Mental Health Awareness for the Future of the Workplace

According to World Health Organization, half of the world’s population is working, and 15% of the adults in the working-age group have mental health disorders. Add to this, the statistics that twelve billion working days each year are lost to depression and anxiety alone. The statement in itself is a worth point of discussion on the need for mental health awareness at workplace, especially for young adults and the fresh workforce.

A February 2022 Ogilvy study emphasised that 70% of Gen-Z willed that mental health get most attention or improvement. In the 2023 Monster’s Annual State of the Graduate Report, 92 percent of the upcoming graduates affirmed that it was important to feel comfortable discussing mental health at work. 61 percent mentioned leaving a current role if it lacked mental health benefits and 54 percent agreed on turning down an offer if it did not cover work-life balance. These are important figures and lay emphasis on the urgency of action, especially for the future of workplace.

Decoding workforce needs

The fresh workforce mainly constitutes of Gen Z but it is not restricted to them. At times new entrants could include people who come from different age groups, traversing diverse professional tracks before entering a specific one. Their needs also need to be studied based on salaried roles, gig workers, informal employment of other kinds and more.

When it comes to Gen Z, we need to understand that their needs are varied as compared to the existing older workforce. There has been a broad societal shift in their age and the needs are based on diversity, higher living cost, digital technology, climate change, LGBTQA+ rights, novel social development issues and so much more that cannot be carelessly bracketed but needs conscious participation and effort.

Co-creating efforts

A few years ago, McKinsey conducted a series of consumer surveys and interviews which reported that Gen Z seemed to have the least positive life outlook and lower levels of emotional and social wellbeing as compared to the generations before them. And let’s accept that the world hasn’t been easy on them, from battling a global pandemic, facing gun violence in the West, climate change at its peak and more, the problems have been piling up faster with them at the forefront. But what this has also done is push them to erase taboos and work wider and more actively for mental health advocacy. Hence it is easier to co-create policies and solutions with them on the board, with equal voice in drafting the changes that could help them.

Strategies to be considered

Gen Z will make up about 27% of the workforce by 2025. Do we need to say more? As an organisation if you haven’t already been sensitive to ideation and implementation of mental health awareness plans and policies, allow us to inform you that the deadline was yesterday. Here are a few key strategies that can help you kick off these efforts:

Tech-friendliness

Gen Z are digital natives, and it is important to emphasise on technology to boost collaboration and engagement at the workplace. Tools that ensure efficiency but are also selected as per individual needs will help. These young adults are also one of the most empathetic of the generations, using their sensitivity to create a feedback loop into the technology used to make it more ethical is a fair use of their attributes and skills.

Work-life balance

Gen-Z demands that their life outside work be respected. Policies that support benefits of recreation, paid leaves and time boundaries between work and leisure will only help boost their productivity. This will also help prevent burnout and sustain mental wellbeing. Encouraging digital detox, time-off, discouraging post work hours communication and providing them avenues to practice mindfulness, exercise, partake in hobbies, can all help.

Help them grow

Career growth is important and Gen-Z needs a system where they can grow while also having the mental health support they desire. Providing them with mentorship and similar avenues of growth, helps them perform better. They need to have a constant sense of progress and fulfilment. Especially if remote teams are involved, it is even more important to add virtual programmes which help build a sense of community and provide them a vision of how their trajectory within the team will be.

Inclusivity

It is important to be inclusive to all without discrimination on any grounds. Bringing fairness and inclusivity into actions is imperative. This could include transparency in interviews and appraisals, flexible work hours, audit of messaging, and always maintaining open lines of communication is important.

Roadblocks in the way

While Gen-Z has forced the world to be more vocal about mental health awareness, there are still many roadblocks in making this a reality across the countries and organisations. This includes finding a balance between efficiency while combating burnouts, eliminating stigma around workplace mental health discourse, paying them right while understanding that many of them pursue passion more than monetary compensation, understand that many of them will constantly be shifting jobs and this is a trend that comes with the generation, does not brand them disloyal, and is something organisations need to work around. To stop losing top talent, and making their workplace healthier, firms need to buck up and buck up fast.

Note: There are various guidelines and factsheets that could help take the first few important steps, starting with this one by WHO. (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work).