EngagementCultureData driven mental health training leads to better conversations

Data driven mental health training leads to better conversations

This year’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Week encouraged businesses to explore the myriad of ways to better support employee mental health. Mercer is leading the charge

As the corporate world takes tentative steps further away from the pandemic, the conversations around the workplace and employee mental health are shifting.

Mental health can affect one in four people throughout their lifetime and have a significant impact on employee wellbeing. While employers have been cognizant to promote good mental health and provide support for employees who are struggling, since the pandemic, conversations around mental health have become even more crucial.

“We’re in a situation where people are very bruised because of the pandemic,” explains Wolfgang Seidl, Partner, Workplace Health Consulting Leader UK and Europe at Mercer.

Mercer, one of the largest employee benefits consultancies and brokers in the world, has seen the change the pandemic brought to the workplace. One of the more significant changes has been the move away from solely focusing on developing a workplace that is focused on creating a purely collaborative space, to one which caters to the needs of individuals.

To help firms, Mercer assists organisations on how to create mental health and wellbeing pathways. “We use data-driven health and wellbeing strategies to enable clients to implement better wellbeing support,” explains Wolfgang.

“We help businesses of all sizes look after their employees which in turn increases productivity.”  Wolfgang notes companies have begun to realise they needed to get stakeholders from across all areas of the business to have “better” conversations, after analysing employee data.

“We bring together all this quantitative and qualitative data to encourage creative conversations and the result is a three-year roadmap of what can be done for employees,” he says.

Everchanging dialogue

It was no secret the pandemic raised serious concerns about workers’ mental wellbeing. The growing uncertainty around job security, remote working models, and personal circumstances tested – and continues to test – employees’ resilience.

Since the onset of the pandemic, numerous businesses have stepped up their efforts to foster mentally healthy workplaces, with a huge push to place wellbeing high on the agenda. Not only is this likely to increase employee retention in the long run, but also save costs.

A study by the Mental Health Foundation and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) showed mental health problems cost the UK economy at least £117.9 billion annually.

Research into mental health by Deloitte in April revealed that 28% of employees left their job in 2021 or intend on leaving in 2022. The study states that 61% of these people are blaming poor mental health for the reason.

What's Hot

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World 5 May 2022

10m

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for...

Attracting new talent is shooting up the priority list, but also proving more difficult than ever. A...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments 26 May 2022

10m

HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture ...

The process of redefining a company culture is a complex one. Culture contributes directly to the da...

View event
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

Whitepaper | Talent Development Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

11m

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. I...

View resource
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce 5 May 2022

11m

HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging ...

We know hybrid working is here to stay, forcing many organisations to experiment with innovative and...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain 3 March 2022

11m

HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What...

We know the pandemic has caused many people to revaluate their careers and relationships with work a...

View event
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

Leadership Development Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

1y Dave Ulrich

Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simpl...

HR thought leader Dave Ulrich outlines ways leaders can deal with complexity in an increasingly busy...

View article
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making 5 May 2022

11m

HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Org...

Historically, HR hasn’t been as effective as it could be in sharing and communicating data with wide...

View event
Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

Digital HR Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

1y Leah Belsky

Digital transformation investment grows but critic...

Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital learning on a global scale. Coursera's latest report pr...

View article
Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successfully drive engagement

Employee Engagement Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successfully drive engagement

1y Alara Basul | Sponsored

Wellbeing in the hybrid workplace: how to successf...

Remote working has impacted the way we communicate as a workforce, but striking the right balance be...

View article
How to create a company culture capable of empowering the modern workforce

Culture How to create a company culture capable of empowering the modern workforce

1y Alara Basul | Sponsored

How to create a company culture capable of empower...

While new working patterns that emerged from the pandemic have earned a permanent spot in the w...

View article
WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid workplace

Leadership Learnings WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid workplace

1y Amy Kirkham

WATCH: Connection and collaboration in a hybrid wo...

Alison Noon-Jones, VP of People & Culture at Leidos UK & Europe, shares how crucial employee engagem...

View article
Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your leadership

Leadership Development Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your leadership

1y Terence Mauri

Turbulence ahead: Why it’s time to be bold in your...

HRD thought leader and Hack Future Lab founder Terence Mauri sets out why the biggest risk to leader...

View article

Wolfgang notes workers are generally being categorised into three categories: those who are depressed or suffer from other forms of mental distress, those who are flourishing, and those in the middle who are languishing in a haze of brain fog.  This third category of people, Wolfgang says, “have a crisis of meaning”, which is contributing to the phenomenon now dubbed ‘the great resignation’.

