3 Ways to Build an Organizational Culture That Supports Mental Heal

Employers and managers are increasingly focused on the mental health needs of their workers, and for good reason. In the last decade in the U.S., there has been a consistent increase in anxiety and depression, especially among young adults. According to a survey conducted by KFF/CNN in 2022, half of American adults under the age of 30 and one-third of adults overall reported that they often or always felt anxious in the last year. A 2023 Gallup poll found that one-quarter of American adults under 30 indicated that they currently have depression, a significant rise from the 13% reported in 2017. In a Business Group on Health survey of 152 large employers in the United States, 77% indicated an increase in mental health issues among their workforce during 2023.

It’s good for employers to be aware of their employees’ mental health concerns. The more organizational leaders and managers appreciate mental health problems among workers — as well as the fact that these problems decrease work engagement, job performance, and retention — the more motivated they’ll be to create an organizational culture that promotes good mental health.

However, a greater focus on mental health in the workplace can backfire if it encourages workers to over-fixate on their negative thoughts and feelings. When people are preoccupied with their worries, they’re more likely to develop anxiety and depression or experience worsened symptoms of these conditions. Aside from the benefits of mental health awareness campaigns and public discourse, they also might have the unintended consequence of contributing to the rise in mental health problems by encouraging people to become fixated on their own mental states and to interpret mild forms of distress as being severe, which can actually increase distress. For example, if a person with minor levels of anxiety frequently sees others talking about their mental health problems and is encouraged to spend more time focusing on their own, they may start to think of themselves as someone suffering from an anxiety disorder. This can make them more worried about their vulnerability to anxiety (creating more anxiety) and more likely to avoid situations they think might trigger anxiety (making such situations more likely to be anxiety-provoking).

The cultural shift toward greater mental health awareness has helped bring needed attention to psychological suffering, improve access to mental health resources, and reduce stigma. However, it may also be increasing the pathologization of ordinary life, leading people to think of themselves as mentally fragile and unwell.

Well-intentioned workplace mental health strategies such as promoting self-care practices, products, and apps and frequently using mental health language in organizational communications might help signal to workers that the organization’s leadership cares about their mental health, but it can also unintentionally lead workers to turn inward and think about their own mental health unnecessarily and unproductively. This creates a challenge for employers. How can they support workers’ mental health without encouraging them to dwell on their negative thoughts and feelings?

Continue reading at Harvard Business Review.