Culture — not policy — drives whether workers disclose mental health concerns, study shows
Supportive workplaces have lower absenteeism and anxiety, as well as higher productivity, performance and retention, Canadian researchers found.
A supportive workplace culture — not certain policies — plays the biggest role in whether employees disclose mental health concerns at work, according to a study from Simon Fraser University.
People were 55% more likely to disclose mental health concerns to their employer when they perceived a supportive environment, researchers found, challenging the idea that organizations can’t do much to encourage disclosure.
“That’s just not what we saw in the data. Organizations can do a lot to help employees disclose,” said lead study author Zhanna Lyubykh, an assistant professor at the university’s Beedie School of Business. “Much of it comes down to employee perceptions of how disclosure is going to be handled, which is absolutely within an organization’s control.”
In one survey-based study, Lyubykh and colleagues analyzed employees’ willingness to disclose, actual disclosure rates and factors that influenced employee decision-making. In another survey, the research team examined the connection between organizational support for mental health and well-being and absenteeism.
Overall, the researchers found low disclosure rates and poor employee perceptions were linked to higher absenteeism and anxiety, as well as lower productivity and performance. In contrast, supportive workplaces had positive outcomes — including more engagement and job satisfaction — and better retention.
Lyubykh recommended using workplace surveys to gauge employees’ comfort levels with talking about mental health concerns. “That will give organizations a solid benchmark, help them track perceptions over time,” she said.
Only half of workers know how to access their mental health benefits, according to a poll conducted in January by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Ipsos. Beyond that, more than a quarter don’t know if they have such benefits, the poll found. Most workers said training would help, particularly related to insurance benefits, stress or burnout management and mental health crisis response programs.
Focusing on psychological safety in the workplace can also help — and lead to higher levels of motivation, happiness and retention, according to a Boston Consulting Group report. Empathetic leadership serves as a key driver for psychological safety and its benefits in the workplace, the report found.
HR professionals could use support and encouragement, too, with more than a quarter saying they don’t feel comfortable using their available mental health benefits, according to a SHRM study. A disconnect may exist between companies’ professed interest in worker well-being and what HR teams experience, the researchers found.
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