Checking in with mental health and well-being

Thursday (10th October) was World Mental Health Day promoted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Mental Health Foundation and their partners. This year the theme was "It is Time to Prioritize Mental Health in the Workplace".

With that in mind (and hot on the heels of Mental Health Awareness Week in New Zealand which happened in late September) we thought we'd share some stats and resources related to mental health in the workplace.

What do the stats tell us?

Globally, WHO says that an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity and that 15% of working-age adults were estimated to have a mental disorder in 2019.

Local surveys tell us that Kiwis are aware of their mental health and well-being, generally and at work, and there are mixed feelings.

The 2023 Workplace Wellness Report from Business NZ and Southern Cross Insurance found that in many organisations stress levels were rising. General workload was the biggest stressor, with long hours, changes at work and work relationships were also highlighted. Financial concerns were the biggest non-work-related stressor. Around 1 in 5 organisations reported instances of quiet quitting (where an employee puts in minimal effort and does nothing above their basic role requirements). More positively, most respondents recognised the important of staff well-being and had policies or programmes in place to help.

In another recent survey - the 2024 Workplace Wellbeing survey by the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) and nib Insurance, 61% of employees said their workplace proactively managed wellbeing, up from 53% two years ago. But it did highlight issues with supporting leaders who are struggling and dealing with bullying. Respondents were also keen to look for wellbeing initiaitives when they were looking for new roles, with 72% saying they looked for wellbeing initiatives and subsidies when they looked for a new job.

An interesting report from Stats NZ out earlier this year found that Māori-led organisations were better at supporting mental health. According to the report, 82% of Māori authorities and 77% of other Māori businesses provided mental health and wellbeing support, compared to 53% reported across all New Zealand businesses. More than 80% offered flexible working which can also help to improve well-being.

There are many reasons to think about how you help your team members improve their mental health and well-being. It's something we should be considering every day, not just on these specially marked occasions. But times of the year like Mental Health Day are a good place to kickstart your journey to better well-being.

Some resources to consider

A few months ago, in this newsletter and on our blog, we talked about the Sunday Scaries and how to help reduce them. Read our blog for employers here and our tips for individuals here.

If you're a for-purpose leader and trying to drive your organisation forward, read why For Impact Coach Julia Capon thinks you need to make self care part of your job description. And Rochelle Stewart-Allen 's advice on how to stop rushing in her newsletter for NGO leaders.

The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand has a whole range of fab resources aimed at improving workplace wellbeing and a downloadble guide on how to have a supportive kōrero with someone having a tough time.

Worksafe also has some useful resources including some information about wellbeing when working from home (helpful for leaders who are running remote or hybrid teams.

We'd love to know what you or your organisation does to promote good mental health and well-being. Let us know in the comments.