If we’re being completely honest, the majority of workplace mental health programs are lackluster. In most cases, they don’t even exist. Some companies host a generic stress management seminar or list a hotline number in the employee handbook. Many bosses also vaguely prescribe self-care, but this clichéd advice often falls flat.
The truth is that effective mental health programs aren’t just a single box to check off; they can and should represent a foundational part of any company’s culture. Ideally, practices to prioritize mental health are directly woven into corporate policy and leadership practices. They should also drive efforts to identify and dismantle structural obstacles, including demanding workloads, poor work-life balance, communication problems, lack of job security, and more.
Corporate Mental Health: A Top-Down Perspective
Wellness programs often overwhelmingly focus on individuals taking initiative over their mental health. The premise is that employees can and should “step up” to protect their emotional well-being. Self-care is each employee’s responsibility, and from this framework, mental health problems may be perceived as individual deficits.
Although the logic rooted in individualistic strength may sound reasonable, execution isn’t always as simple. When mental health initiatives only support individual coping mechanisms- rather than conceptualizing structural change- employees may still be prone to burnout or other problems.
From a top-down perspective, meaningful mental health programs don’t just loosely encourage employees to “take care of themselves.” Instead, they strive to have workplaces that prioritize wellness at the forefront.
To illustrate this further, it’s hard for someone to deliberately take care of themselves when they work for a company that emphasizes hustling and bottom-line profits above all else. It’s also isolating to talk about mental health if nobody else is having those conversations. Who wants to be the only one taking a vacation when everyone else is grinding 24/7?
Successful workplace mental health starts at the top. If a corporate executive publicly endorses the benefits of mental health care but continues to clock 70-hour workweeks, employees absolutely pick up on that glaring discrepancy. Instead, leaders should consistently model healthy work habits, including establishing boundaries, taking routine breaks, and openly displaying authenticity and humility during social interactions.
Management also needs to be held accountable for how they approach mental health. It’s often said that people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses, with one recent study showing that 82% of employees would leave a position over a bad manager.1 Bad management comes in several different forms, but neglecting employee well-being is one of the more serious offenses.
Prioritizing Flexibility and Honoring Employee Strengths
When it comes to proactive mental health, employees need different types of support. Some employees benefit from having more time off, and others value the flexibility of working remotely.
In all cases, however, it’s important to consider individual needs and workplace considerations simultaneously. Here are some considerations to reflect on:
Flexible work options: Allowing employees to choose how and where they work- rather than expecting a one-size-fits-all mentality- may result in more productivity and employee satisfaction. Research shows that many employees indicate feeling more productive when they can work remotely.2 Employers often worry about performance, especially if they can’t oversee the daily workflow, but it still may be worth giving people ample chance to prove themselves. You can always reassess and pivot if productivity declines.
Mental health stipends: Offering more compensation or PTO may not be financially feasible for all workplaces. However, companies should consider the emotional benefit of offering employees periodic stipends (quarterly or annually) that can be used to fund various mental health needs, including therapy costs, gym memberships, and subscriptions to wellness apps. Remember that investing in an employee’s mental health often results in fewer absences and btter productivity.
Job crafting opportunities: Employees often feel more engaged when they feel more in control of their work tasks. Allowing people to ‘craft their jobs’ based on their skills and preferences can strengthen performance. If and when assignments need to be delegated, consider asking employees to choose the tasks they prefer, rather than assigning them arbitrarily.
Fluid workweeks and workloads: Because employees thrive under different conditions, it may be wise to consider allowing people to customize their schedules based on their individual preferences and current workloads. For example, some people benefit from working 10-hour days four times per week, whereas others would jump at the chance to come into work a few hours early to leave earlier in the afternoon.
Rethinking Workloads and Productivity
Emphasizing mental health often falls flat (and even feels invalidating) when companies consistently throw more work and expectations onto employees. Nobody wants to feel like they’re drowning, and no amount of meditation or gratitude can fix that desperate feeling.
As you reflect on each employee’s workload, consider the following:
Pay attention to how your employees talk about work: Do they frequently seem overwhelmed? Are many of them requesting more overtime just to get things done? Are certain tasks continuously falling to the wayside? Do you overhear complaints regularly? If so, these patterns need to be witnessed and addressed. Burnout is both an individual and collective experience, and if your staff perpetually seems frustrated or exhausted, this is a serious sign indicating that current workloads are unrealistic.
