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Mental health and wellness should be taking centre stage for employers as they begin to assess a post-COVID world of work – by Michelle Sturman

The issue of mental wellness in the workplace was already creeping up the boardroom agenda pre-COVID, in line with a growing focus on health and well-being. Now, as we approach the two-year mark that signalled the start of mandated lockdowns, work-from-home (WFH) orders and dealing with COVID-19-related grief, fear and stress – along with the economic impact threatening job security – the toll on mental health has been, in some cases, catastrophic.

But this is nothing new. By 2018, the social and economic costs of mental health problems were already well documented. The impact resulted in a hit on individuals, businesses and wider society to the tune of 3.5-4% of GDP, according to an OECD Integrated Mental Health, Skills and Work Policy.

The State of Health in the EU Companion Report 2021, meanwhile, suggests the pandemic “significantly increased levels of reported anxiety and depressive disorders in most European countries”. The study placed this figure at an average of 23-24% across EU countries in 2020.

Research overwhelmingly indicates that anxiety and stress over the past two years have not merely affected those with pre-existing conditions. Both have additionally struck swathes of the global population due to the significant change in events brought about by COVID.

Based on the Health at a Glance: Europe 2020: State of Health in the EU Cycle survey carried out by the OECD and the European Commission, the effects have been “particularly pronounced Special Issue among people with lower socioeconomic status, young people, frontline workers, especially health and care workers, and for people with existing mental health conditions”. It adds that “people HEALTH & WELL-BEIN who were able to continue employment during confinement or to telework were less likely to report depression and anxiety”.

COLLECTIVE TRAUMA

This latter point does not mean those able to continue to work – wherever this place of work may be – were immune. A 2021 study revealed that discussion of mental health in Glassdoor reviews has increased over 500% in the past three years. Equally, mentions of well-being have risen sharply (58%) since COVID arrived, while talk of burnout has jumped 128% since April 2021.

Huge percentage jumps such as these are wholly unsurprising, given the collective trauma the world has endured since the start of 2020. For many, the stop-start nature of lockdowns resulting in toing and froing from being in the traditional workplace to working from home has been unsettling, to say the least.

Pre-pandemic, mental health issues typically revolved around workload, burnout, work-life balance and discrimination. These are still of paramount concern, but COVID has thrown even more into the equation, namely feelings of isolation, grief, uncertainty, etc.

As a result, the mental wellness industry posted strong 7% growth from 2019-2020, as people sought solutions to help them cope with the stresses of the coronavirus crisis, according to Global Wellness Institute (GWI) research, The Global Wellness Economy: Looking Beyond Covid.

The largest mental wellness segment, ‘senses, spaces and sleep’, grew 12.4%, while the smallest, ‘meditation and mindfulness’, rose the fastest (25%). GWI forecasts 10% growth annually through 2025, to reach $210 billion, with spending heavily concentrated in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

INCREASED AWARENESS

One positive to be taken from the past couple of years, as mentioned in the Mind Share Partners’ 2021 Mental Health at Work Report, is that “amid all the disruption and trauma is the normalisation of mental health challenges at work”.

The US-based study found that, increasingly, younger employees are resigning from their jobs for mental health reasons – 68% of millennials (50% in 2019) and 81% of Gen Zers (75% in 2019), compared with 50% of respondents overall (34% in 2019).

In addition, 91% of respondents believe a company’s culture should support mental health, up from 86% in 2019. Across all organisational levels, mental health challenges are now the “norm”, with 76% noting at least one symptom in the past year, up from 59% in 2019.

As regards workplace factors impacting mental health, the most common was an emotionally draining – stressful, overwhelming or monotonous – line of work. It was followed by work-life balance.

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Other issues notably worse since the pandemic hit are poor communication practices and a diminished sense of connection to or support from colleagues or managers.

RETURNING TO THE OFFICE

Now, as COVID-19 supposedly edges closer towards endemic status in many countries, anxiety is building around heading back to the office. In McKinsey’s Returning to Work: Keys to a Psychologically Safer Workplace, one-third of respondents to a June 2021 survey stated their return to work has harmed their mental health. Almost half (49%) of those who had yet to go back also anticipated negative impacts.

McKinsey asserts there is a “real risk” of another wave of anxiety and trauma for millions of people as they return to on-site work. In addition, with fewer than one in ten employees describing their workplace as free of stigma on mental or substance-use disorders, this risk is exacerbated.

According to the study, out of those who were not in the workplace during the pandemic and have now returned, the impact on mental health has been almost evenly split: 36% noted negative effects, while 37% expressed positive effects.

Chief among the concerns was safety and protection from contracting COVID, along with flexible scheduling. Addressing these issues may help alleviate some pressure, with 62% of respondents stating improved air filtration was a core request (see Spotlight, page 36), while flexible schedules (60%) and hybrid working arrangements (57%) could also reduce stress.

As specified by Mind Share Partners, there are some common return-to-the-office plans which negatively impact employee mental health. These include: the policy around in-person versus remote work after the pandemic (41%); lack of work-life balance or flexibility based on a company’s policy (37%); lack of clarity about the return to the office process or timeline (31%); employers making decisions without consulting employees (30%); lack of clarity or consistency about expectations around work, productivity and related factors (28%).

There is a “real risk” of another wave of anxiety and trauma for millions of people as they return to on-site work

SEEKING PROTECTION

Despite a certain amount of negativity as regards a return to the workplace, some employees will actually be relieved to head back to the office as WFH induced stress responses in terms of having to deal with working set-up, childcare, etc.

A Report on the Implementation of the OECD Recommendation on Integrated Mental Health, Skills And Work Policy from September 2021 notes: “While evidence dating from before the COVID-19 crisis on the mental health impacts of teleworking as compared to in-person work is mixed, concerns have been raised about evidence of longer and more irregular working hours in some countries, as well as the mental health challenges associated with the blurring of boundaries between work and home.”

Legislation and policies designed to protect employee mental health have been forthcoming and are likely to be expanded following the rise of teleworking. Last year, the European Parliament called for an EU law that grants employees the right to digitally disconnect. This refers to the right to disengage and refrain from engaging in work-related electronic communications, such as emails or other messages during non-work hours.

The directive should further “establish minimum requirements for remote working and clarify working conditions, hours and rest periods”. Several countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal have such legislation already in place.

Even as the pandemic wanes, it will be vitally important for companies to champion positive mental health awareness and support staff as the strains placed upon individuals over the past two years continue to linger. Policies and strategies will need to be in place to ensure the mental well-being of all staff, wherever they are.

TOP OF MIND

The good news is that employee health is top of mind now, according to Wellable’s 2021 Employee Wellness Industry Trends Report, which surveyed health brokers based in the US.

Results from the survey reveal nearly nine out of ten employers plan to invest more in this area. 81% plan to focus on stress management/ resilience, while 69% are looking to spend more on mindfulness and meditation benefits.

As GWI points out, mental wellness is “no longer something one practices only with a meditation teacher, with a life coach, or on a retreat; it extends to our homes, schools, workplaces, exercise, built environment, and travel”.

Numerous market opportunities are being created as a result, states GWI, involving everything from cannabis, human-centric lighting and biophilic design, to sound therapy gadgets and smart bedding.

• Mental health training at every level of an organisation becomes standard • Well-being champions become a strategic and compelling priority • Hybrid mental health solutions – digital and in-person care – emerge as key for a hybrid world • Proactive mental health support becomes the norm – although reactive measures remain vital • Workforces learn the language to abolish stigma • Company leadership step up to the challenge • Health and safety is reborn – covering physical and psychological factors through ISO 45003