Two-thirds of employees state that poor mental health has undercut their job performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey by health benefits provider Lyra Health. In another report conducted by ClassPass, 50 percent of professionals say their workload, stress, and burnout levels have increased since the start of the pandemic. Similar studies continue to show this alarming trend.
The truth is, the global pandemic placed a massive spotlight on the already existing mental health issues common in today’s workforce. According to Jeffrey Pfeiffer, Professor of Organizational Behavior at The Graduate School of Stanford Business, even before 2020, depression and anxiety were endemic in the workplace. In Pfeiffer’s book Dying for a Paycheck, he writes, “Sixty-one percent of employees said that workplace stress had made them sick and 7 percent said they had actually been hospitalized.”
With the rise in bleak workplace mental health statistics and things shifting back to a “new reality,” there is a call for managers and CEOs to boost their employee wellness programs and initiatives. In this article, we dive deep into the latest statistics on workplace health, the costs of ignoring employee mental health issues, and some of the top strategies businesses are using to address these concerns. We also highlight a recent interview with Nicole Wolfe, the Head of Corporate Programs at ClassPass. She reveals how her company continues to build a robust exercise and wellness program to improve employee productivity and prevent burnout.
Statistics on Workplace Mental Health – The Numbers Don’t Lie
A 2019 Mind Share Partners report stated that 61 percent of employees said their productivity at work was affected by their mental health. More than a third of the group – 50 percent of millennials and 75 percent of Gen Z respondents – reported that they had left jobs partly because of mental health issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), poor mental health and stress can negatively affect employee:
- Job performance and productivity.
- Physical health and daily functioning.
- Communication with coworkers.
The CDC also reports that mental health disorders such as depression are not only emotionally challenging but are associated with higher rates of disability and unemployment and can affect cognitive function.
- Only 57 percent of employees who report moderate depression and 40 percent of those who report severe depression receive treatment to control their symptoms.
- Depression interferes with a person’s ability to complete physical job tasks about 20 percent of the time and reduces cognitive performance by about 35 percent.
To demonstrate the rise in mental health disorders before the pandemic, The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation found from 2019 to 2020, workers reported:
- Symptoms of anxiety have tripled – from 8.1 percent to 25.5 percent.
- Depression symptoms have nearly quadrupled – 8.5 percent to 24.3 percent.
A survey from Mental Health America reveals some of the top employee stressors before the pandemic, including:
- Workplace Environment – Only 5 percent of employees agreed that their employee provides a safe environment for employees who live with mental illness.
- Stress – Three in five employees state that they do not receive adequate support from their supervisors to help with stress management.
- Financial Security – Over 60 percent of employees felt they are not paid enough to save for an emergency, and 1 in 3 cannot afford their healthcare costs.
How has COVID-19 compounded the already troubling mental health landscape in the workplace? According to Lyra, “Nearly a quarter of U.S. employees in our survey report their mental health has declined over the past year. This finding is alarming, especially given the dire mental health status of many American workers pre-pandemic, as well as record-high rates of suicides and fatal drug overdoses nationwide.”
The survey discovered the percentage of workers dealing with one or more acute mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression doubled from the start of 2020 to the end of the year. Since the pandemic began, a NIHCM report found that 30 percent of employees said they were fearful that a mental health admission could lead to being fired or furloughed, and 57 percent of entry-level employees reported feeling uncomfortable talking about mental health. The survey also stated the most significant factors affecting employee mental health at work since the onset of COVID-19 included motivation, team morale, productivity, work stress, and work/life balance.
The Cost of Employee Health & Wellness in the Workplace
According to Lancet, depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity each year. The study also projected that more than 12 billion days of lost productivity are attributed to depression and anxiety disorders every year, at an estimated cost of $925 billion. The investment needed over the period 2016–30 to substantially scale up adequate treatment coverage for these mental health disorders is around $147 billion. However, the expected returns to this investment are also substantial, including:
- Scaled-up treatment will lead to 43 million extra years of healthy life over the scale-up period – this produces an economic value of $310 billion.
- Scaled-up treatment of mental health disorders also leads to considerable economic productivity gains of $230 billion for scaled-up depression treatment and $169 billion for anxiety disorders.
Where does the U.S. stand? According to the American Institute of Stress, job stress costs industries nearly $300 billion a year in absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity, and medical, legal, and insurance fees.
An Opportunity to Revolutionize Workplace Mental Wellness
The average employee wellbeing rating is low, and mental health stigma is still high, making employer-sponsored wellness initiatives and mental healthcare support more crucial than ever, according to a study by Alight. Only 40 percent of employees provided positive ratings of their overall well-being. However, 83 percent agreed that employer-provided wellbeing programs enhance their employment experience. Reports like these create invaluable opportunities for more supportive conversations between employees and senior leadership, resulting in innovative policy changes. Case in point, a recent American Psychological Association (APA) article revealed strategies managers are implementing to promote holistic health and wellness, including:
- Training managers to schedule video calls or in-person meetings with employees to look for signs of anxiety or other emotional strain rather than only catching up by phone.
- Investing in software training programs and digital tools to teach managers how to pick up on subtle and often virtual cues of employee distress.
- Establishing a central mental health services contact, so employees do not have to figure out where or how to get care.
- Boosting the number of mental health visits that an employer will cover, offering mental health days, and offering COVID-related paid leave to better support families.
- Delaying job evaluations or not tying evaluation results to consequences such as payment until the shifts in pandemic working conditions level out.
To further the conversation about employee health and wellness, The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends holding group discussions, creating employee surveys, and analyzing employment reports or data to help identify the root problems of employees’ stress.
Nicole Wolfe, Head of Corporate Programs at ClassPass, answered questions for Endominance on how ClassPass, a provider of employee fitness and wellness benefits, has built a robust wellness program. When asked how the pandemic has affected how she manages her team, Wolfe offers, “As a manager, I have to be extra vigilant in reminding my team to take regular breaks and to use vacation days, even if staying home. We have to retrain our brains and [embrace] that midday breaks are normal, healthy, and essential to avoid burnout.” Wolfe has witnessed firsthand how taking advantage of a company’s wellness program can pay off, especially those involving fitness classes. She reveals, “We have observed a positive and measurable shift from employees who are taking advantage of their company wellness programs. Ninety-six percent of employees say they feel more motivated and less stressed after exercising, and 80 percent of employees say fitness activities have been crucial to establishing a new work-from-home routine. We have also heard positive feedback from teams working out together remotely, with 3 in 5 employees reported feeling more connected to their team afterward.”
Wolfe adds that she always advises companies to build flexible programs as the needs of their employees change and grow. “Wellness is not one size fits all – one employee may prefer to take time out of the day for a stress-busting boot camp, another may prefer some pre-workday meditation and breathing exercises. Regardless of the wellness programs you choose, strive for something that can be enjoyed by a range of employees with different goals and needs.”
In terms of mental health, Wolfe discusses how ClassPass addresses the needs of their employees, “All employees have access to 24/7 virtual therapy through BetterHelp and ClassPass credits to spend towards fitness classes and wellness appointments, and a stipend to create a comfortable home office environment. We encourage employees to take time out to exercise or go for a walk in the middle of the day. We also have implemented company-wide bonus holidays so we all can go offline together during busy months. We also regularly survey our team members so that we can keep our pulse on what is working and where additional attention is needed to prevent burnout.”
