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Prioritising Employee Mental Wellbeing in the Workplace

1 Oct 2024
Why is Mental Health important?
  • In today’s post-covid era and ever-evolving business environment, mental wellbeing in the workplace has emerged as a crucial factor in driving organisational success.
  • Nearly half of Singaporeans (46%)1 place mental health as the biggest health problem facing the country today, and 78%2 think mental health is as important as their physical health.
  • Mental wellbeing issues in the workplace can have a significant impact on productivity and absenteeism with 77% of employees say that work stress2 has negatively affected their physical health.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), depression and anxiety costs the global economy an estimated $1 trillion annually in lost productivity3

  • In Asia, the impact is particularly substantial, with unreported cases and untreated conditions remaining prevalent. This demonstrates the need for HRs to ensure that mental wellbeing measures are proactively taken into consideration in the workplace.

Key strategies that can be implemented to encourage a mentally healthy workforce:

1. Promote awareness and reduce stigma

  • Educating employees about mental health and reducing the stigma associated with it is crucial. This can be achieved via awareness campaigns, workshops, and training sessions that encourage open conversations, showing that it is acceptable to discuss wellbeing and seek help if needed.

2. Provide access to mental health resources

  • Employers can also offer employees a self-guided approach such as Headspace, which is an app provider of mental wellness offered complimentary on HSBC Thrive Benefits. Your employees can learn how to better manage stress and anxiety, improve sleep, and much more with proven scientific results.
Anxiety 19% Reduction after 8 weeks4
Well-being 14% Increase in life satisfaction after 30 days5
Sleep 16% Increase in sleep quality after 30 days6

3. Encourage work-life balance

  • Employers should encourage their employees to take regular breaks, use their leave days, and set boundaries. Flexible working arrangements can also help employees manage stress and maintain a healthy work-life balance. You can make use of the ‘buy/sell leave’ feature in your Thrive benefits account, making it easier for your employees to manage their time off and take a break when needed.

4. Regularly assess and improve your mental health initiatives

  • Employers should assess the effectiveness of their wellbeing initiatives regularly and adjust where needed. This can be done through employee surveys, feedback sessions/pulse checks, and reviewing key metrics across absenteeism and employee satisfaction.
  • In today’s post-COVID era and ever-evolving business environment, mental wellbeing in the workplace has emerged as a crucial factor in driving organizational success.
  • Nearly half of Singaporeans (46%) place mental health as the biggest health problem facing the country today, and 78% think mental health is as important as their physical health1.
  • Mental wellbeing issues in the workplace can have a significant impact on productivity and absenteeism with 77% of employees saying that work stress has negatively affected their physical health2.
Book a demo
Thrive Benefits can help simplify your benefits managements
  • All-in-one benefits platform that puts an end to juggling multipleproviders
  • Easily communicate with employees
  • Offer a range of ready out of the box offers for physical, mental and financial wellbeing
    • Includes complimentary memberships to Headspace, BenefitHub and free personal accident insurance of $100K
  • Modular benefits system lets you tailor benefits and addfeatures as your business grows
    • E.g. total rewards statement, holiday buy/sell, benefit reimbursement
    • Bring in and communicate any benefits you already have

Sources

1. Singaporeans deem mental health as the biggest health problem, Ipsos, 2023.
2. Workforce state of mind in 2024, Headspace, 2024.
3. Mental health matters, The Lancet Global Health, 2020.
4. Mindfulness on-the-go: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2019.
5. The efficacy of a brief app-based mindfulness intervention on psychosocial outcomes in healthy adults: A pilot randomized controlled trial, PLOS One, 2018.
6. App-Based Mindfulness for Attenuation of Subjective and Physiological Stress Reactivity in a Population With Elevated Stress: Randomized Controlled Trial, JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2023.