Mental health concerns in the workplace continue to plague businesses of all kinds. Recent research indicates that 83% of U.S. workers suffer from some form of work-related stress; 25% say that their job is the top stressor in their lives.
That stress can lead to absenteeism and relationship impacts. For instance:
- About 1 million employees miss work daily due to stress-related causes.
- Stress can cause employees to leave their jobs—about 63% reporting that they’re ready to do so—16% already have.
- Employees who miss work due to mental health issues are seven times more likely than others to have future absences.
The top causes of workplace stress include workload, interpersonal issues, work-life balance, and job security.
There are some steps employers can take to help minimize these impacts.
Helping Employees Better Manage Mental Health
LikeSpeak Inc. points to several things that employers can do to help promote well-being in the workplace, including:
- Opening conversations about mental health and well-being to raise awareness and reduce stigma. Normalizing discussions related to mental health can help to foster a psychologically safe culture.
- Create an environment that supports well-being through efforts like providing health foods at work, encouraging frequent breaks, and offering resources to help educate employees and support positive behavior changes.
- Acknowledging and supporting caregivers. Responsibilities to care for others (both young children and aging relatives) can take a heavy toll on employees. Many keep their concerns and responsibilities to themselves. Opening up conversations and offering support and resources to ease their burdens can relieve the stress of these responsibilities.
Being open to employee inputs and concerns about their levels of stress and mental health is important—only 40% say they talk to their employers about stress concerns. Because so many are hesitant to bring up their concerns, it’s important for HR leaders and managers to be comfortable in starting conversations designed to help employees feel free about sharing the stressors they deal with and collaboratively coming up with ways to address them.
Employee well-being impacts all of us. Finding ways to open conversations and provide a supportive environment and resources for employees can help.
Lin Grensing-Pophal is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.
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