Workplace mental health strategies are broken, research reveals
Culture change doesn’t just happen. While many more organisations are alive to the power of supporting employee wellbeing, etching this into company culture takes informed and focused work.
But before action, we need awareness. That’s why Unmind (via InSites Consulting) quizzed 1,200 knowledge workers at companies with 500+ staff, across the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand, about mental health and wellbeing.
Here are the headlines:
- Despite high self-reported levels of knowledge and confidence, 36% of people find mental health and wellbeing (MHW) confusing, especially those aged 18-34.
- 48% of people find it hard to fit MHW practice into their day and 40% feel pressured to do so.
- 77% recognise the impact of poor mental health on their career, 75% recognise it in their workplace and 66% recognise it in their company culture.
- 50% say that mental health culture impacts their decision to join or stay with a company.
- 60% feel responsible for supporting colleagues and only 54% feel confident in providing that support.
- The biggest barriers to engagement in mental health programmes are time and trust.
- Awareness, leadership and accessible resources are holding back positive change in their organisations.
- Wellbeing apps are seen as more important than free food. Mental Health training is seen as more important than a gym membership.
How do employees feel about mental health?
Clearly people want to be better at managing their own mental health, but need support to do it.
More than four-fifths of respondents (84%) had either a ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ strong desire to be good at managing their MHW). That said, 1 in 3 people admitted to finding the entire MHW area confusing. When asked, people said they wanted general advice and someone to talk to – as well as advice on methods to improve mental health.
In the research, a lack of sleep, stress in the workplace and anxiety were the major challenges cited as having the largest impact on employees’ ability to manage their mental health.
It’s great to talk
In the survey, more than three quarters (77%) admitted mental health impacts their career. Yet barriers to support endure – four in 10 claimed they wouldn’t talk about their own mental health with a line manager, even though 8% would like to. Meanwhile, one-third (34%) of respondents said they don’t expect any MHW support at work, particularly entry level workers, and those over 45.
However, 64% said their employers do support them and nearly half (44%) of workers with access to wellbeing apps use them.
Leaders must lead the way
A mental health culture spreads in an environment where all staff, at every level, feel comfortable talking about wellbeing at work.
It cannot be overstated just how powerful it is to have an executive or line manager opening up about their own mental health challenges. This act alone gives other workers (especially more junior staff) licence to do the same.
Leaders set the tone elsewhere, too. There’s no point in a firm trumpeting its commitment to a psychologically safe workplace, if managers clock obscene hours, fire out emails at 1am, or badger direct reports while they (or they themselves) are out of office. Whether it’s intended or not, this sends a loud signal about how they expect others to behave.
Time for change
Time – specifically, a lack of it – was cited as the most roadblock to engaging with MHW initiatives. In the research, 35% of respondents said so, followed by 31% who argued they didn’t feel the need, and 15% who pointed to embarrassment.
Meanwhile, four in 10 people (39%) claimed a lack of time stops them doing more to support mental health and half of all survey-takers (48%) said they found it hard to fit MHW practices into their day.
This suggests that, in a working world where ‘always on’ is the default setting, nurturing our own wellbeing is being shunted down the to-do list. And, for some, it seems this rarely wins against a flood of emails, messages, or incessant work admin.
Workplace mental health isn’t working
Somewhere, in the gap between employees’ wants and their reality, things are going awry. Among survey-takers, 9 in 10 (89%) said a work-life balance was key. Yet only two-thirds (66%) claimed they were happy with theirs.
Elsewhere in the data, the majority (60%) felt career progression was important, yet half said a company’s mental health culture could guide their choice – when joining or staying with an organisation.
More troubling is the finding that one-third of all respondents (34%) believed leadership stands in the way of delivering a MHW culture at work. Likewise the fact that, though 60% of employees said they felt responsible for supporting workmates with their mental health, just 54% felt confident about doing so.
Knowledge is empowerment
Helping staff to nurture and protect their mental health is as much about the organisation as it is the individual.
Just learning about mental health is proven to improve your wellbeing, and previous Unmind research showed the importance of mental health training: 87% felt it was key for managers, leaders, and employees alike.
By boosting everyone’s MHW understanding, you also equip staff at every level with the skills needed to support their colleagues’ mental health, as well as their own.
What’s more, you plant the seedlings for a better, joined-up culture. One where outdated stigma is swapped for reliable insight. Where no one is afraid to be candid about their own wellbeing experiences. And psychological safety is no longer an abstract fantasy, but a firm-wide reality.
In partnership with Unmind
Our vision is to create a world where mental health is universally understood, nurtured&celebrated.
