Mental Health Awareness Month: A Call to Action for Employers
Tina McHugh
Senior Research Associate
Published May 31, 2023
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In October 2022, the US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a , underscoring both 鈥渢he responsibility and unique opportunity for leaders to create workplace environments that support the health and well-being of workers.鈥� The framework conceives of workplaces as 鈥渆ngines of well-being鈥� grounded in five essential practices: protection from harm, connection and community, work-life harmony, mattering at work, and opportunity for growth.
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鈥淲e have the power to make workplaces engines for mental health and well-being. Doing so will require organizations to rethink how they protect workers from harm, foster a sense of connection among workers, show them that they matter, make space for their lives outside work, and support their long-term professional growth.鈥�
鈥� Dr. Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General
Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-being
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Just this month the US Department of Labor issued a - part of their 鈥溾�� campaign - with a call to action for employers to address mental health in the workplace proactively, starting with leadership helping to reduce stigma and increase access to mental health supports for all employees.
The statistics around workplace mental health remain sobering with more than 4 of 5 workers reporting that they feel emotionally drained from their work and that workplace stress affects their relationships with friends, family and co-workers. More than ever employees expect their employers to take care of them; in a Employee Benefits Research Institute , three in four employees agree that their to make sure employees are mentally healthy and emotionally well (77%), healthy and physically well (74%), and financially secure and well (66%).听听
The message seems to be resonating and employers are responding, with two out of three US employers planning to make employee mental health and well-being a over the next three years, according to a Willis Towers Watson survey. Our own Roundtable members consider employee mental health and well-being to be their top strategic issue, according to a recent benchmarking survey, with more and more focused on promoting mental health and well-being on a global scale.
With workplace costs of untreated mental illness estimated at $1 trillion globally and rising, the future productivity and prosperity of organizations and their people will depend on building a culture of health in the workplace that takes a personalized, 鈥渨hole person鈥� approach to wellness. For strategies that employers should consider, read our World at Work article and best practices on mental health from our Roundtable members EY, Merck and Prudential.
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