As a second year of life under the pandemic is underway, workplace and mental health continues to be a serious issue: Reported symptoms of depression and anxiety have tripled and quadrupled since the start of the pandemic and nearly 75 percent of workers say they’re experiencing burnout. In this episode of All Things Work, host Tony Lee talks with Darcy Gruttadaro, Director of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Mental Health, on steps employers can take to actively support their employees’ mental health during this time.
As a second year of life under the pandemic is underway, workplace and mental health continues to be a serious issue: Reported symptoms of depression and anxiety have tripled and quadrupled since the start of the pandemic and nearly 75 percent of workers say they’re experiencing burnout. In this episode of All Things Work, host Tony Lee talks with Darcy Gruttadaro, Director of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Mental Health, on steps employers can take to actively support their employees’ mental health during this time.
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This episode of All Things Work is sponsored by PNC.
Speaker 1:
All Things Work is sponsored by PNC Organizational Financial Wellness, organizational financial wellness organized for you. Learn more at pnc.com/wellness. PNC and PNC Bank are registered marks of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC.
Tony Lee:
Welcome to the All Things Work podcast from the Society for Human Resource Management. I'm your host, Tony Lee, Head of Editorial Operations here at SHRM. Thank you for joining us. All Things Work as an audio adventure, where we talk with thought leaders and taste makers to bring you an insider's perspective on All Things Work. As we brace for a second year of life in the pandemic, workplace, mental health continues to be a troubling issue at many companies, reported symptoms of depression have tripled and levels of anxiety have quadrupled since the start of the pandemic. And nearly 75% of workers say they're experiencing burnout according to multiple studies. We know employers want to support their employees mental health, and one of the best ways to do that is by leaning on the expertise of professionals who specialize in that care and treatment.
Joining me today, is Darcy Gruttadaro. Darcy is the director of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation Center for Workplace Mental Health. The center collaborates with employers of all sizes to raise mental health awareness, create mentally healthy organizational cultures and improve access to healthcare services and support. Darcy and her team work to develop high impact trainings, programs, and resources, all in the name of supporting mentally healthy workplaces. Darcy, welcome to All Things Work.
Darcy Gruttadaro:
Thank you, Tony. It's a pleasure to be here.
Tony Lee:
Yes, it's great to have you here. So, I threw out some stats earlier and actually I'm going to throw out a few more. So research shows that seven out of 10 workers say 2020 was the most stressful year of their lives, and about 80% say their mental health has been affected. So I guess my first question for you is, what role should employers play in responding to those issues?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
Well, employers increasingly recognize that mental health and wellbeing are key when it comes to not only performance, but also productivity, teamwork, how well people perform at work and how well they do at their jobs, frankly. So this was something recognized before the pandemic began, workplace mental health was taking on a bigger role, but obviously based on the stats you just shared, it's an even bigger issue now. And employers recognize they have some responsibility to really address the mental health and wellbeing of employees.
Tony Lee:
Yeah, no, there's no question. And you're seeing more and more employers taking steps to address that mental health. So we've kind of documented six different things that we are seeing companies doing. If you don't mind, I want to throw out each one and get your thoughts as to how effective you think they are. And if there are things an employer should know as they go into them? So the first is, we've seen some employers that are now offering free mental health counseling, or they're waiving co-payments for therapy, do you see that widespread? Is it a good move?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
Yes, absolutely. That is really important. You certainly don't want cost to be a barrier to people accessing care. And it has been historically a barrier, also by doing so it sends the message that the organization recognizes that people are experiencing distress and it opens the door to people feeling psychologically, somewhat safer to seek help. And the other key is how that gets communicated. So with organizations that communicate through leadership that we're offering these, because we know so many of us are experiencing high levels of stress, tremendous disruption, that distress levels are getting higher. And that's the reason we're offering this added benefit. That part of it is really important.
