By Heather Nezich, courtesy of SBAM approved partner, ASE
Toxic work culture is the number-one reason employees leave jobs and is the cause for many employee health issues. A toxic workplace is an environment where employees are subjected to harassment, discrimination, or bullying. It can also be a place where the employee is micromanaged or has a hostile work environment. Employees often feel unsafe or uncomfortable causing stress, anxiety, and depression.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report, The Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace, that links low wages, discrimination, harassment, overwork, and long commutes to physical health conditions, including cancer and heart disease. Depression and anxiety can also result from toxic workplaces.
“A healthy workforce is the foundation for thriving organizations and healthier communities,” said Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. “As we recover from the worst of the pandemic, we have an opportunity and the power to make workplaces engines for mental health and well-being, and this Surgeon General’s Framework shows us how we can start. It will require organizations to rethink how they protect workers from harm, foster a sense of connection among workers, show workers that they matter, make space for their lives outside work, and support their growth. It will be worth it, because the benefits will accrue for workers and organizations alike.”
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the relationship between work and well-being into clearer focus for many U.S. workers. According to recent surveys:
- 76% of U.S. workers in a 2021 survey reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition exit disclaimer icon (anxiety, depression), an increase of 17 percentage points in just two years.
- 81% of workers reported that they will be looking for workplaces that support mental health exit disclaimer icon in the future.
- 84% of respondents reported at least one workplace factor that had a negative impact on their mental health exit disclaimer icon.
The Framework for Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace report outlines five essentials for workplace mental health and well-being to help organizations develop, institutionalize, and update policies, processes, and practices that best support the mental health and well-being of all workers.
1. Protection from Harm
Creating the conditions for physical and psychological safety is a critical foundation for ensuring mental health and well-being in the workplace. In order to promote practices that better assure protection from harm, workplaces can:
- Prioritize workplace physical and psychological safety
- Enable adequate rest
- Normalize and support focusing on mental health
- Operationalize Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) norms, policies, and programs
2. Connection and Community
Fostering positive social interaction and relationships in the workplace supports worker well-being. In order to promote practices that better assure connection and community, workplaces can:
- Create cultures of inclusion and belonging
- Cultivate trusted relationships
- Foster collaboration and teamwork
3. Work-Life Harmony
Professional and personal roles can create work and non-work conflicts. In order to promote practices that better assure work-life harmony, workplaces can:
- Provide more autonomy over how work is done
- Make schedules as flexible and predictable as possible
- Increase access to paid leave
- Respect boundaries between work and non-work time
4. Mattering at Work
People want to know that they matter to those around them and that their work matters. Knowing you matter has been shown to lower stress, while feeling like you do not can increase the risk for depression. In order to better assure a culture of mattering at work, workplaces can:
- Provide a living wage
- Engage workers in workplace decisions
- Build a culture of gratitude and recognition
- Connect individual work with organizational mission
5. Opportunities for Growth
When organizations create more opportunities for workers to accomplish goals based on their skills and growth, workers become more optimistic about their abilities and more enthusiastic about contributing to the organization. In order to promote practices that better assure opportunities for growth, workplaces can:
- Offer quality training, education, and mentoring
- Foster clear, equitable pathways for career advancement
- Ensure relevant, reciprocal feedback
Read the full Framework here.
Source: HSS.gov; quitgenius.com