More learning, exercise and flexibility will improve mental health at work

One billion people globally are living with a mental health disorder – this represents 15% of the working population.12 billion workdays are lost annually due to depression and anxiety, costing the global economy $1 trillion every year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the global mental health crisis – there has been a 25% increase in general anxiety and depression globally.

Despite these facts, mental health represented just 2% of healthcare budgets in 2020, and wellbeing remains a taboo subject in the workplace.

In response to these terrifying statistics, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: “It’s time to focus on the detrimental effect work can have on our mental health.

“The wellbeing of the individual is reason enough to act, but poor mental health can also have a debilitating impact on a person’s performance and productivity.”

The WHO has also produced some new guidelines, along with the International Labor Organization (ILO) that aim to “help prevent negative work situations and cultures and offer much-needed mental health protection and support for working people”, according to Dr Tedros.

The ILO’s director-general Guy Ryder added: “As people spend a large proportion of their lives in work – a safe and healthy working environment is critical.

“We need to invest to build a culture of prevention around mental health at work, reshape the work environment to stop stigma and social exclusion, and ensure employees with mental health conditions feel protected and supported.”

The ILO and WHO recommendations that Ryder hints at can be split into three groups – prevent, protect and promote, and support. All of these require leadership support, and significant investment from employers to be successful.

1. Prevent mental health challenges at work

The first element of the guidance is the need for employers to rethink their working environments to minimize the risk of mental health challenges.

Burnout skyrocketed during the pandemic, which is negative for productivity and for business outcomes.

In this context, the WHO and ILO suggests that employers should embed mental health into their culture and make it part of how they operate. It shouldn’t be an optional add-on, and employees must buy-in.

Employers particularly need to think about mental health when making decisions, especially around layoffs and hiring freezes. Transparency is crucial, employers need to mitigate employee anxiety around potential job cuts or changes to the processes or work methods.

Some examples of what the WHO and the ILO thinks companies should do to embed mental wellbeing into their culture include flexible working in terms of location, as well as limiting working hours and the number of shifts.

Employers also need to ensure that they aren’t short staffed, and that they have enough people in their teams to do the work that needs to be done. The WHO and ILO also talked about the importance of frequent and open communication on mental health benefits.

2. Protect and promote wellbeing at work

The second part of the WHO and the ILO’s guidance is about protecting and promoting good mental health at work.

This hinges around strengthening employee awareness of mental health; ultimately, “building awareness and understanding of mental health in all workers is important to reduce stigma against people with mental health conditions and create a supportive work culture that values the diversity of workers and protects against bullying, harassment or exclusion”, noted the report.

Employers need to make a clear policy for this, as well as invest in training for managers and employees. Managers need to be upskilled in how to recognize and respond when a team member is in distress and struggling with their mental health.

Managers also need to be trained in active listening and other interpersonal skills so their direct reports know they can come to them for support.

The WHO/ILO report stated: “Importantly, the intention of this training is not to turn managers into mental health care providers: aft­er completing training, managers cannot and should not diagnose or “treat” mental disorders.

“Rather, managers should be able to know when and how to direct supervisees to appropriate sources of support and should be willing and able to advocate for action on mental health.”

Other ways to promote mental health at work is to help employees manage their stress with apps and other resources, encouraging physical activity, meditation and mindfulness.

3. Support those with serious mental health conditions

The third and final element of the guidance is to adapt working environments to the needs and preferences of workers with significant mental health disorders.

These are individuals who need more support than access to meditation, mindfulness and stress reduction apps. They have other challenges in participating in the workforce, and therefore need special adaptions.

For instance, they may need flexible hours, to take time off for appointments and treatment, specialized medication storage or somewhere in the office to rest in the middle of the day. Some may also need their jobs to be redesigned to reduce stressors.

Of course, the WHO and the ILO are very clear in their recommendations that employers need to ensure privacy is paramount, and that managers don’t discuss employee’s needs and health conditions without consent.

While the WHO and ILO is clear that employers have a responsibility to act to improve mental wellbeing of the workforce, the international organizations are clear that governments also have a role.

However, employers that act early – and don’t wait for legislation to force them to take action – are likely to become an employer of choice for job seekers in the ongoing war for talent. Not least because burnout and stress are major causes of the so-called ‘Great Resignation’.

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