Reinforce and encourage breaks: PTO only goes so far when employees feel punished for using it, or when they face the experience of returning to work with tons of tasks piled up. Employees should never feel like they need to be “on” 24/7. If they feel they must respond to emails at all times- or if they need to bring their laptop on vacation- they may be more prone to burning out.
Consider what everyone is already doing well: What are your company’s main strengths? Where do employees naturally seem to go above and beyond without extra intervention? What makes your organization different from others? Identifying these trends may speak to where natural talent exists, and it may also help you reinforce employee passion. This can keep people feeling more motivated to go to work.
Encourage Open Communication and Honest Feedback
If employees feel worried about acknowledging their struggles, they may continue to suffer in silence. This ‘suffering’ has many consequences in the workplace, including declining performance, exacerbated mental health problems, people quitting their jobs abruptly, and ruptures within the overall workplace culture.
Psychological safety matters, and it’s what encourages people to be honest about their needs and experiences at work. As a leader, here are some guidelines for cultivating this particular kind of safety:
Validate emotions when people do share their difficulties: If someone acknowledges feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or exhausted at work, listen and validate this experience. It can be so harmful to say something dismissive like, Everyone gets stressed, or, You’re doing a great job- just push through. Instead, focus on getting more curious and striving to understand why your employee might be feeling this specific way.
Enforce feedback options: No matter how open-minded you might be, some employees just won’t be directly honest about their concerns. Some just don’t want to cause waves. Others don’t want to risk irritating management or experiencing some form of retaliation. This is where routine anonymous feedback forms and randomized surveys come into play- the key is to read and implement these responses. If employees sense nobody reads or cares, they won’t fill them out honestly.
Model talking about your own stress or difficulties: Vulnerability can and should have a relevant place in every workplace. As a manager, you are constantly being watched- this means it can be helpful to tactfully share when you’re going through a hard time or how you’re attempting to cope with stress. The key to striking this balance is also conveying a sense of positivity and capability- employees shouldn’t feel like they need to take care of you.
Prioritize Community and Connection
Research consistently shows that workplace friendships positively affect job satisfaction and performance. They also tend to improve individual employee wellness.3
By now, we all know the detriments associated with loneliness. But workplace loneliness is rarely addressed. Instead, many employers focus solely on productivity, forgetting how important it is for employees to feel connected to one another.
Here are some ways to prioritize social wellness:
Prioritize inclusivity at every angle: Psychological safety creates a foundation for all connectivity. If people don’t feel safe at work, they won’t feel comfortable showing up authentically. Therefore, it’s crucial to acknowledge and embrace diversity, open communication, and perspective-taking. Remember that you model the need for being open-minded, and if you don’t emulate this yourself, it’s unrealistic to expect your employees to inherently do so.
Host no-pressure periodic social gatherings: Consider making room in your budget for monthly dinners, barbecues, or other outings. Attendance should be optional- you should never pressure employees to nurture work relationships outside of their work hours. But if the activities are fun and engaging enough, you offer space for people to decompress and connect, and these social relationships can go a long way in fostering workplace cohesion.
Offer team-based assignments for those who desire them: Some people do prefer to work alone (and this should be honored), but others thrive in a group format. If that’s the case, try to regularly prioritize assignments where people can work together. This cultivates problem-solving and creativity, and it can reduce the isolated effect people may feel at the office.
Create desirable communal spaces: Invest in thoughtful communal spaces with coffee, snacks, and comfortable seating arrangements. Taking periodic breaks supports mental health, and having shared spaces gives employees various opportunities to connect during the workday. Many times, some of the best strategizing happens when it’s not forced. With that, it can be helpful to lean into trusting that casual conversations can bolster productivity and enhance camaraderie among team members.
Final Thoughts
No matter your industry, thoughtful, well-designed workplace mental health programs shouldn’t be a “nice perk.” They should be an essential part of any business’s infrastructure.
From a financial standpoint, prioritizing mental health at the forefront may also result in fewer absences, lower turnover, and increased productivity. Healthy employees are worth the effort and cost. The more you take care of your staff, the more apt they are to take care of your business.
