Mental Health – Why it Matters

As May comes to an end, so does Mental Health Awareness Month, designated as such since 1949. For many years, the focus in May is to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives and to celebrate recovery from mental illness. Prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can manage through mental disorders and live full and productive lives.

This year, perhaps more so than in any of the years this campaign has been running, mental health issues are at the forefront of public discussion. Why? Most certainly it has been the impact of the pandemic - exacerbated by world events - on the mental health of so many – illness, isolation, depression, anxiety, stress, and, yes, even recently, a shift to “returning to normal.” All of these are factors that impact how we as humans have reacted to the last two years.

The pandemic is not the only factor shining a light on mental health – many prominent people have opened up about their struggles with mental health concerns. These include famous athletes like Naomi Osaka who dropped out of professional tennis for a time after admitting to bouts of depression; four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles who set aside her gold medal ambitions to protect her mental health; and NFL players Calvin Ridley and Lane Johnson to manage anxiety and depression. As role models and public figures share their experience with mental health issues, it can help the rest of us feel more comfortable talking about and discussing mental health.

And talking about mental health is what inspired me to write this article. As a CEO, I regularly discuss with my leadership team the concerns we have for our employees, as we consider the impact of the pandemic, especially with employees largely isolated at home for months and months. And, as we consider a return to a hybrid work environment, as employers we must take into consideration what our people have gone through, and how they may react to returning to the office full time and/or in hybrid-work arrangements. 

We’ve learned together – all of us – that maintaining work-life balance is essential to our overall well-being. But with our workforce largely at home for two years, the lines between work and home have blurred. Yes, employees are largely very happy with more time back in their lives because their work commute time dropped to near zero adding more hours to the day to spend time with friends and family. Some people used some of that time and worked more hours at home than in the office. As a CEO, I now worry about how people will adjust to a return to the office even if it is only a few days per week, and how will that adjustment may impact stress, anxiety, and overall mental health.

Experts point to awareness of mental health as critical to reducing the stigma around mental health. We must prioritize self-awareness and self-care and be able to look for the signs that people are struggling. More importantly, as business leaders, we need to take steps at work to contribute to these efforts, by:

·      Establishing and promoting employee assistance programs that can help people in need

·      Include mental health coverage as part of employee health plans

·      Use the power of employee communication to reduce the stigma and increase access to mental health resources

·      Promote well-being for employees, managers, and leaders

·      Train people managers on what to do if they see signs of distress.

As May ends, it’s very important that a focus of mental health doesn’t stop simply because Mental Health Awareness Month comes to an end. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it must be that we focus on making sure our people are okay, and that we are okay. We can start by making sure we create psychologically safe spaces at work for people to share and thrive – and, importantly, to be able to seek help when they need it. We all can contribute to changing the conversation about workplace mental health and there never has been a greater need than right now.