COVID-19 has ushered in a new age for employee retention: Top talent now expects a company culture of caring and support for total wellbeing, including mental health. By applying these three tips, you can show your top talent that you really care about keeping them mentally healthy.
Tip 1: Start With a Nonbinary Approach to Mental Health
As we slowly emerge from the upheaval of the pandemic, skilled workers and top performers are changing their expectations in terms of benefits and culture. One clear trend in employee development for the most sought-after talent is an expectation that companies have a well-thought-out, comprehensive approach to mental health care.
Employees will be looking for brands that take a nonbinary view of mental health. A nonbinary view is one that goes beyond the simple, “are you or aren’t you well?” way of viewing mental health. Brands that embrace a nonbinary view of mental wellbeing see mental health as a continuum. They ask, “Where along the line of mental health do you fall today, and how can we support you?” In other words, they demonstrate that everyone is somewhere on a mental health continuum.
Today’s top employees expect this nonbinary view of mental health, which allows for prevention, a continuum of care, and evidence of a culture of caring in the organization.
This means that it’s vitally important to step up the employee development mental health game. Now more than ever, expectations for a caring and supportive company culture are high.
Tip 2: Understand a Company Culture of Caring Needs to Be More Than a Trend
Company culture can be viewed in any number of ways. Let’s take a look at the wider picture of the company culture through the lens of forecasted employee churn.
An inclusive and caring culture that supports all parts of employees’ lives, including mental health, is going to be expected by the applicants who are most sought after as well as employees looking to switch companies.
This shouldn’t come as news to HR leaders and benefits brokers who are listening to their workforce. One study found that 86 percent of employees think a company’s culture should support mental health.
That research by Mind Share Partners, SAP, and Qualtrics in 2019 concluded that it’s not surprising that when companies provide employees with the support they need, not only does engagement increase, but also recruitment and retention. Doing nothing, on the other hand, reinforces an outdated and damaging stigma. Researchers also found that the most commonly desired workplace resources for mental health are a more open and accepting culture, training, and clearer information about where to go or who to ask for support.
As the authors asserted, “mental health is becoming the next frontier of diversity and inclusion, and employees want their companies to address it.”
Tip 3: Support and Care for Employees and Their Mental Health
The way companies think about mental health is changing — but we still have a ways to go. They know that mental health isn’t static but fluctuates over time. If companies empower their employees to live more fulfilling and balanced lives, they will reap rewards while they draw top talent. By creating a company culture where everyone understands that mental wellness should be nurtured and celebrated, companies see a healthy discussion as a natural result.
According to Wolters Kluwer, 69 percent of large employers provide access to online mental health support resources such as apps, videos, and articles, and that number is predicted to jump to 88 percent in 2021. They also concentrate on bringing awareness to mental health issues to help lower the stigma associated with mental wellness.
Now is the time to get on board in the right way. As we emerge from the pandemic, top talent will choose companies with a culture of supporting and caring for their employees, including their mental health.
Therefore, companies that offer mental health solutions that are intuitive, engaging, and empowering are fundamentally adopting a mental health culture. A culture of connection and caring — and yes, removing the stigma around mental health — starts with a clinically backed, holistic mental health program. That program must not only support people to feel it’s OK to talk about mental health and its symptoms, but actually encourage conversations around topics like stress, depression, and anxiety.
Companies that embrace such a culture draw top talent and help to usher in a new age of thinking about mental wellness.
