The author Pearl S. Buck once said that “to find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth."
However, finding joy at the workplace has been a challenge for many employees.
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Twelve billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety alone, according to the World Health Organization, with depression and anxiety costing the global economy $ 1 trillion each year predominantly from reduced productivity.
"Work can be a protective factor for mental health, but it can also contribute to worsening mental health," the organization said on its website, maintaining that "work-related mental health conditions are preventable."
"Much can also be done to protect and promote mental health at work and support people with mental health conditions to participate fully and equitably in work," WHO said.
The Harvard Business Review said its research found that while mental health isn’t improving in the U.S., there are some new bright spots.
“Workers are demonstrating greater awareness around mental health at work and are looking beyond traditional benefits and the latest technologies,” the report said. “What they increasingly want is what the research has always shown works: mentally healthier cultures.”
Concerns about mental health
Mental health at the workplace is addressed in the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2023 Workplace Wellness Survey, which examines attitudes toward benefits in the workplace, as well as a spectrum of financial wellbeing, employment-based health insurance, and retirement benefit issues.
Although down from last year, half of workers said they were extremely or very happy with their current job, and just over half feel very likely to stay with their current employer for the next two years.
Another third feel somewhat likely to stay with their employer, the institute said.
The survey, which was co-sponsored by Greenwald Research, is based on interviews with 1,505 American full-time and part-time workers 21 to 64 years old.
A third of American workers said that they are concerned about their emotional well-being or mental health and a quarter rate their mental health as fair or poor.
Half of the respondents said that their mental health and well-being had a negative impact on their performance at work.
Roughly half of workers said they often or always feel stressed, while nearly four in 10 report that they often feel anxiety or depression, and about a quarter often experience feelings of loneliness.
Three in 10 American workers are highly concerned about their workplace well-being, such as engagement, stress, or morale, while about a quarter are not too or not at all concerned.
The study said that 8 in 10 workers at least somewhat agree that their employer has a responsibility to make sure employees are mentally healthy and emotionally well, a higher percentage than for physical health or financial health.
Importance of corporate culture
Company culture is cited by 61% as having the greatest negative impact on overall well-being, whereas 22% feel it has a positive impact. Family has the greatest positive impact on overall well- being.
American workers are worried about how potential economic challenges will impact their finances, the survey said.
More than four out of five American workers are at least somewhat concerned that there will be a recession in the next year or that inflation will remain high for at the next 12 months.
“What we found surprising is that this is the first year that saving for retirement is not the primary financial stress factor for employees,” research associate Jake Spiegel said in a statement. “Instead, we found that day-to-day issues like emergency savings and paying for household bills are top of mind for workers."
Six in ten employees do not feel financially prepared for being unable to work or reducing work hours to provide care, with caregivers more likely to feel unprepared.
Employees feel the most valuable improvements to their benefits package would include greater employer financial contributions, more benefits and resources to help with their financial well-being and more choices and benefits to choose from.
Overall, 4 in 10 employees said they are highly concerned about their household’s financial well-being, down from nearly half last year. Still, the institute noted, more than half agree that worrying about finances distracts them from work.
Two-thirds said they trust their employer to help them improve their overall well-being through quality benefits and resources, and nearly 6 in 10 often feel pride in their work.
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