What is the actual cost of stressed-out employees for a business? How can we help them?

According to the World Health Organization, we are particularly vulnerable to stress and its consequences due to being overwhelmed by digital information and stimuli, fearing for our safety while living in the immediate vicinity of a war-torn country, and witnessing a decline in economic stability amid accelerating inflation. Unfortunately, as scientific data shows, all of this takes a toll on our physical and mental well-being.

Employers and the mental health crisis

This situation has a direct impact on the labor market in terms of efficiency, workplace safety, and economics. A study conducted by the WHO estimates that common mental health disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion annually. This figure includes not only expenditures on healthcare institutions but also the costs incurred by employers who hire individuals affected by these issues.

We must face the fact that this is a global situation. According to World Health Organization estimates, there are currently 970 million people worldwide living with personality disorders and other mental health conditions. Most of them are active in the labor market. Based on these statistics, it is safe to assume that every enterprise, company, or organization employs people who are overwhelmed by stress. This naturally carries a range of consequences not only for their personal lives but also for the employer's interests. It is estimated that a company with 10,000 employees and $70 million in revenue will lose as much as $17.2 million due to problems resulting from depression, including $10 million due to absenteeism and reduced productivity related to mental health issues. [1]

The data above shows how important it is for employers to be involved in the mental health of their employees, because by investing in the mental well-being of our staff, we are simultaneously safeguarding our business interests. It can therefore be said that organizational support for employee mental health prevention is a win-win solution. As a result of such initiatives, people gain access to resources they might not otherwise have reached without their employer's involvement. They improve their quality of life, while the company can more effectively achieve its business goals.

The consequences of failing to support employees

The conclusions drawn from observing the labor market and the global mental health crisis are clear: you must invest in the mental well-being of your employees. But what happens if, as employers, we ignore this problem? Which professional areas are affected by excessive stress and employee burnout? What exactly can happen if we fail to address these issues? Here are some potential consequences:

• Decreased productivity

If a person's mental health issues are not properly addressed, it is difficult for them to work productively and engage in daily professional duties. This state can slow them down and cause chaotic thinking and behavior. It definitely takes a toll on the efficiency and quality of their work.  

• Reduced occupational health and safety

Being overwhelmed by stress or preoccupied with personal or health-related problems affects the brain's cognitive processes. These cognitive processes include thinking, memory, connecting facts, reaction speed, and concentration. This state can increase workplace hazards and contribute to a higher number of accidents.  

• Increased employee turnover

Working in an environment of constant tension is difficult. Workplaces that fail to address stress-inducing factors often experience high staff turnover. Given that the recruitment and onboarding process for new employees is often costly for employers, investing in improving this situation will help reduce those expenses.

• Higher absenteeism

Sick leave related to mental health recovery can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Unlike the flu, depression cannot be treated with just a few days of bed rest. A prolonged absence of an employee carries a range of costly consequences: overtime for other team members, the need to hire and train temporary replacements, and delays in project deadlines. Considering that from the 34th day of an employee's illness, the employer bears the full cost of sick pay, this can also be highly disadvantageous from an economic perspective.

How can you help your employees?

Despite understanding how important it is in today's world for employers to get involved in reducing stress and helping employees cope with ongoing mental health crises, it is often difficult to systematically integrate these changes into an organization's culture.

This may be due to reasons such as:

• the belief that one should not delve into the mental health of employees, as it is a private matter—which can lead to awkwardness when addressing the topic, even in conversation.
• the awareness among HR professionals that they are often not prepared or properly trained in mental health issues, which are the domain of psychology or psychiatry, not business.

To date, there has been no requirement for HR staff to also be psychologists. However, in the world we live in today, there is an increasing need for psychological competencies, which can be intimidating or cause uncertainty when taking steps to support employees in their mental health journey.

This can be addressed by utilizing external support from qualified professionals and a range of tools developed by experts.

Available options include:

• meetings with mental health experts, stress reduction workshops, or direct consultations with a psychologist, which can be made more accessible to employees through the reimbursement of costs incurred.
• tools that support self-understanding and are designed to prevent mental health crises, facilitate navigating them consciously, and educate on what forms of help are available in the event of a prolonged decline in well-being. One such example is the psychoeducational app Focusly, which can be used not only during an ongoing crisis, but primarily to naturally build mental resilience and prevent the decline of mental health.
• educating employees by organizing mental health meetings with experts and initiating conversations about the importance of psycho-physical well-being. All this to dispel the belief, still prevalent in many social spheres, that mental health problems are a source of shame.
• widely communicating the importance of not only quality working time but also quality leisure time for professional performance. Educating on the role of rest and its impact on well-being, and supporting diverse forms of after-work activities through benefits such as MultiSport cards or apps for listening to relaxing music like GO ON.

It is not just worth it, it is necessary

The deepening global mental health crisis means that strategies for its protection should become a permanent element of corporate social responsibility. These goals can be achieved in many ways. The range of options is as vast as the number of alarming reports on the scale of diagnosed depression, mental disorders, and the rising number of suicide attempts among people. For this reason, business involvement in mental health prevention has long since moved beyond being a trend and should be viewed as an ethical and economic duty for every organization.

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Bibliography:

1. Chisholm D, Sweeny K, Sheehan P, Rasmussen B, Smit F, Cuijpers P, Saxena S. Scaling-up treatment of depression and anxiety: a global return on investment analysis. Lancet Psychiatry. 2016 May;3(5):415-24. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30024-4. Epub 2016 Apr 12. PMID: 27083119.
2. Stewart WF, Ricci JA, Chee E, Hahn SR, Morganstein D. Cost of lost productive work time among US workers with depression. JAMA 2003;289(23):3135-3144.
3. Lerner D, Lyson M, Sandberg E, et al: The High Cost of Mental Disorders: Facts for Employers. Rutherford, CA, One Mind Initiative, 2017.
4. Ronald C. Kessler, PhD, Hagop S. Akiskal, MD, Minnie Ames, PhD, Howard Birnbaum, PhD, Paul Greenberg, MA, Robert M.A. Hirschfeld, MD, Robert Jin, M.S., Kathleen R. Merikangas, PhD, and Philip S. Wang, MD, DrPH, The prevalence and effects of mood disorders on work performance in a nationally representative sample of US workers, Am J Psychiatry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2007 Jul 18.