Employees are demanding greater mental health support

Employers and employees have differing opinions on how organizations are managing pandemic stress.

While 96% of employers think they are doing enough to support employee mental health, just 69% of employees feel the same, according to a recent report by Ginger, a mental healthcare platform. Ninety-two percent of employers say they have increased their focus on mental health during the pandemic, but just 57% of employees agree.

Read more: 14 things that will keep employees happy during COVID

COVID has been a pressure test for workers who are dealing with high rates of stress, anxiety and burnout. Employers need to be vocal about making mental health a priority through benefits and their communication with employees.

“The increased focus on mental health in the C-suite will benefit both shareholders and workers,” says Russel Glass, CEO of Ginger. “CEOs should use this momentum to invest in accessible mental health benefits and take a leading role in educating employees about the importance of mental health.”

Despite the increased awareness of how mental health is impacting work, employees are still cautious about sharing their stress with managers, according to the Ginger report. While 70% of CEOs said they are accepting of mental health issues, just 35% of employees felt this was true.

Read more: How managers can protect themselves from burnout

To bridge this gap, managers must show empathy both toward employees and to themselves in order to build stronger, more resilient teams, says Paula Davis, author of Beat Burnout at Work.

“The pandemic has been a wake up call for managers to ask, ‘Am I the reason why people don't feel comfortable at work?’” she says. “One of the best things leaders can say right now is something along the lines of, ‘I’m in this with you, I’m struggling right now too.’”

Ninety-four percent of managers have tapped into mental health resources during the pandemic, according to Ginger. However, 56% of managers think that sharing their mental health struggles might impact their credibility as a leader.

“Leaders have this feeling like they can never show weakness or fallibility, but that’s what builds trust with your team and opens them up to sharing their difficulties too,” Davis says. “Managers really need to look at themselves for what they can change to create this environment of trust.”

The pandemic has been an opportunity to make mental health treatment accessible to those at all levels of an organization. Utilization of virtual mental health benefits increased 66% over the past year, and 95% of workers said virtual support helped them overcome mental health challenges, Ginger found.

COVID has given all workers an opportunity to be honest and open about their lives both in and out of the workplace. Fifty-eight percent of managers say that talking about mental health makes them a better leader and 88% of employees say it helps them when their managers share their own mental health challenges, according to Ginger.

“As we strive to create a world where mental health is never an obstacle, employers have a critical role in destigmatizing mental health and ensuring their teams know how to get help,” Glass says.