Remote working has pushed mental wellbeing up the agenda, and 46% of companies are improving their provision for it. Transforming culture is key, says Mark Allan, Commercial Director at Bupa UK Insurance.
The isolation and anxiety of lockdowns and social distancing combined with the transformation in the way millions of us work has forced companies to think carefully about mental health. Shockingly, 69% of us say our mental health has suffered because of work, according to a YouGov survey in 2020.
Workplace mental health is, finally, on everyone’s mind.
“Is mental health something you manage every day, or something you only think about once it’s a problem?” asks Mark Allan, Commercial Director at Bupa UK Insurance.
“I think employees now expect mental wellbeing to be an integral part of a health package. For every person who retires there’s someone else coming into the workforce, and there are different attitudes between a 20-year-old and a 60-year-old. There are different expectations around what we talk about and what we don’t.”
We know what causes work-related mental health problems. They’re summarised by the British Medical Journal as:
- Working long hours, work overload and pressure, leading to poor work/life balance
- A lack of input or participation in decision making
- Unclear management and work roles
The striking thing about all three is that they should be something organisations are capable of changing. The problem is that the old ways can be deeply ingrained.
Sir António Horta-Osório was Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group when it was struggling to recover from the financial crisis. He took eight weeks off to recover from insomnia and anxiety. He returned to work, but it left a deep impression on him. He later told The Times: “I thought I was Superman. I felt I could do everything. Before this, I had thought that the less sleep and the more work, the better.”
“It showed me I was not Superman, and I became a better person — more patient, more understanding and more considerate. It was humbling, but you learn.”
So what can leaders do once they’ve learned these lessons? Study after study has shown the importance of training and transforming organisational culture. When people feel agency over decision making and problem solving, it gives them a sense of control.
But the most important element is leadership, and that’s where many fall down.
“Most organisations have a mix in the quality of leadership,” says Mark Allan. “They’ll have some leaders who are brilliant, and know that it’s their job to ask people if they’re OK — to check in and have a chat with people.
“But there are others who will say ‘I’ve got this policy and that practice’ but they haven’t changed their leadership style at all. The people in their team are likely to not feel supported.
“If you want to create an organisation which attracts and keeps the best talent, keeps absenteeism down, and keeps people being productive and doing great things, I think the magic ingredient is the quality of line management. It’s absolutely key.”
Companies are changing. Bupa research found that 46% of employees feel their companies are improving mental health provision. Even in the traditionally pressured world of finance, where Horta-Osório remains a relative outlier in speaking publicly about mental health problems, 56% of employees now feel their firms are acting with more empathy and understanding.
But there’s more for companies to focus on than understanding when staff are struggling. There is a tendency to focus on crisis management, where the provision can be very good. The bigger problem is an attitude that deprioritises mental health day-to-day.
Mark says: “We shouldn’t only be obsessing about customer experience. I think people neglect employee experience, and the small moments that really matter to people. Recruitment, onboarding, the first 90 days, performance reviews — these are important. We have to personalise people’s experience.
“Couple that with high-quality leadership and it’s powerful. The fact is, the issue of poor mental health often stems from the workplace. It’s time for employers to do something about that.”
Author: Ed Curwen
Magnetic is a design and innovation company that helps design better futures. We’ve worked with global businesses to build capabilities, products, services and transform organisations. If you’d like to find out more about our work, get in touch with Ed Curwen or drop us a line.
