Why Mental Health in the Workplace Matters

When it comes to promoting a healthy environment, it’s just as important to prioritize mental health in the workplace as it is to prioritize aspects like team building and an appropriate work-life balance.

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults report suffering from a mental illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 71% of U.S. adults report experiencing at least one symptom of stress, such as anxiety or headaches. Considering that 63% of Americans are part of the labor force, this indicates a strong overlap exists between people struggling with their mental health and people who are engaged in the workplace.

Instead of pushing these issues aside, it’s up to businesses themselves to try remain open to mental illness, and begin a dialogue around mental health that helps encourage trust and support. Not only is this important for productivity (the same CDC report notes that a mental illness like depression interferes with both cognitive performance and a person’s ability to complete physical job tasks), but also for the well-being of every employee.

Dealing With Mental Health Issues in the Workplace

Employers don’t need to be acting as therapists—nor should they be. But they ought to be facilitating an environment that promotes accepting mental illness as the common issue that it is, as well as putting into place practices that can help everyone feel safe about discussing such issues.

There are a few ways to do this:

Put a premium on good communication. A positive, healthy workplace culture requires active listening. All employees should be encouraged to actually listen to their teammates instead of just waiting for an opportunity to speak.

Focus on trust. Trust is a bedrock of any good work relationship. By focusing on strengthening trust between co-workers, workplaces can help employees feel more supported and appreciated.

Keep the door open. An open-door policy means that employees can feel safe being honest about when they’re feeling confused or overwhelmed so that they don’t have to suffer in silence.

Provide company resources. Consider providing resources to online therapy, or helpful websites that can offer employees assistance in managing their mental health. Additionally, changes to company policies or health insurance benefits to include mental health coverage will help give your workers access to the care they need.

The common thread with these tips: treating others with respect, instead of just one more task-master in the daily grind. Supportive practices are critical in the workplace, as is separating value from performance and highlighting an employee’s strengths instead of focusing on any weaknesses.

What if there are employees working from home? Mental health still matters! The same communication tactics used in the office should be extended to work from home employees. This serves to address mental health issues stemming from work from home isolation, and ensures equity in how employees are treated.

Start the Conversation

Any mental health solution a workplace offers is sure to lead to benefits in both individual and group performance. Making mental health a priority helps everyone collaborate on creating a healthier, less stressful work environment—which is much more effective than just ordering everyone around. Not only will this help remove barriers to mental health support, it will also help mold workplaces into somewhere that people want to be, instead of just have to be.