Company Culture is vital to every workplace, no matter the industry or size, because a culture of wellbeing is one of the driving forces behind high-performance talent retention. To ensure the workplace is supportive of mental wellness and not inadvertently toxic, employers must develop a company culture rooted in connection, learning, and trust.

• Cultivate a non-toxic, inclusive culture of care with team-building activities, mentorship programs, self-help resources, career advancement opportunities, and leadership training.
• Focus on practical, hands-on manager and supervisor training, as it is a critical part of a mental health strategy. Investing more in training and accountability measures will ensure that managers can become transformational leaders who are equipped with the skills needed to retain and engage employees. Training should focus on:
  • People management skills.
  • Empathy and emotional intelligence.
  • How to communicate about mental illness, create a safe environment for discussing the topic, and assist employees who seek help for any issues.
• Build a psychologically safe and healthy work culture to meet the expectations of employees and help everyone in the workplace. If employers can create a comfortable space where employees feel safe discussing their ideas and raising potential concerns, employers will build more trust with staff and bring more transparency to the organization.
  • Afford mental health days.
  • Make workloads reasonable.
  • Consider the basic humanity of the worker.
  • Commit to using inclusive and non-stigmatizing language.
  • Encourage regular, open, and honest conversations for employees to manage and share valuable feedback on critical aspects of the work experience (such as what improvements and changes can be made to revamp company culture, create tighter internal bonds, and foster a better sense of belonging for all employees).

Positive Workplace Environments are a high priority for employees in 2024. By focusing on creating a transparent, empathetic, and safe workplace environment, employers can promote mental wellbeing and support development.

• Address the issues of work overload, workplace violence, bullying, harassment, and poor managerial support to decrease the risks of psychological distress, burnout, and other debilitating employee issues. It is the employer’s responsibility to create work environments that support emotional wellbeing and prevent damaging work-related mental health challenges. Efforts to fix overwork culture (such as increasing visibility into team workflows) will create workplaces where employees feel more able to manage workloads and see a future for themselves within their organization.
• Prioritize employees by taking time out of the day to offer up feedback, directions, expectations, gratitude, celebration, and recognition of big and small accomplishments. Recognize employees for who they are, not just the work they do. To suit the unique needs of each employee, take the holistic approach of asking every individual if they are happy in their position, how they can be helped, and what support they need from the company. Recognition helps to further a sense of trust and ensure that employees feel encouraged to do their best.
• Proactively train employees and managers in psychologically safe work environments. Being psychologically safe means employees feel comfortable asking for help, sharing ideas, expressing concerns, taking risks, or admitting mistakes without fear of negative consequences. This will create happier employees and help retain high-performing workers, attract more talent, maintain worker engagement, boost productivity, and increase output. Employers can foster a psychologically safe work environment by:
  • Reflecting on leadership styles, accommodating dispersed employees, and demonstrating concern for employees.
  • Offering workshops and peer-led programs to cultivate a more supportive and stigma-free workplace for discussing mental health and wellbeing.
  • Providing a workplace environment where employees feel seen, heard, valued, cared for, and supported.
  • Raising awareness for psychological safety by allowing employees to feel secure in talking and being vulnerable in front of others.
  • Teaching supportive behaviors and practices that foster trust and transparency around health and wellness topics (such as burnout and stress).
  • Creating opportunities for open feedback and dialogue so employees can be themselves in the work environment.

Recovery-Friendly Workplaces (RFWs) allow employers to be proactive in increasing encouragement to seek treatment. Organizations should be prepared to provide support for workers who are struggling and facilitate opportunities for employees in recovery to enter, or re-enter, the workplace. RFWs play an important role in preventing and addressing SUD (including the opioid overdose crisis) by seeing SUD recovery as a strength to be celebrated instead of a weakness to be hidden and reducing the chance of injury and the subsequent use of opioids. Employers can use the DOL’s recovery-ready workplace toolkit for resources to assist in preventing and responding more effectively to employer substance misuse, as well as guidance for assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring of RFWs.

Work-Life Balance is an important strategy to implement if employers want to support mental wellbeing by preventing and alleviating burnout. Toxic workplaces, long hours, understaffing, lack of recognition, interpersonal conflict, and unclear workplace policies are contributing to employee burnout. When employees have time for relationships, healthy behaviors, family, and themselves they are equally effective at work, set better examples, and feel less stress in the workplace. So, to help employees maintain a happier and healthier work-life balance, employers can offer:

• Flexible work arrangements.
• Realistic Workload Expectations.
• Designated downtime.
• Expanded employee assistance programs.
• Open communication channels that allow employees to voice their concerns and see support as needed.

Financial Wellness Programs that include financial education, wellness resources, and support can help contribute to a more secure and stable workforce. Money and inflation are top stressors for employees this year, and the financial stress of debt can significantly impact their mental and emotional health, while also impacting workplace productivity, retention, and morale. Employers can help reduce employee financial stress by extending their wellness programs with financial support such as emergency savings, cashflow change navigation, debt management, proper health insurance and benefits, significant life event preparation, retirement savings, virtual personal financial planning meetings, tuition reimbursement, seminars, and EAPs to navigate financial challenges. Financial wellness is a critical component of mental wellbeing and can be a competitive offering.

Family-Building & Reproductive Health Benefits have proven to be highly valued among employees who are looking to start or build their families. These family-friendly benefits make employees feel welcomed and supported in the workplace, while improving engagement, productivity, retention, attendance, morale, and mental health. In the next year, many employers are expanding family-centric benefits to meet employee needs, remain competitive, and retain diverse, multigenerational talent.

• Pregnancy loss/maternity leave demonstrates an employer’s compassion and understanding of the emotional and physical toll of such loss, offering individuals the time needed for healing and recovery.
• NICU leave shows that an employer recognizes the unique challenges faced by parents with infants in neonatal intensive care, providing essential support during a critical period.
• Pregnancy, lactation, postpartum, and menopause support allows companies to acknowledge and alleviate the often-overlooked health impacts of these conditions on female employees. Testosterone deficiency treatments can do the same for male employees.
• Fertility benefits, adoption benefits, surrogacy benefits, family planning assistance, preconception planning, high-risk pregnancy care, and paid family/parental/adoption leave ease the financial burden of reproductive health journeys for all types of family structures.

Caregiver Support will help caregivers thrive in 2024. Care benefits include:

• Paid time off.
• Child or elder care stipends.
• On-site childcare services.
• Specialized support for special-needs children.
• Flexible scheduling and remote or hybrid work options.
• Leader training plays a key role in the overall success of a caregiving support system, empowering managers to feel prepared to meet the needs of their employees and provide support.
• Caregiving platforms provide access to advocates who often offer community and expert emotional support when things feel overwhelming, help employees find back-up and emergency care for children and elderly family members, and raise overall awareness of the caregiving burden.
• Working mother benefits can include pregnancy support groups, mentor programs, fully equipped nursing rooms, extended paid parental leave, transition back to work programs, and college savings plans.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics can be used to measure mental wellness in the workplace so that organizations can improve their response to employee needs. Measurements can include:

• Turnover date.
• Recognition program engagement.
• Absenteeism and presenteeism tracking (employees at work but not fully productive).
• Evaluations of current wellness initiatives to find ways to improve them.
• Quarterly employee satisfaction surveys (with questions related to mental health, the type of support needed in the workplace, the impact of culture on mental health, and the benefits that employees find most valuable and necessary for their overall wellbeing).