Tony Lee:
Yeah, it makes perfect sense. Now there are some employees who have a little reluctance to say, well, I'm ready to go see a counselor. So some employers, as a result are offering something a little more scaled down like mindfulness training or meditation training. Do you see that as a wise move?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
We do. And those are very important strategies and mechanisms to help people manage stress. But also sometimes because mental health still has stigma associated with it because it still has myths and stereotypes associated with it. Sometimes we need to get to mental health in what we call the back door. So stress management, sleep issues, those are great ways to introduce this idea of taking care of your mental health. Because at the end of the day, we all have mental health and we all need to take care of it.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. Now in the past, pre-pandemic, we saw a lot of employers who would offer onsite training, yoga classes, meditation classes. Now that people are virtual, are they happening virtually?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
They are happening virtually. Actually in our office, we had a mindfulness course online and it was voluntary of course. And we had a tremendous amount of people show up, but we are hearing about more organizations that are offering apps like Calm, like Headspace, and others to employees. And they're seeing a pretty significant uptick in people using them because they recognize that life has gotten really disrupted. And it's a great strategy to address distress feelings, not just anxiety, but also stress, and just trying to get through what's turned out to be a tough day for many because we're under a lot of pressure and we have home life, we have work life, we're trying to balance a tremendous amount and it's really taking a toll on our health and wellbeing.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. Now a lot of employees say the stress is not coming from the pandemic, it's coming from their bosses, that it's a heavier workload or no break between work life and home life. So one of the things employers say they're doing is encouraging people, managers to have more frequent check-ins with their teams, asking how are you doing? Do you need some time off? Is burnout a potential issue? What's your thought on that approach?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
That's a really key strategy. We are all experiencing some level of disruption. For most of us, it's a high level of disruption. So asking in one on ones, how are you doing? And then really it has to be sincere too, and really asking how are you doing? How are you really doing? And for a people manager to share some of the distress they're experiencing and personalizing it a little bit and showing some vulnerability, it opens the door to those that report to them feeling a bit safer. Oh, if my boss is experiencing this kind of distress, then I guess it's okay for me to do so too, because so many of us want to always look like we're at the very top of our game when it comes to our ability to handle stress and any number of different challenges. So again, the more leadership and people managers can really share some of their personal experience, it'll help people feel more comfortable doing so. And we know that's really important. Communication is key right now.
Tony Lee:
Thanks Darcy. So that makes perfect sense. But the question is, does it raise some concerns as well? Asking managers to be skilled at being able to spot troubled employees and knowing what to do when they see issues, is that asking too much?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
It's really not. First of all, all organizations make sure that people managers know what to do if they have an employee who may be experiencing distress at a level that really needs attention. So that's first and foremost, but more than that, for a people manager to ask, are you okay? You don't seem like yourself. And the things for people managers to look for are changes, changes in somebody suddenly showing up late. They're not showing up at all on video, their performance is slipping. Things like that, changes in employee behavior, appearance, mood, interaction, or really warning signs that people managers should be aware of. So we need to make sure people managers are supported so they can recognize whether they're on Zoom or they're an essential worker and in a workplace, they can recognize some of these early warning signs, not from a diagnostic perspective, but just a humanitarian perspective of knowing to ask someone, are you okay?
We have resources, we have an EAP, we have a benefit plan. HR is equipped to talk with you if necessary. Those conversations are really important because if someone's really experiencing distress, ignoring it or not addressing it because of a level of discomfort is really doing a disservice to that employee.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. So you mentioned EAP, and I know a lot of companies have invested time looking at their EAP programs, but they probably never did it to this level before, to make sure they're offering exactly what they should. I mean, what should a company and an HR department think about when they're looking at their EAP program and maybe investing even more in EAP?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
Great question. A really critical question, because what we know in the national data is employees are not using their EAPs as much as they should be based on what we know about people experiencing mental health issues. So the first thing is for employers to sit down with their EAP and really look at their data, they should be seeing a higher incidence of people reaching out to the EAP for guidance, for assistance. If they're not seeing a spike in their data, given what we know is a tripling as you open the segment with of people experiencing distress in anxiety and depression, then they need to have a tough conversation with their EAP vendor to say, what can we do together to be more innovative so that we can ensure people know the EAP is there?
And that may include things like presentations to employees, sharing information in new innovative ways online, really going, maybe through that back door as we talked about earlier around stress management, around recognizing that people are experiencing high levels of distress. So we all need to reach out. And again, this is where leadership can really make the difference. Leadership sets the culture. So the more people hear from the highest levels of organizations around how they've reached out, when they needed a little bit of a boost, the more people hear that, the more they feel safe to do so, so that's really important.
Tony Lee:
Okay. So the company makes a commitment. They review their EAP program, determine, maybe they need to make some tweaks here and there and communicate that to employees. What about their childcare efforts and their elder care efforts? I think a lot of the mental health issues that we're seeing among employees is related to having to balance childcare, elder care with work.
Darcy Gruttadaro:
Yes, I think this is where talking to your employees. And I know there are organizations that are doing some pulse surveys just to find out from employees, what extra support they need. I have heard about organizations creating employee resource groups to share strategies on how people are addressing things like parents having to serve as educators for their children and making sure that their kids are sitting down for online learning. So really offering employees a chance to both communicate to the leadership of the organization what their needs are, whether it's with childcare or elder care. And then also thinking about forming ERGs, employee resource groups so that people can share that peer-to-peer support that's really needed. And even the ERG can also communicate to the organization what they're learning about from their group, the needs are of individual employees when it comes to childcare and elder care.
