Employee mental health challenges now affect most US workers—staying longer and prompting more employees to leave their jobs

Mind Share Partners, a national nonprofit that is changing the culture of workplace mental health, launched “Mind Share Partners’ 2021 Mental Health at Work Report in partnership with Qualtrix and Service Now” –A study that explores mental health, stigma and work culture in American workplaces. This year’s study is sponsored by ServiceNow and Morrison & Foerster and is a follow-up to the 2019 Mental Health at Work report.

Read more about the findings in our Harvard Business Review article.

Studies show that mental health challenges are affecting the majority of American workers at all levels of seniority for a significant period of time. 76% of full-time US workers reported experiencing at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past year (a 29% increase from 2019), with 80% of study respondents reporting their symptoms cumulatively for a month or so. reported lasting longer than that, and 36% reporting symptoms ranging from five months to a full year. Executive and C-level employees were more likely to report experiencing at least one mental health symptom than were managers and individual contributors.

With the growing dialogue surrounding “The Great Regeneration,” there is a clear connection of employers losing talent due to unsupported mental health challenges. The study found that 50% of respondents had left a previous role at a company at least partially due to mental health reasons, compared to 34% in 2019. This number rises to 81% for Gen Z and 68% for Millennial respondents. .

“Prior to the pandemic, US employers began to acknowledge the prevalence and impact of mental health challenges at work, the need to address stigma as well as the emerging link to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI),” Kelly he said. Greenwood, Founder and CEO of Mind Share Partners.

“The stakes have been raised. Companies must move from viewing mental health as an individual responsibility to a collective priority. The future of workplace mental health demands culture change. Everyone within an organization plays a unique role in creating a mentally healthy workplace, in which leadership leads the way. We can’t afford to go back to ‘business as usual’. Now is the time to deliberate and imagine what might work – with more vulnerability, compassion, and sustainable ways of working,” Greenwood said.

Other major findings include:

Workplace factors have a clear impact on mental health.

• 84% of study respondents reported at least one workplace factor that negatively affected their mental health in the past year—the most common being emotionally exhausting work (37%).

• Employer’s return to office plans are having a negative impact on mental health. Individual versus remote work and policies surrounding work-life balance or lack of flexibility (37%) were the most common ways in the aftermath of the pandemic (41%).

• The study found that employees who felt support by their employers from the pandemic, racial injustice, office planning, and/or mental health, had better mental health and engagement outcomes.

Employees are talking more about mental health, but their comfort levels and experiences with these conversations are still mixed.

• Two-thirds (65%) of the study’s respondents reported that they had spoken to someone at work about their mental health in the past year – an increase of 63% from 40% in 2019.

• 41% of study respondents felt comfortable talking to their partners about their mental health—a 46% increase from 2019 (28%); 40% felt comfortable talking to managers—a 38% increase from 2019 (29%); and HR from 37% – an increase of 48% from 2019 (25%).

• Only 49% of respondents rated their experience talking about mental health at work as positive or received positive or helpful feedback – compared to rates in 2019 (48%).

Diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programs continue to play a strong role in workplace mental health, but significant investment and commitment are needed to reduce the disparate challenges posed by the events of 2020, including systemic racism and trauma , but is not limited to these. Experienced by black staff and Covid-19 affected parents and caregivers as schools closed.

• Young workers (ie, Gen Z and Millennial respondents), caregivers, and respondents from historically underrepresented communities (including LGBTQ+, transgender, Black, and Latinx respondents) are more likely to experience mental health symptoms, More likely to say that the work or workplace environment negatively affected their mental health, and more likely to leave a previous role, at least partly, for mental health reasons.

• Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were among those who felt least supported amid the pandemic and racial hate crimes/injustice, along with Native American respondents to the pandemic, and mixed-race respondents to racial hate crimes/injustices. with.

Employers are investing more in mental health and employees are increasingly drawn to day-to-day support versus temporary, band-aid solutions.

• Resources provided by employers to employees increased since the pandemic, including extra paid time off (55% increase), mental health days (41% increase), and mental health training (33% increase).

• There was a significant increase in the use of housing by the employees.

• The “resource” most desired by respondents (31%) was a more open culture around mental health.

Employers are deepening their investment in supporting mental health at work through company culture, but have still not achieved real culture change.

• 32% more respondents believed that mental health was actually a priority in their company (54% in 2021; 41% in 2019).

• 27% more respondents believe their company leaders favor mental health at work (47% in 2021; 37% in 2019). 21% more respondents believed their manager was equipped to support them if they had a mental health condition or symptom (47% in 2021; 39% in 2019).

The study points to a broader theme that the future of workplace mental health is through employer investment in culture change – including sustainable ways of working. Employers should shift their view of mental health from a “personal issue” to a company priority. The Mind Share Partners ecosystem of the Mentally Healthy Workplace Framework highlights how everyone within an organization has a role to play in influencing and changing the broader culture surrounding work and mental health.

“The past year has highlighted the impact of mental health on many of our colleagues and employees,” said Julia Anas, Qualtrix’s chief public officer. “Whether employees need someone to talk to, flexibility to care for themselves, their family and friends, or recognition for their success, it is imperative that company leaders have empathy to help employees find solutions. Listen with, understand and lead with. Everyone is unique, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, but it starts with listening, followed by action.”

“We are not the same employees we once were,” said Nick Tsitzen, Service Now’s chief strategy and corporate affairs officer. “As leaders, we need grace and imagination to start conversations about mental health, initiate and support open, sometimes difficult, conversations in the workplace.”

The study is based on responses gathered from 1,500 individuals through an online survey conducted from May 21, 2021 to June 18, 2021, through Qualtrix. To download the full findings please visit: www.mindsharepartners.org/mentalhealthatworkreport-2021-download

About MindShare Partners

Mind Share Partners is a national non-profit organization that is changing the culture of workplace mental health so that both employees and organizations can flourish. It does this by building public awareness, hosting employee resource groups (or affinity groups) and communities to support professionals, and providing workplace mental health training and strategic advice to major companies. Learn more at www.mindsharepartners.org.

About Qualtrix

Qualtrics, the world’s #1 Experience Management (XM) provider and creator of the XM category, is changing the way organizations manage and improve four core business experiences – Customer, Employee, Product and Brand. More than 13,500 organizations around the world are using Qualtrics to listen, understand, and take action on experience data (X-Data™) – the beliefs, feelings and intentions that tell you why things are happening, and about it. What to do in Please visit qualtrics.com to learn more.

About Service Now

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is building a world of work, making work better for people. Our cloud-based platform and solutions deliver digital workflows that unlock great experiences and productivity for employees and the enterprise. For more information visit: servicenow.com.

View the source version at Businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211004005534/en/