Mental health is back under the microscope. After years of general agreement that mental health needed to be taken more seriously, the dial appears to have shifted. Questions are now being raised by public figures about how extensive mental health issues actually are, and the extent to which workplaces have a need—or responsibility—to do anything about it.
The public perception of mental health and its importance is unlikely to shift too far, given how many people report having mental health issues. But what does it mean that business leaders might be deprioritising mental health in the workplace? Is the problem of mental health impacting on work overblown, and do initiatives to improve it actually help?
The Trump effect
It feels like a lot of progress has been made on the acknowledgement of mental health conditions in recent years. General attitudes have shifted, partly due to increasing diagnoses of mental health conditions, and people’s experiences seeking treatment. As with many other things, the pandemic accelerated this. This was a tough period for many people, and had lingering effects that have bled into today’s workplaces (even if some people would like to believe otherwise!).
However, the prevailing political and social climate at the moment is somewhat adversarial. Many businesses are attempting to row back on concepts introduced during the pandemic, including remote working, which has been a boon to many people’s mental health. At the same time, the example being set by figures such as Donald Trump and Elon Musk is one of ruthless, authoritative leadership, demanding longer hours and fewer allowances for workers in a bid to boost productivity.
Their actions to date have emboldened many people with similar leadership styles, who have taken to reversing initiatives that have been popularised in recent years, including EDI training and initiatives, or sustainability measures and goals. Mirroring the purge of government departments undertaken by Elon Musk’s DOGE, some businesses seem to be following suit, with Unilever recently being accused of ousting the Ben & Jerry’s CEO over the company’s political activism.
Working through it
Inevitably in the age of the culture war, there’s also pushback on what exactly constitutes a mental health condition, and how many people actually have one. This has extended as far as the UK Health Secretary, who recently stated that mental health problems are being ‘overdiagnosed’. His feeling is that too many people have been ‘written off’ as unable to work due to mental health issues, when they could get there with proper coaching and support. Despite an acknowledged lack of mental health resources, the framing of the issue suggests that most mental health issues are not serious enough to present an obstacle to working.
There’s some truth in this. A large proportion of people in the UK now have some form of mental health condition, from anxiety and depression to agrophobia and bipolar disorder. Most mental health conditions can be managed, and most people with mental health conditions are able to work and support themselves, so long as they get the right support back.
Whether mental health conditions are being ‘overdiagnosed’ is a harder question to answer. The evidence for mental health being used to conduct benefits fraud is scant, and increasing diagnoses of mental health conditions track with all sorts of societal issues, from anxiety and powerlessness around the climate crisis, to the pervasive influence of social media on people’s self-esteem and self-image.
Mental health in the modern workplace
We’ve covered this shift in leadership styles already, and there’s probably another piece to be written about it. Whether or not this shift is successful in the long term will be borne out by how those businesses perform (and how many employees they retain). But the impact of this change towards less empathetic, more hardnosed leadership will have an inevitable impact on mental health.
The extent to which this ‘matters’ may be subjective. On some level, many people might not have a choice. Even if they are unhappy at work, the current climate means that finding a new job can be difficult, particularly in certain industries. This may make employees feel as though they are unable to leave roles, even if they are unhappy at work. But the impact of poor mental health is significant and well-established.
It can mean sleepless nights and low mood, which contribute to a lack of attention and productivity at work. It can lead to at best an apathy towards work, and at worst an outright dislike for it, resulting in ‘presenteeism’, where employees put in the bare minimum level of effort to stay employed. It can even lead to extended time off work due to illness, exacerbating problems to the point that people can’t work, or can only work limited schedules.
Finding a balance
This doesn’t disappear if ignoring or sidelining mental health as a concern becomes commonplace. All it has the potential to do is reduce productivity across the board, and exacerbate existing problems with the provision of mental health support and treatment. With mental health issues becoming more common, the last thing most employees need is conditions which take them into less consideration.
None of this is to say that businesses cannot or should not expect hard work, long hours, and dedication from their employees. Quite the opposite: there are many people who are happy to contribute these things to organisations. The trick is that this level of loyalty needs to be earned, not demanded. The days when people would hustle and graft simply for the opportunity for career progression are fading. Instead, what younger employees are looking for is greater job satisfaction and general wellbeing, with money only being a part of that.
The outcomes that taskmaster bosses are looking for can be gotten through old fashioned methods, but these represent a scorched earth approach. There may be some benefits and expenses that employees don’t actually want, and perks should always be a process of consultation. But happier employees are more productive, and that starts with taking mental health seriously—whether that’s through training, work from home days, or a resident office dog.
