to work, employees prone to anxiety will feel the effects of it. Create a calming culture by offering workers ways to actively de-stress.
“A well-designed volunteer program is (an option for helping employees de-stress). Give workers a certain number of PTO days specifically for volunteering. This type of service has been shown to benefit the brain in multiple ways, including reducing stress. For the program to be most effective, leaders need to not only allow but actively encourage employees to take time off to volunteer,” wrote Kevin Ricklefs for Recruiter.com.
Volunteering not only promotes mental health, but it also helps employees gain new skills that may be pertinent to their roles within your company.
3. Encourage discussions about mental health — It’s unfortunate that mental problems are still taboo in some workplaces. An effective way to promote employee mental health is to initiate transparent discussions about this topic.
“An open conversation needs to be had in workplaces, raising awareness about mental health and what’s on offer via public and private communication channels. There also needs to be a change in rhetoric away from ‘them’ to ‘us’ to avoid alienation and stigma,” wrote Alaana Linney, Director of Business Development at Nuffield Health.
This is a vital step in developing a mentally sound workforce.
How Mentally Healthy are Your Employees?
If you don’t know how mentally healthy your employees are, that could be a sign that the topic isn’t being discussed often enough, if at all. Remember that promoting mental health ultimately lowers your bottom line by increasing productivity. And most importantly, it reduces or prevents human suffering.
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