Skill up to stay put: why mental health support, L&D, purpose & connection are central to your retention & recruitment plans.

Talent retention is a hot topic, and rightly so. In a world of economic uncertainty, mass redundancies and a persistent threat of recession, we need to hold on to our talent and ensure we can attract new talent. The question, however, is how?

When it comes to our present and future workforce, let's first zone in on the context in which we operate.

Mental health research from Deloitte ?has revealed that the cost to employers of poor mental health has increased, to up to ￡56bn in 2020-21 compared to ￡45bn in 2019. The overall increase is due to higher staff turnover. Deloitte’s survey found that 28% of UK employees either left their job in 2021 or planned to leave in 2022, with 61% of respondents saying this was due to poor mental health.

Young people (18-29 years old) were found to be most likely to have moved jobs or be considering a job move. 21% of young people surveyed said they were planning to leave, and 24% said they had intentionally left their job in the past 12 months. Of those who had intentionally left or planned to leave their job, 65% said this decision was driven by poor mental health.

Add to this:

• 45% of employees would look for alternative employment if their employer didn’t provide support in relation to mental health.
• We lose 15.4 million days to work-related stress, depression or anxiety each year in the UK.
• Nearly 80% of UK adults feel uncomfortable discussing their mental health with their employers. This implies a gross understatement of costs relating to absenteeism, and that’s before we tackle presenteeism, which is said to cost businesses 3 x more.
• Employers lose 8.3% of the salaries of those aged 18-29 due to poor mental health, the highest of any employee age group.

The ROI is clear. For every ￡1 spent by employers on mental health interventions, Deloitte has calculated they get back over ￡5 in reduced absence, presenteeism and staff turnover.?

These are unquestionably compelling statistics. When thinking about longer-term retention and how to sustainably attract new talent, we need to tune into what's going on for younger generations and ensure that mental health support in the workplace features as a must-have, rather than a nice-to-have.

From Alpha to Zeta

Together with Generation Alpha, which follows Gen Z, the world youth amounts to over 40% of the global population. This pool of people is our next generation of talent and future leaders, so we need to focus on meeting their needs & expectations.

Gen Z, dubbed the internet generation, is our 15-25-year-olds today, born between 1997 and 2007. They are the most tech-savvy, self-educated and connected of all demographics. Gen Z's most inspirational business heroes include Rihanna, Beyonce, Marcus Rashford & Molly Mae Hague.?

They have had digital access and a window to the world like no other generation. They've lived through 9/11, political turmoil, war, a global recession, and a global pandemic, with raw, live and unfiltered access at every twist and turn.

The lockdowns ensured that many missed out on crucial life milestones, including graduations and formative moments of social connection, no doubt contributing to 42% saying they were usually or always depressed during the pandemic . This experience is reported to have carried over to the workforce, where many younger workers find it harder to stay mentally healthy .

Mental health support: a matter of survival, not a luxury

One of the big positives for Gen Z is having been raised during a period where conversations around mental health have been far more open and inclusive. This is a generation that is self-aware & looking for support.

They don't feel the stigma around mental health that still plagues older generations because, to them, it is a matter of survival, not a luxury or quest for self-actualisation. EY concludes that as many of their ages are stressed and motivated to succeed, they can have a hard time "turning off" and will seek outlets to decompress and rejuvenate.

The Benchmark Generation

What's good for Gen Z could be good for all. In an article by Forbes , Gen Z is referred to as a benchmark generation. "What they're asking for at work and in other areas of life is, often, what other generations think but just not saying out loud".

One of the essential non-negotiables for Gen Z is the provision of robust L&D opportunities, where content is experienced as a "benefit" and learning can be self-directed and accessed pick 'n' mix style. This is critical for workers of all ages to "skill up and stay put".

Another one is "real mental health support ".?Forbes reports that the younger generation has been searching for?better mental health support from employers since before the pandemic. Now, post-pandemic, it's even more critical. 30% of a group surveyed whose employers provided ample mental health resources said their stress management improved during the pandemic, and one-third noted that loyalty to their employer increased. 85% of respondents in another survey agreed that "wellbeing programs offered by my employer make me feel better about my employer."

Closely linked to mental health support is financial wellness training. Forbes highlights that poor financial health can leave people distracted and "more likely to jump ship".?

Feeling connected and aligned with purpose is critical to retention and will enable people to bring their best selves and therefore work forward.

Along with millennials, Gen Z wants to ask "why" at every stage of a working journey. Why do we do it this way? What's the reason behind this responsibility? Why does my work matter?"

Skill up & stay put

Undoubtedly, preventative mental health support for your people will help attract and retain your talent. Knowing what to do and trying to meet the broad wellbeing calendar of activity throughout the year can be time-consuming and costly.

It's why we've designed our fifty50?MindCoach LIVE programme to provide you with a one-stop shop for the key dates across the calendar, including IWD, Mental Health Awareness Week (May) and Men's Mental Health.

Our ear to the ground via fifty50's?1:1 mental fitness coaching means we target the most significant issues impacting your people at work.

Looking through the schedule, we have all five of the Gen Z non-negotiables covered, so get in touch today to secure your membership ?and take advantage of the last few weeks of the introductory offer*, bringing you a cost-effective plug-and-play solution for all your people, helping them to "skill up and stay put".

*Please note: the introductory price of ￡125 + VAT per month is available only until 31st March 2023.