When we look around at the state of mental health in the United States, what we see staring back at us is challenging — 15% of working age people have a mental health condition, according to the World Health Organization, and an APA found there is an annual $1 trillion cost to the global economy associated with untreated mental health conditions. Every indication is that the numbers have not improved since those studies were done.
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered to the forefront an important conversation about the need for improving workplace mental health. Many employees are burnt out and struggling to find work-life balance. Our healthcare workers can’t care for others without first caring for themselves. As employers, we have both a responsibility and an opportunity to design our workplaces with the unique mental health needs of our staff in mind. And to make it more complicated, there has been no defined measurement to demonstrate a “good” workforce mental health program.
