I work with a lot of great organizations, and I mean the best. Leaders in these organizations are experts in competitive analysis, customer service, gaining market share, employee engagement, cost reduction, and efficiencies. What really sets them apart is how they manage employee mental health.
You see, they acknowledge that the mental health of an organization’s staff is critical in determining how well an organization functions. Consider this: according to the Johns Hopkins Mental Health in the Workplace Summit, mental illness is the leading cause of disability for U.S adults under the age of 44. It takes a keen understanding of its nature, causes, and solutions to address it effectively.
Many leaders unknowingly run organizations hampered by employee mental health. Some leaders don’t see it, others don’t want to. But with the proper approach, leaders can effectively help their people recover and maintain their mental health.
Studies show that people are greatly affected by their work environment. Their experiences, pressures, and failures take a toll, often chipping away at their mental health. As technology accelerates the speed of commerce—and as a result, its demands and shortcomings—a greater percentage of the workforce is squeezed in the vice we call progress. It has become a chronic problem.
How Poor Mental Health Impacts Organizations
Consider these statistics:
- The World Health Organization posted in a recent publication that worker mental illness, in its various forms, costs the global economy over $1 trillion each year.
- Employee absenteeism is more heavily caused by mental illness than physical illness or injury according to the Mental Health in the Workplace summit.
- One in five adults in the U.S. experience a form of mental illness and less than half are getting treated.
- A survey of office employees conducted by workplace consultants Peldon Rose reveal that three out of four employees would like their employer to oversee mental health initiatives, with workable plans and treatment opportunities.
- Ninety-five percent of those surveyed claim that their work environment is an important factor in their state of well-being and employee mental health.
Mental Distress and Mental Illness
A workplace can cause people great distress in ways that don’t appear to the passing eye. This, in turn, causes diminished effectiveness and organizational output. Attitudes suffer, and the cycle perpetuates.
I think we’ve all seen, if not experienced first hand, how mental distress causes abnormal behavior and responses. The mental illnesses of concern aren’t degenerative clinical disorders. The most common problems involve depression, anxiety, and fear. These are no longer dismissed as emotional phases or passing stages. And they shouldn’t be stigmatized.
When mental illness remains neglected, organizations experience abnormal turnover, communication breakdown, dissatisfied customers, and shrinking profits. It benefits every leader to understand this growing issue and learn how to support employee mental health.
What do you think? How do you support employee mental health? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here, or on LinkedIn.
