Your Profits and Mental Health

This week marks Men’s Health week 2021. This not only includes physical health, but also men’s mental health.

 We have a collective responsibility to support good mental health. This sense of collective responsibility led to the creation of The Male Hug. Supporting each other in achieving good mental health is equal parts education and participation. 

 Our ongoing education programs and presentations delivered to industry and employer groups are supported by our monthly catch up events where we encourage men to talk.

 In recent weeks, we have supported The Law Institute of Victoria, the IPA and several other community groups with our programs. Over the next 12 months The Male Hug plans to offer more services and programs aimed towards businesses to support their people.  

A quick recap on the statistics, 7 out of 8 suicides in Australia are men. More than 3 million people experience mental health problems each year, that would fill the MCG stands 30 times over. 

The reality is, mental illness costs the Australian economy an estimated $12 billion per year in reduced productivity, absenteeism and compensation payouts. This number does not take into account the increased mental health toll that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused. 

 Each and every Australian has a vested interest in supporting the good mental health of their families, friends and colleagues. 

Yet, the latest available industry data tells us that less than 10% of employees feel their workplace culture encourages open discussion around mental health and wellbeing. As well there is limited to no perceived trust in management to support mental health conversations. 

In Professional Services the principal causes of employee stress include:

• Increasing unreasonable workload expectations from employers 
• Increasing unreasonable delivery expectations from clients 
• Job insecurity
• Promoting an ‘Always on’ culture caused by 24/7 digital access to work 
• Increasing work isolation
• Poor communication and complex reporting lines
• High staff turnover 

Improving mental health of employees leads to cost reduction and increased profitability. It is strange that workplaces don’t take it more seriously. 

According to PWC analysis, an employer can expect to receive $2.30 in benefit for every $1 spent on mental health initiatives. In the Financial Services industry this figure is $3.60 per $1 spent. There is plenty of opportunity for improvement:

What can businesses do?

• Ongoing commitment to integrating health and wellness in all decision making is a great start - token programs and one off initiatives do not work.
• Design roles that enable employees to easily see their purpose and where they add value to the company
• Train your leaders to understand mental health. Leaders need to encourage good mental health practices and be role models to ensure they are equipped to talk about it with their team
• Have clear and consistent reporting lines, procedures and support structures for all
• Actively understand of the drivers of good mental health promote positive mental health habits
• Promote the concept of talking and open conversation
• Promote the link between good physical health and good mental health
• Invest in community level mental health programs that serve people beyond your organisation