Critical Mental Health Areas To Focus on Through The End of 2022 and Into 2023
Part One: Mental Health in the Workplace
I remember being trained as a young manager fresh out of college to think of only the bottom line, and how I managed the employees were a critical part of that bottom line. I wasn’t taught to see people as an investment. Instead, most were seen as a liability to be managed. I cared only about a person’s value to the work, not their inherent value as a person. Managing the liability meant leaving personal matters at the door.
I was wrong. Really wrong.
Thankfully, the landscape of work has drastically begun to change. Employers now realize that people are of the greatest value and the greatest asset—not a liability. And because they have value, employee mental health plays a critical role in any successful organization, and mental health challenges can drastically impact employee retention, productivity, performance, and overall job satisfaction. Today, over 80% of large U.S.-based companies are investing in some type of employee wellness program.
As daunting and challenging as the pandemic was, it also provided many unique opportunities for every family, organization, and even individuals because it forced us into a different kind of thinking. How we think about mental health is on that list. It should come as no surprise that overall mental health struggles among adults increased dramatically through the pandemic—31% of adults in 2021 reported mental health struggles compared to just 11% in 2019.
This means that more people are experiencing some kind of struggle with anxiety or depression, and those personal experiences are also spilling over into their work life more than ever before. Thirty or more years ago, the expectation was to establish a clear division between one’s work life and personal life. Today, that line is not all that clear. We now understand that people are an investment. Which means knowing and caring about them beyond the skills they offer for the work they have been hired for. As a result, employers that care about and invest in mental health for their people are the more desirable companies to work for.
Employers who do this well are not only creating a better workplace environment, they are taking giant strides in the fight against the stigma around mental health. How much easier is it to admit a struggle if you can legitimately take a day off for mental health reasons? How many more people would seek professional help if their employer offered to pay for therapy sessions?
Nearly a quarter of U.S. employees said they have taken time off work for mental health reasons.
Starting an ongoing mental health conversation in your workplace can promote better physical health, lower healthcare costs, and improve retention and recruitment. For every employer, it’s a win-win scenario.
This is precisely why RemedyLIVE took the incredibly successful model of the Get Schooled Tour and created the WIRED Experience. It’s a chance for business owners and managers to invest in their greatest asset—people. Over the last year, RemedyLIVE has anonymously polled more than 1,000 people through our WIRED Experience event. We learned that:
36% said they experienced severe depression in the last 30 days
70% said they felt anxious within the previous 30 days
68% said that although they know where to find professional help, they have not pursued it.
What about your organization? When you ask the people in your office, factory, or floor, “how are you?” Do you know the honest answer? If you’re not already, it’s time to take some time and invest in your employees mental health. Honestly, you can’t afford not to. You don’t have to be an expert. You don’t have to know everything going in the lives of your people. And you certainly don’t have to talk about it everyday. However, what you do need to do is create a culture that leave the door open for conversations about we all struggle, provide a network of care for those that are struggling, and afford the opportunities for employees to learn valuable lessons in self-care. The perfect first step is to call in a WIRED Experience.
