Ideas that can help organizations work to restore employee well-being

At the 2022 annual NH Businesses for Social Responsibility conference in May, organizations from all sectors and sizes were asked the most imperative issues to focus on now. Mental health came up as one of the top priorities.

While providing access to services and resources for mental health disorders is a key issue, so is promoting mental wellness at the systems level. The MindShare 2021 Partners’ Mental Health at Work report notes that 91 percent of the 1,500 employees surveyed, all diverse in background, location and job roles, responded that a company’s culture needs to support mental health. This is unsurprising given the continual fears around Covid, the friction exacerbated by shortages and the exhaustion worrying about who is on your team and who is leaving. This is all within a backdrop of change happening at the speed of sound and existential callings that compete in our psyches around surviving versus thriving.

When talking about mental health, we need to recognize that work is a defining activity. It takes up a great deal of our daily focus because, for many, work is where we glean our identity or our abiding sense of self, while our performance can connect to our perceived worthiness. To protect that, we may disengage and quietly quit (or loudly leave) when we don’t feel heard or when the pressure gets to be too much.

As humans, we all need some sense of control over our lives, along with acceptance, security and belonging. All of these are foundational to well-being. Each aspect inevitably comes into play in the workplace and applies to everyone in the system from a vendor, to an entry-level employee, to the CEO or business owner. Each role carries a perspective that has its own load to bear.

When stress levels are as chronically elevated as they have been, people tend to forget what it’s like to be in the other’s shoes, adding even more tension into the culture. Worry becomes chronic anxiety. Stressful days lead to sleepless nights. With constant change comes an underlying sense of loss and grief that shows up in a myriad of ways. People become more irritable, communication breaks down and morale plummets. These conditions are not just a burden but an opportunity to design our workplaces differently.

To restore mental well-being, a number of organizations are implementing tried-andtrue measures along with evolving ideas.

Here are several that have been emerging across the board:

• Forming ERGs or employee resource groups: These groups meet the needs of both belonging as well as support. They are made up of and led by employees with similar life experiences or other affinities, especially those that have statistically shown up as more vulnerable, like those in the LGBTQ+ population or young workers (Gen Z or younger millennials).

• Investing in education and mental wellness skill development programs: Topics can vary from recognizing depression and suicidality, mindfulness and stress reduction, and equity and inclusion. Like all initiatives around health, these programs do best when senior leadership is visibly involved and engaged.

• Reviewing work routines and expectations: According to Dr. Chester Spell, a Rutgers University management professor, perceiving a sense of control over your own work is vital to well-being and burnout prevention. The most critical ingredient is the cultivation of psychological safety where employees are supported in expressing issues and ideas to solve for work-related issues and/or interpersonal challenges. Periodic workload audits, redelegation and revisiting job descriptions also help.

• Maintaining or expanding flexible work schedules and locations: The pandemic made it necessary for many to work from home, but research has found that the control it gives employees over their daily life often enhances productivity metrics for the employer and better work-life balance from the employees’ perspective.

• Expanding mental health services within benefit packages: This is not only being asked for by employees for themselves but also for the growing mental health needs of children and families as a whole.

For more information from a New Hampshire perspective, NHBSR is presenting “Bear in Mind,” a free online program of expert panels on mental health in the workplace. The first webinar was held Oct. 11 and the next will be presented Nov 17. To learn more, visit nhbsr.org

Debra LeClair, principal of Full Spectrum Wellness, is a psychologist and executive coach who works with organizations around conscious team building, leadership and stress reduction. In partnership with NHBSR, she is currently facilitating “Refilling the Well: An Online Program for Workplace Well-Being.”