Alan Rose of CadM explores how 2023 will see a major change in attitude towards mental health in the workplace.
– We’re ringing in the new year with more 2023 trends & predictions! See them all here. –
In our view, one of the main trends of the next 12 months will be a major change in attitude towards mental health in the workplace.
It’s a subject that has been written about extensively in the past (especially since the Pandemic began) and debated in forums from FM/HR conferences to the national news.
2023 will be the year that many organizations begin to take practical steps, regardless of business sector, to address workplace negatives and find true solutions to what ails us in the office.
The ‘increase the happiness’ concept that began a few years ago resulted in a wide array of workplace perks and benefits being introduced. The idea that happier employees would be more productive was a good thought, but it was a temporary fix. While there have been positive results, research has shown that some of the earlier initiatives have not been cost effective for the business bottom line. Others have proved to demotivate the work force. This negative outcome is particularly true when applied to those employees suffering from stress and anxiety.
We still need to consider that making the work experience a positive one for those who are ‘just fine’ just isn’t good enough.
We still need to consider that making the work experience a positive one for those who are ‘just fine’ just isn’t good enough. We (the workplace) need to address those issues facing employees that are not just fine in the workplace with action points that should include:
- Understanding and accepting that sometimes it’s okay to not be okay.
- Eliminating those causes in the workplace that contribute to a team member not being fine.
- Finding ways to help everyone with workplace anxiety, when and where we can.
There will be no one-size-fits all solution, but there likely will be common themes addressing these issues that must include:
- Zero-tolerance for office bullying of any kind.
- Identify and manage unreasonable deadlines and workloads.
- Provide an appropriate workspace design to satisfy a variety of stress points.
- Offer clear guidelines about when and where to seek help.
- Remove of the stigma attached to mental health issues through education and awareness.
- Making the ‘Sunday Scaries‘ a thing of the past.
When the stigma of NOT being just fine is okay, the positive impact to the bottom line will be attractive to the C-suite as Sunday Scaries absenteeism decreases. Lack of attendance and / or sickness figures have been grossly skewed by those with anxieties are not coming in into work. In turn, the ubiquitous large percentages of staff that have anxiety and quoted as about to quit if they can’t WFH might also be addressed with a compromise rather than a must do outcome.
Smart businesses must seek guidance from their innovators, collaborating with each other in ways that telecommuting alone cannot deliver.
Smart businesses must seek guidance from their innovators, collaborating with each other in ways that telecommuting alone cannot deliver. This is how knowledge-based organizations maintain their competitive advantage, providing a safe workplace and an acceptance culture that is designed to deliver the most effective work patterns, benefits and perks that address a multitude of anxiety issues with a positive outcome.
We already realize that a happy workforce is more productive than those with unhappy teams. However, in addition to distributing ‘happiness’ we must address the importance of seeking out, understanding, and subsequently, eliminating anxiety which doesn’t get solved by treating it as ‘negative happiness.’
In the coming year we expect to see case studies, practical tips, playbooks and stories of real success. It will be less ‘we are aware of that’ and a whole lot more of ‘look what we just did!’
