Supporting your employees’ mental health is not a perk, it’s the only sensible business strategy

Having worked in the field of psychology, in different contexts, for many years now, I’ve seen lots of changes; and I’m pleased to say that most of those changes have been positive ones. 

In my professional “lifetime”, I’ve seen the provision of psychological services by employers, often in the form of “Employee Assistance Programs”, become pretty much the norm. I’ve seen (and I’ve been involved in providing) the delivery of many, wonderful programs, keynotes and workshops and more, on topics focusing on health and wellbeing, happiness and resilience, and so much that not that long ago would have been completely taboo within a professional context. 

I’m not suggesting things are perfect; and they’re definitely not perfect in every organisation, but there’s absolutely no doubt that much of the stigma around discussing mental health, and more notably mental ill-health, in the workplace has been smashed. 

People now ask … R U OK? 

Many people, including managers and leaders, now acknowledge that … it’s OK not to be OK (all the time). 

All of which is, in my humble opinion, pretty fantastic. 

But, and you might have seen this “but” coming, there remains a problem; and it’s a problem that I believe to be quite significant. 

You see, as good as it is to see all this activity and the provision of all these services and programs, all too often they’re provided as … a “perk”. That is, many employers, even the “good ones”, view activity in this area as some sort of special bonus they’re offering they’re people. 

This might not seem to be a major issue, but it is; because it affects the way such offerings are perceived, it influences how they’re utilised, and it even determines (to some extent) how they’re funded. 

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a perk; who doesn’t like a perk! But perks can seem superficial, not crucially important, and they can, therefore, be subject to budget cuts, underfunding or possibly even perceived as not really having any real value. 

And this, I believe, is a massive mistake. This, I also believe, is mistaken and ultimately, unhelpful. Because it’s one thing to offer or provide mental health related services; that’s a good start. But it achieves little, or nothing, if such services aren’t fully funded or adequately utilised. If or when this happens, it might even backfire, causing a questioning of intentions or even a crisis of trust. 

And it also really misses a vitally important point. Which is, that the mental health of employees is not just a nice thing to attend to, it’s vital. It’s what will enable employees to be at and to function at their best; to perform at their best; to be productive contributors to the organisation’s goals. 

Can you imagine a factory that didn’t provide adequate electricity for its machinery? Or a courier company that only intermittently supplied petrol to its fleet of cars and trucks? 

This would be the equivalent to not doing all you can do to ensure your people are fully energised and most able to be at and to bring their best to work each and every day! 

Accordingly, I encourage you to think about mental health in the workplace not just as a side show or a perk, but as a fundamental and core strategy aimed at maximising the health (and therefore the performance) of your most valuable asset … your colleagues! 

I’d love to know your thoughts on this; so please feel free to comment below and/or ask any questions you have on this very important topic. Thanks for reading 

#conversationsforchange #Linkedin #changemakers

This article was written as part of the LinkedIn #Changemakers campaign – a campaign shining a spotlight on individuals using LinkedIn to drive genuine change in the world of work. To find out more about the partnership, read more here.