Tony Lee:
We recently published some new research on shrm.org that despite these best efforts, there are a lot of employees who say it's just not enough, especially working moms and they're leaving the workforce. They just can't balance it. Any thoughts on what companies can do to try and stem that tide?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
Yes, it is true. There's great concern around, especially the number of women leaving the workforce. And that really comes down to women often having childcare responsibilities and not being able to necessarily schedule their day so that they can serve the needs of their family and their jobs. So this is where communication is really key. It is finding out from your employees what their needs are. Is it flexible schedules? Is it benefits or additional benefits that can get parents through this next six months to a year? Really this is about finding out what do they need to stay in the workplace and organizations should be having those conversations now. Don't wait to learn that someone is leaving because as I'm sure your listeners know, once people make that decision, it's really hard to turn it around.
So employers should be proactive right now in learning, what are the needs of working parents? What are the needs around education? What are the needs around caregiving? And how can the organization really support the employees? Employees often have good ideas, but they may not be willing to come forward with them unless really prompted. And unless they feel like they're not the only ones, but there are others experiencing it too.
Tony Lee:
Great advice. So we're touching on a lot of the really critical issues. Let's dial it back a little bit. What about the rank and file folks, probably you and I included who just are fatigued. I mean, we're tired of Zoom meetings. We're tired of, not being able to actually see people we want to see and care about. What advice do you have for just overcoming the craziness of almost a year of this pandemic?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
Yes. This is the million dollar question, because we are fatigued. We're fatigued by our workday, and we're fatigued by how long this has been going on. So what I would recommend is that organizations think about little perks. Maybe give people a surprise Friday off, let people know, maybe you schedule half day for employees, let employees create employee resource groups. So people can come together and share some of the distress. Sometimes when people have the chance to share it with others, it helps them to feel better. It helps them to understand they're not alone. I've heard a lot of people scheduling coffee time and happy hours and other things online. And the challenge with that is it just puts us online for more time, which many of us are tired of. So think about that too, and find new creative ways. Some people are doing online games, those are fun, make it fun so that if you're going to be online with your team or with your group, you're doing it in a way that's different, that allows you to learn more about what other people are experiencing.
So there's really no silver bullet when it comes to this, and reminding people, giving them hope that the organization's doing all they can to share information about what we know about the developments around when we all might get back to work, when things might return to normal, but really help people feel like this is not going to go on forever. Find out again what their needs are. Use a pulse survey, ask employees, what is it you'd like? If they say we'd like an extra day off a week, once a quarter, then give them that, it's well worth the investment.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. That's terrific guidance. Well, Darcy, we're almost out of time, but I want to ask you about one last issue. And that is employers that are making plans for bringing folks back physically, to a workspace. From a mental health standpoint, there are going to be people who say, I'm just not going to do it, I don't feel safe. I refuse. What can employers do to either help ease that transition or identify folks who maybe shouldn't be making that transition back?
Darcy Gruttadaro:
Well, first of all, I would say, communicate, communicate, communicate. So let employees know everything that you're doing to make the workplace physically safe for employees, because even when we're all vaccinated and we all feel relatively safe coming back, we've gone through a really tumultuous, disruptive time. So we may still be wearing masks and people may still be feeling uneasy. So communicate what it is you've done to make the workplace safe. Let people know that you've created feedback loops for them to express their concerns, whether that's through HR or a committee, a wellness committee, or in some other way, create those feedback loops so that you don't just allow people that one opportunity to give their feedback and share concerns, but that it will be a continuous opportunity. Think about if you don't have a wellness committee, think about creating a wellness committee and allowing that group to really be the vehicle through which you share information about how it is you're addressing health and wellbeing of employees, and then figure out a way so that employees that feel extremely anxious are aware about returning to work.
If it's really essential that they return to work and they don't have ADA accommodations or some other accommodation, create an opportunity for maybe the EAP to be contacted by these employees so that they have someone to talk with, so they can work through the process of feeling anxious about returning to work, because this is a real issue and you don't necessarily have to have a diagnosable anxiety condition. We're all going to feel anxious coming back, even think about having your EAP do a presentation before people return about how you can address feeling anxious about returning to work, have them go through some breathing exercises, and really acknowledge that people may be feeling anxious and that's normal, but we're in this together and the organization will do all they can to help people feel comfortable. That's the key to communicate.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. Well, that's terrific advice, Darcy. Thanks so much. Well, that's going to do it for today's episode of All Things Work, an enormous thank you to Darcy Gruttadaro so much for joining me to discuss workplace mental health during the year two of this pandemic. Now, before we get out of here, I just want to encourage everyone to subscribe to this podcast, on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, wherever you listen to podcasts. And while you're at it, be sure to give us a five star rating and leave a review. Also be sure to check out SHRM on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. And finally you can find all of our episodes and also other podcasts from SHRM on our website at sherm.org/podcast. Thank you for listening, and we'll catch you next time on All Things Work.
Speaker 1:
All Things Work, is sponsored by PNC Organizational Financial Wellness, organizing multiple customizable financial health solutions to help address your employees specific needs all in one place. PNC Organizational Financial Wellness, organizational financial wellness, organized for you. Learn more at pnc.com/wellness. PNC and PNC Bank are registered marks of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC.