How Mental Health Impacts Employee Performance & Retention
A common obstacle for skeptics is that the importance of mentally healthy employees is not always quantifiable. Mental health initiatives are preventative care and it can be hard to calculate dollars saved on things that never happened.
How does poor mental wellbeing impact employee performance & retention?
1. Increased Sickness Absence
Mental illness is the leading cause of workplace sickness absence. In 2018, 15.4 million working days were lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety. With such a high percentage of workers suffering annually, huge numbers of sickness absences are bound to affect business growth.
2. Reduced Productivity
The Harvard Business Review reports that 60% of people have experienced symptoms of mental health issues in the past year alone. Employees don’t have to be clinically diagnosed with mental illness to be affected by it in their work and home life. Many people will not necessarily know that they are suffering from a specific disorder – they might believe they’re just going through a ‘rough patch’ or see chronic stress as a natural part of the job – so problems must be identified to prevent further damage to job performance.
3. Higher Employee Turnover
The youngest generations of workers report that financial problems caused by unaffordable living costs, overwhelming debt, healthcare costs and a lack of access to the housing market have a significant impact on their psychological wellbeing. With depression amongst millennials rapidly increasing, business leaders and HR departments that prioritise mental wellbeing will reduce employee turnover and increase the engagement and happiness of their workforce.
4. Lack of Development & Performance Improvement
Workers who are unhappy, stressed or anxious because of a mental illness will be demotivated at work, find it difficult to concentrate on complex tasks and will be less inclined to collaborate with colleagues. This will not only affect their current performance, but their future success in their job.
5. Less Diverse Workforce
Minority groups are far more likely to suffer from mental illness. One in five women (compared to one in eight men) suffer from a mental illness, LGBT+ people are 1½ times more likely to develop depression and anxiety, and people from black and minority ethnic groups are far more likely to be diagnosed with and admitted to hospital for mental health problems. Sexism, racism, homophobia, and other discrimination adds further stress to individuals in minority groups who are already suffering.
Employers can make small steps to supporting employees by sending HR teams on training courses to become qualified Mental Health First Aiders and ensuring that private healthcare plans cover counselling, therapy and CBT sessions. Prominently displaying help numbers and information in communal areas can reassure employees that their employer cares about their wellbeing and ensuring that managers know how to spot mental health issues with help them support their teams.
References:
https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-mental-health-impacts-employee-performance-retention