To combat this, businesses need to change their approach to tackling mental health within the workplace – and this must start at the beginning. Wolfgang says companies should focus on the benefits people’s roles can have on their lives, rather than the negative impacts working can have.

“What if your job was good for you and we tried focusing on things that are helping us thrive in life?” Wolfgang says. He goes on to quote Sigmund Freud – ‘simple happiness is being able to work and being able to love – noting work is such an essential part of a person’s purpose therefore contributes greatly to a person’s sense of identity.

“A job can be a force for good and that is why at Mercer we emphasise ‘good work or better work.’”

Recognising the signs

Once a conversation has been started, and workers are aware they can comfortably talk about mental health within the workplace, businesses also need to ensure they can spot the early warning signs of troubled employees.

According to a report published earlier this year by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, ‘management style’ is a main cause of work-related stress.  It highlights the negative impact managers can have on people’s mental wellbeing if they are not trained and supported to go about their management role in the right way.

Mercer helps businesses to best assist their teams through training and by encouraging managers to ‘step up’ and get to know their teams again; after remotely working for two years, many managers do not have the same relationships with their team members as they once did.

The idea of these programs is to help managers spot the early warning signs of mental health issues amongst their teams, and equip them with the tools to be able to make the right referral route.

“It’s about balancing business with empathy,” Wolfgang says. “We take data and develop mental health pathways which include proactive elements, such as training and developing core competency skills for managers.”

Wolfgang believes emotional intelligence (EQ) is more important for leaders than IQ. “Our therapeutic part of the pathway is about referrals,” he says. “This is where we bring stakeholders together from the insurer, employee assistance programmes, HR teams or onsite doctors, and ensure they refer meaningfully to each other. When businesses do this, they get a wonderful return on investment.”

Once an employer has recognised an employee needs support there are several approaches which can be taken. This could include seeing professional support from a GP or mental health counsellor, or reviewing an employee’s job role and workload.

Future of mental health training

Wolfgang and his team at Mercer believe businesses need to step away from the idea that a ‘one size fits all’ approach works when it comes to communicating mental health training.

Organisations need to ensure their approach to wellbeing – including the training aspect – treats people as individuals with varying needs requiring tailored support.

Based on how the workforce digests information, businesses need to be prepared to communicate mental health messages through a variety of mediums, be it through the classroom, online, watched on the go via videos, or in-person.

“Learning has to be playful, so any mental health training needs to be simple, compelling, and fun,” Wolfgang says.

“We have taken certain issues and created four 10-minute videos that feature celebrities such as Frank Bruno to Terry Waite. All the content is underpinned by science and the films look at resilience, self-care, empathy, and engagement. It all boils down to self-care and good communication,” he concludes.

Visit the Mercer website to find out more about transforming your businesses’ mental health strategy

Comments are closed.

What's Hot

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for the Hybrid World 5 May 2022

10m

HRD Roundtable Report: Levelling Up Onboarding for...

Attracting new talent is shooting up the priority list, but also proving more difficult than ever. A...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture in Hybrid Work Environments 26 May 2022

10m

HRD Roundtable Report: Redefining Company Culture ...

The process of redefining a company culture is a complex one. Culture contributes directly to the da...

View event
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

Whitepaper | Talent Development Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

11m

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. I...

View resource
HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging The Hybrid Workforce 5 May 2022

11m

HRD Roundtable Report: Strategies For Re-Engaging ...

We know hybrid working is here to stay, forcing many organisations to experiment with innovative and...

View event
HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What We Need to Reward, Engage and Retain 3 March 2022

11m

HRD Roundtable Report: Making it ‘Worth It’ – What...

We know the pandemic has caused many people to revaluate their careers and relationships with work a...

View event
Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

Leadership Development Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simplify complexity?

1y Dave Ulrich

Dave Ulrich: How can business and HR leaders simpl...

HR thought leader Dave Ulrich outlines ways leaders can deal with complexity in an increasingly busy...

View article
HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making

Roundtable Report HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Organisational Decision Making 5 May 2022

11m

HRD Roundtable Report: Using HR Data to Inform Org...

Historically, HR hasn’t been as effective as it could be in sharing and communicating data with wide...

View event
Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

Digital HR Digital transformation investment grows but critical skills gaps remain - Coursera report

1y Leah Belsky

Digital transformation investment grows but critic...

Covid-19 has accelerated the rate of digital learning on a global scale. Coursera's latest report pr...

View article