return on investment for employee mental health
צילום: shutterstock
The pandemic has shone a spotlight on long hidden and neglected issues surrounding mental health in the workplace. According to Google Trends, mental health as a search term has doubled in priority from a year ago. Everybody knows we need to do better, and many organizations are trying.
But a new report by Lighthouse Advisory* commissioned by LifeSpeak Inc. shows that employers still need to do more to meet their employees’ expectations.
In the report, US employers scored a failing grade from employees on workplace mental health support. On a ten-point scale, business leaders rated their efforts a 7.6, equivalent to a “C” on a typical school grading system. Workers, however, scored their employers a 4.4. That’s an F—a failing grade.
To make matters worse, 1 in 2 women said they wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing mental health in the workplace—a clear barrier to success at managing mental health issues. Women were also 2.5 times more likely than men to say their organization had not made positive changes to support mental wellbeing in the last 18 months.
However, there is some good news too: most employers say they offer tools and mental health resources to their people. To a slightly lesser extent, they say they have developed a true culture of support and acceptance around mental health in the workplace. Only 14% of companies say they don’t prioritize mental health—which is a great sign.
Still, employers need to do more to keep employees healthy and productive, and to retain staff. The Lighthouse Report found 1 in 2 employees have thought about leaving their job in the past 18 months due to mental health issues. It also found 3 in 4 workers say having personalized, confidential mental health benefits would make them more likely to stay in their job.
Based on the results of the study, benefits that embrace convenience and confidentiality/anonymity tend to have a higher chance of being used and yield greater engagement rates. The report also found that women were 60% more likely than men to say they haven’t accessed the resources available to them yet.
Engaging employees in discussions around mental health helps employers evaluate their mental health solutions, improves corporate culture and reduces workplace stigma.
But there is also a clear return on investment for employee mental health benefits. According to a Deloitte study, companies earned a median yearly ROI of $1.28 to $1.78 for every dollar spent on mental health programs. On top of that, the American Psychiatric Association says workers in a depressive state perform at roughly 70% their overall capacity.
How to make mental health benefits more appealing
Here are the top five ways employees said mental health benefits could be made more appealing. Benefits that follow these guidelines are not only more accessible, they also reduce stigma around mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
1. Ability to access the service at a convenient time and place
More than 70% of employees surveyed said convenient access to resources was a top priority for them. Employees have increasingly busy schedules, and the ability to access a mental health service anytime and anywhere means employees can take care of themselves on their own schedules.
2. Confidentiality/anonymity
Approximately 70% of employees—and women in particular—said confidentiality would make benefits more appealing.
Many workers would love to use existing mental health services but fear they will face negative consequences if managers discover why they are using the service. Confidential/anonymous services help employees get the help they need while reducing the fear of stigma.
3. Ability to speak to a live person
More than 50% of employees surveyed selected this option. Getting questions answered in real time by a real expert can be the best option for employees moving beyond the first step of accessing resources on their own.
4. Ability to pick the most relevant mental health topic
More than 40% of employees said this ability would make benefits more appealing. Employees don’t have the time to sift through mental health resources. Giving them the ability to easily find the information most relevant to them will make them more likely to engage with support measures and get the help they need.
5. Ability to share resources with family
Like the previous option, more than 40% of employees said they valued the ability to share resources with their family members. Extending mental health resources to family members can help stabilize home lives and make employees feel valued. Both lead to improved workplace performance.
Final thoughts
The research report makes its abundantly clear that employees know what type of support they need to thrive at work and at home. A big part of that is a positive and accepting workplace culture. As LifeSpeak Inc. CEO and founder Michael Held recently said:
“Employees are more likely to share how they feel and seek assistance if they know they are being heard without fear of reprisal. Part of this is creating an environment that allows employees to feel safe being open about when they are not feeling OK.”
Employers that offer this type of support will not only boost productivity but improve retention and attract better prospects.
**To assess the current state of mental health support in the workplace, LifeSpeak commissioned a study of US organizations from Lighthouse Research and Advisory. Lighthouse asked employers and employees to rate mental health support provided at work. Lighthouse also asked what benefits would be most helpful for employees. The report, titled 2021 Employer Mental Health Report Card: Ratings, Impact and Opportunity yielded surprising results.
About LifeSpeak: LifeSpeak is a leading software-as-a-service platform provider of mental health and total wellbeing education for organizations committed to taking care of their employees and customers. With 17+ years of experience creating and curating thousands of expert-led micro-learning videos and other digital content, LifeSpeak’s proprietary library’s depth and breadth of easily consumable content helps companies around the world support their people anytime and anywhere. LifeSpeak serves a diverse global client base across many industries and sectors, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, insurance providers, and other health technology firms. LifeSpeak is the parent company of Lift Digital Inc. (“LIFT” or “LIFT session”), ALAViDA Health Ltd. (“ALAViDA”), and and EnCompass Education Solutions ("Torchlight").
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*Written by: Jeff Dickstein, Business Development Middle East and AfricaLifeSpeak Inc.
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