Eight questions to identify if your company is betting on well-being at work

julio 31, 2022

How is your company in terms of mental health and well-being of workers? Find here eight questions that can help you identify the quality of work in your workplace.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), occupational health is a prerequisite for “family income, productivity and economic development”; however, the same work environment can trigger factors that put the physical and mental health of workers at risk.

These factors include workplace temperature, noise, dust, hazardous chemicals, unsafe machines, and psychosocial stress. In addition to this, there are other causes, such as working conditions, occupation and hierarchical position in the workplace, since “people who work under pressure or in precarious employment conditions are likely to smoke more, perform less physical activity and have an unhealthy diet,” says the WHO.

Recently, and due to the new challenges brought by the pandemic, the world began to question the mental health of workers and their well-being. Job burnout has become a phenomenon resulting from chronic imbalance between workloads (for example: workload pressure and poor work environment) and the resources offered (for example: work autonomy and supportive work relationships), and is usually manifested with extreme tiredness, anguish and reduced ability to adjust cognitive and emotional processes. Similarly, it is closely related to anxiety and depression problems that can turn into more complex mental illnesses.

To understand this situation a little better, the McKinsey Health Institute applied a survey to nearly fifteen thousand workers and more than a thousand decision-makers related to human resources in companies located in fifteen countries, between February and April 2022. The survey included dimensions such as toxic behaviors in the workplace, sustainable work, inclusion and relevance, environment of supportive growth, absence of stigmas and organizational commitment, among others.

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Below, we share eight questions and strategies raised by the study with a view to fostering discussion about the challenges companies face in addressing issues related to job burnout:

For your company, is it a strategic priority to treat the mental health and well-being of employees?
Are toxic workplace behaviors effectively addressed?
Does the company create inclusive work environments?
Is individual growth allowed?
Is sustainable work promoted?
Does your company require senior company leaders to take responsibility for workplace mental health and wellness?
Does the company effectively address the stigma around mental health?
Are the company’s resources at the service of the workers’ needs?

Some survey results

exhaustion and distress

Despite the efforts made by companies to prioritize mental health and well-being at work, the workers surveyed report high rates of burnout and symptoms of distress.

Of the total number of employees surveyed in each country, India was the one that most reported workers with burnout symptoms (38%), followed by Egypt (36%), Japan (31%), Australia (28%), the United States (28%). ), France (28%), UK (27%), South Africa (25%), Germany (24%), Brazil (24%), China (23%), Argentina (21%), Switzerland (19%) and Mexico (19%).

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In relation to the anguish experienced by workers, 43% of those surveyed in Egypt said they felt it. It was followed by Brazil (42%), India (38%), Mexico (36%), Argentina (35%), South Africa (34%), Australia (32%), the United States (32%), the United Kingdom (31%). ), Germany (31%), France (30%), Switzerland (29%), Japan (29%) and China (28%).

Toxic behavior in the workplace

This factor refers to the interpersonal behavior experienced by workers, which makes them feel undervalued, belittled or insecure due to unfair or degrading treatment. It also measures non-inclusive behavior, sabotage, cutthroat competition, abusive administration or management, and unethical behavior by team leaders or co-workers.

Of all the workers surveyed in the fifteen countries, toxic behavior in the workplace was considered the main indicator of symptoms of burnout and intention to leave the job. Of 100% of workers, 73% stated their intention to quit due to toxic behavior in the workplace. Likewise, 70% of the workers related this factor to symptoms of exhaustion, 69% to anguish, 64% to symptoms of depression and 62% to symptoms of anxiety.

Among the main findings, the study highlights that employers should not ignore the warning given by high rates of job burnout, because the organization, and not the individuals that make up the workforce, needs to implement a significant systematic change in their work. .

Given these results, it is worth asking about the conditions of mental health and occupational well-being of workers in Colombia, the challenges that companies face in the face of the demands of today’s world, and the opportunities that open up when employers promote the changes that companies need to make. organizations to promote healthier work environments.