Throughout this month -- Mental Health Awareness Month – we have covered this topic from a number of angles.
So we’ll end this month's coverage on a hopeful angle. In a May 2021 study of 2,000 employed adults in the U.S, entitled " Travelers Mental Wellness Checkup," a large percentage, 73%, described their mental health as being good or excellent. This was up from 67% in the early months of the pandemic.
Part of the reason for these better numbers is based on the support employees felt from their employers:
- About one in three workers who said their employer provides more than enough mental health resources also stated that loyalty to their employer increased (33%) compared to before the pandemic.
- And 30% said their ability to manage stress improved (30%) compared to before the pandemic due to available resources.
Interestingly, millennials were more likely than baby boomers to use the mental health resources provided through an employee assistance program.
And the majority, ( 84%), of all generations, were able to report one positive thing that came out of the pandemic. Some of those include:
- Being employed/having enough work
- Ability to work remotely
- Ability to multitask between personal/professional life at home
- Having tie to connect with colleagues virtually
While I feel it's important to report this positive news, we need to acknowledge that many people are still suffering from mental health challenges that arose from the pandemic, and it will take a long time to resolve these issues.
In fact, a recent article by Andrew Joseph in Stat, quoted Susan Borja, the chief of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Dimensional Traumatic Stress Research Program as saying: “In the best of times, there is untreated mental illness. Even a small increase in the rates of people with new or worsening mental illness is going to be a problem.”
So there is a lot that still needs to do be done and much will be up to employers. But perhaps it can be an opportunity for companies to get creative in devising methods, resources and programs.