Addressing Mental Health Requires Greater Focus on the Workplace

By Clive Riddle, June 25, 2021

Perhaps no aspect of healthcare is more intertwined with the workplace than mental health. In Health Affairs this week, Amanda Goorin, Richard G. Frank, and Sherry Glied in their post: Addressing Mental Illness Requires Workplace Policy As Well As Health Care Policy, frame a central workplace mental health issue as this:

“Nearly one in five adults, or 51.5 million people, in the United States meets diagnostic criteria for a mental illness, which can impair functioning across a spectrum of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. Yet, despite advances in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions, and considerable progress on including mental health care in health insurance, people with mental illness—including those with moderate illnesses such as depression or anxiety—continue to be tenuously connected to work and, hence, to full participation in society. Mental illnesses pose difficulties for workers because their symptoms can interfere with essential workplace skills, such as participating effectively in teams, interacting with customers and co-workers, and maintaining concentration.”

The Hartford this week released their 2021 Future of Benefits Study, stating that a “majority of employers recognize employee mental health as a significant workplace issue and report stigma associated with mental illness prevents treatment.” They found “70% of employers now recognize employee mental health is a significant workplace issue, and 72% said stigma associated with mental illness prevents U.S. workers from seeking help. Also, 52% of employers said they are experiencing significant or severe workplace issues due to substance misuse or addiction among their employees.”

Other key findings indicated that employers and workers are divided in key areas about mental health in the workplace::

• 80% of employers said their company culture has been more accepting of mental health challenges in the past year, but only 59% of workers agree;
• 79% of employers said they have an open and inclusive environment that encourages a dialogue about mental health, compared to 52% of workers who agree;
• 77% of employers said leadership at their company encourages conversations about mental health, compared to 56% of workers who agree; and
• 78% of employers said workers have flexibility in their schedule to get the mental health help they need, but just 58% of employees agree about this flexibility.