As a mental health organization, businesses often reach out to us with requests for mental health trainings for their employees – they ask for topics like self-care, mindfulness, and building resilience.
For a while we dutifully provided them, believing we were supporting the employees’ wellbeing. In some cases we were, but as we developed a deeper understanding of what workplace wellbeing truly entails, we started to see how, in certain situations, these trainings could actually be more harmful than helpful.
A major part of our work in MHAOhio’s Workplace Health and Education department is conducting our workplace health assessment, Occumetrics. Through the Occumetrics process we collect both quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (focus groups) data from employees to develop a clear understanding of their work experience and environment. We learn about how their organizations manage change, how supportive their supervisors are, the weight of their workloads, and how/if they are recognized and appreciated. We learn about their pay and benefits, general organizational culture, commitment to equity, and their thoughts about leaving the organization. We then work with the organizations’ leadership on how to improve things.
Through talking to thousands of employees, we’ve come to believe that if an employer is not providing a healthy and psychologically safe work environment, there is no training that an employee can participate in to improve their wellbeing at work. We view this as a form of “organizational gaslighting,” where organizations put the onus on the employees to try to be mentally healthy within an unhealthy work environment.
That’s not to say that employees don’t have personal responsibility to manage their overall wellbeing. But what is the employer’s role versus the employee’s role in managing wellbeing in the workplace?
Ultimately, the bulk of the responsibility falls on the employer. Through the almost 100 assessments we’ve conducted with organizations, we’ve learned that the following practices are necessary for employers to foster employee wellbeing:
- Ensuring psychological safety. According to Forbes, psychological safety is defined as the ability to show and employ one’s self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career.
- Cultivating supportive people managers. Studies show that a strong manager relationship leads to more productive, efficient, and loyal employees.
- Prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Lifeworks.com shares that an inclusive, diverse workplace culture fosters a sense of belonging, safety, and purpose for employees, helping to increase productivity long-term. According to Accenture, improving inclusion in the workplace could result in a total profit increase of $1.05 trillion in the US alone.
- Creating transparent, clear, two-way communication. One of the most common themes in our Occumetrics focus groups is that employees don’t believe they have a say in changes that impact them directly. Employees must be listened to, and they need to understand the “why” behind organizational decisions.
- Granting employees flexibility within their position and work environments. Research has shown that employees tend to be happier with flexible work environments as it promotes better work-life balance and has the added benefit of trust-building between employee and employer.
- Ensuring that organizational benefits support and promote overall wellness. This includes time off for mental health days, counseling sessions covered by insurance, and investing in other wellness-related activities.
Conversely, when working directly with employees on how to best manage their wellbeing in their workplaces, we suggest that they:
- Understand what makes a safe and healthy work environment and determine if their workplace lives those values through its culture and policies.
- Let their supervisor know if they’re struggling and may need extra support or accommodations.
- Ensure they’re managing their personal wellbeing through proper diet, sleep, and exercise.
- Seek out professional mental health support when needed.
- Participate in employer sponsored benefits and wellbeing initiatives.
Most of us, at some point, have had the unpleasant experience of an unhealthy work environment and have felt the toll that it takes on our mental health and overall wellbeing – it bleeds into all aspects of one’s life. If we are going to spend the majority of our waking hours working, it’s imperative that it’s in an environment that is healthy, supportive, equitable, and safe.
Time and time again, we’ve seen that when employees thrive, everyone involved with the organization wins. Mentally healthy employees make for happier clients/customers, greater productivity, and less turnover. We wholeheartedly believe there is nothing more important for an employer to prioritize than the wellbeing of its employees.
If you’re interested in Occumetrics for your organization, email Maggie Hallett, Senior Director of Workplace Health and Education, or call 614-221-1441 x105 to schedule a consultation.
