To no one’s surprise, workforce mental health continues to emerge as a key priority for organizations as we navigate the third year of being impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

While mental health was prioritized well before the pandemic started, it’s no secret that workforce-wide needs have accelerated these past two years. No longer are employers pleading for a business case to be made for investing in mental health resources – studies continue to emerge where evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates a correlation between employee wellbeing and business results.

A recent study revealed that workplaces with higher levels of worker wellbeing have:

41 percent lower absenteeism.

24-59% lower turnover.

70 percent fewer safety incidents.

And 3.5x more creativity and innovation.

So, not only are we seeing organizations that focus on wellbeing have better retention rates and a more attentive workforce, but they’re also seeing less safety incidents and significantly more output from staff. Talk about a business case!

And while the general importance of supporting employee mental health was recognized prior to the pandemic – things like stigma reducing campaigns, mental health first aid training, and connecting employees to crisis resources were offered – it’s clear the pandemic has played a huge role in driving needs well beyond how EAP programs are setup to support. Organizations are seeing a shift from a small minority of employees being affected by mental health to a large majority.

The past two years, we’ve all come in personal contact with: isolation, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and/or bereavement. Not to mention, there’s been a bit of political turbulence that has pulled apart relationships during these crazy times.

headversity CEO Dr. Ryan Todd had this to say about the shift in mindset from leadership on mental health.

“In the past two years, nearly all have us have brushed up with something when it comes to our mental health, and that includes the leadership chair,” said Todd. “This has made a profound difference on prioritizing training, because it’s been tangibly felt at the leadership level. There’s a growing understanding that investing in preventative and proactive resources around mental health is not something we need to scrutinize any longer from an ROI perspective, but to treat it as an always-on cost of doing business that, when not looked after, can be extremely costly for organizations. I can’t remember the last time I had an ROI conversation with an HR leader, and that’s been a huge shift in the past 24 months that is an encouraging sign for big changes in our industry.”

Interested in learning how to build prevention into your mental health strategy? Reach out and get connected