I'm F.I.N.E. - The cost of workplace stress and poor mental health

How many times a day do you respond “I’m fine.” when someone at work asks how you’re doing? Probably a lot. And you’re not alone. We all do it. It’s instinctive and reflexive. But often we don’t really mean it.

That’s why I titled this article using the acronym “F.I.N.E.”. The first time I heard it was in a scene in the 2003 film, “The Italian Job”, with Donald Sutherland and Mark Wahlberg. (Watch it on YouTube.)

Seems that I’m late to the party, though. Just about everyone I asked knew what the acronym stood for - Freaked Out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional. But no one could cite the original source.

A Google search pointed to the lyrics of the Aerosmith song “F.I.N.E.*” from their 1989 album, “Pump” (the F according to Steven Tyler’s lyrics is for F****d Up.) ??

Before I go any further down this rabbit hole, can anyone shed more light on this? Please leave a comment below!

Now, back to the issue at hand – How fine are we and our fellow workers really doing? According to several recent studies, not so well.

Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought it would be a good time to take a closer look.

Let’s start with the American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work In America Survey. A few findings jumped out at me.

Overall, 19% of workers described their workplaces as toxic, with variations by current work location and work type. Here are some more details:

At least to me it's not surprising that reports of workplace toxicity dramatically reduce employee mental health:

The APA Study is loaded with relevant findings, some very positive, and it's worth a thorough read.

For example, 78% strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement, “I feel valued at work” and 87% strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement, “the work I do is meaningful.”

However, those who reported not having meaningful work were much more likely to report that they were typically tense or stressed out during their workday (71%) than those who reported having meaningful work (45%). Here are the details:

Next, a couple of recent SHRM reports caught my eye.

One cited the results of a study that showed a dramatic increase in anxiety among American workers in 2023. An analysis of more than 300,000 U.S. cases from mental health provider ComPsych found that nearly a quarter of people (24 percent) who reached out to ComPsych for mental health assistance in 2023 did so to get help with anxiety.

That makes anxiety the No. 1 presenting issue reported by U.S. workers, topping depression, stress, relationship issues, family issues, addiction and grief, according to ComPsych.

This agrees with what we've been finding in our Adaptiv Resilience Training courses. In our workshops, we poll participants to learn which non-resilient emotions they're experiencing at work. Pre-pandemic, Anger and Frustration were the predominant emotions reported. Now, Anxiety has risen to the top with Sadness a close second.

Another SHRM report, announcing a SHRM Research study released on May 1, reported that almost a third of U.S. employees say their job has had a negative impact on their mental health over the past six months, making them feel anxious and overwhelmed. The survey also found that 27 percent of Generation Z workers say their job has made them feel depressed at least once a week in the past six months.

And aside from how much all the stress, anxiety and diminished mental health is costing us personally, what's it costing our employers?

Here are a few data points to consider:

• A Gallup study reports that missed work caused by poor mental health is estimated to cost the economy $47.6 billion annually in lost productivity.
• A study by the American Institute of Stress reports that job stress costs American employers more than $300 Billion annually.
• The World Health Organization reports that globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.

I could go on, but I think the case is clear. We're not fine - we're F.I.N.E. And it's costing us and the companies we work for way too much.

Our employers are not ignoring these facts, but there's much more to be done.

In upcoming articles, I'll offer some solutions that we provide at Adaptiv that help people manage their stress and improve their well-being at work. In the meantime, you can review some earlier Resilience At Work Newsletters that might give you a few tips to help you feel better and do better right now!

Please join the conversation by commenting below! Thanks.