Mental Health in the Workplace

Mental health challenges in the workplace takes a toll on worker productivity too.

• Employees experiencing just depression report it interfering with being able to complete a physical job 20% of the time and reductions in cognitive performance 35% of the time.
• Approximately, 30% of working adults with an anxiety disorder reported reduced work productivity over the previous four weeks while 0.5% of working adults without a mental illness reported the same.
• Nationally, almost 9% of working adults have a substance use disorder, including 6.7% with an alcohol use disorder and 1.6% with a cannabis use disorder.

But the good news is that there is a way to help this problem. By taking basic steps to help reduce stigma, organizations can help their struggling employees.

• Talk about mental health at work. This breaks down stigma and gives people permission to seek support if they need it. This can be in employee meetings, individual meetings with employees or in communications like newsletters.
• Train your managers on how to support struggling employees. This includes how to recognize common signs of mental health issues as well as what resources are available to support them.
• Make Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) or other benefits known and easily accessible.

 These are simple ways to break down barriers for employees to get the help they need at work.