June 10, 2022
Connection: Our Opportunity to co-create the Future of Work
Did you know Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May in the United States since 1949?
Were you also aware that American businesses lose an estimated $500B to preventable workplace stress which has only been exacerbated due to COVID-19? According to TalkSpace, 66% of workers who've considered quitting say access to mental health services might convince them to stay at a job.
Could The Great Resignation have been greatly reduced if more employers knew what was stressing out their employees and how to help with mental health support options? Perhaps, but we will likely never truly know.
I do know that flipping a binary switch and returning life to February 2020 wasn't an option, so we at hc1 had to get creative and rethink ways to support our team and we did so by challenging them…
Purpose: A navigational process with a spectrum of options
In May 2022, we invited all hc1 team members to participate in a month-long Mental Health Fitness Challenge using the Wise@Work App as the foundation of our Challenge. We believed this was a fantastic opportunity to create more awareness around mental health and to have fun as a team while becoming stronger and more connected.
Our goal was to get as many of our team members to join and complete 20 practices. We were delighted with how many people participated!
We discovered the top practices our team engaged with were achieving work-life balance, resilience, working with stress, and emotional agility for the 'New Normal.'
The information we received from the Challenge is invaluable. We finally have a starting point for addressing the emotional strain accumulated over the past couple of years.
Clarity: Shifting to a more holistic approach to employee experience
The key takeaway is that employees are looking for more than a job; they expect a personalized work experience aligned with their values and preferences.
According to Forbes, "the modern employee cares about much more than just a good salary. While earning potential will affect their decision to stay at a particular company, they are equally concerned about a healthy working environment."
Benefits alone aren't enough to improve employee health and well-being. Employers can do more to support employees' mental health not just in the month of May, but every day. I challenge you to check out the following resources for your own well-being as well as to enhance the mental wellness of your workplace and teams!
Below are a few great resources to check out!
Local Mental Health Awareness & Resources
Mental Health 101 - MHA Screening
