In this context, this year the World Economic Forum (WEF) presented the The Good Work Frameworkwhere one of the four key objectives is to promote mental health in the workplace.
In the meeting “Building mental health standards at work”, organized by the startup Cuéntame, it was revealed that despite the fact that four out of five human resources leaders say that mental health and well-being is a priority, 65% of employees report feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities.
More than 50% of the people who left their jobs in the “Great Quit” did so because they did not feel part of something, to be part of a community. In Mexico, it is estimated that 40% of employees plan to leave their jobs in the next six monthswith mental health being one of the main reasons, according to figures from the startup.
Encouraging employees to increase their sense of purpose will help improve the engagement. Today there is an 85% gap between the sense of purpose that leaders see in their work versus frontline collaborators.
For Alejandro Vázquez, director and professor of People Management at Ipade Business School, the key for an employee to want to stay in a company is if it manages to transform his life, through a shared purpose and genuine interest of the leaders by the workers.
“You have to start by making small adjustments and taking the pressure off people. To evaluate the performance of a person, do not compare him with others, but with himself. The paradigm that personal life does not enter the organization has to be broken. The deliverable goals have to be 100% personal and achievable, but whoever does not do data analytics and correlations cannot make these strategic decisions”, she pointed out.
The importance of data
Today, the challenge that companies face is the lack of experience creating measurable, sustainable, personalized and scalable mental health strategies in organizations.
The usual thing is that for human resources to obtain a budget that will be allocated to welfare initiatives, it is necessary to approach the Finance area with a proposal that includes the return on investment.
Although mental health may be an intangible in the business world, it is measurable and profitable. The WHO indicates that for every dollar invested in mental health there is a return of 4 times. Everything is in the analysis of the data, but there is a great area of opportunity to explore.
According to the consulting firm McKinsey, although 90% of human resources directors say that people analytics is a fundamental part of their strategy, only 42% report that their organizations have a culture of data-driven.
Integrating data into strategies does not imply that each member of the human resources team becomes a data scientist, but rather that they have the ability to ask the right questions that lead to polishing the experience of collaborators.
Mitzi Fernández, senior HR business partner of Wellness at Nestlé, assures that this is how they knew how to segment compensation programs for employees. “It worked for us to segment by function, so we can then offer personalized services to employees who have different life stages and needs,” she said.
But data alone does not provide answers. Companies must structure flows in constant interaction in order to find the insights that help decision making. The startup lists considering hypothesis validation, integrating representative samples, and inferential analysis focused on observable and determined behaviors.
Today, the attributional data approach predominates. However, evolving the vision towards relational data allows knowing the patterns of interactions between people, which helps predict the success of a team.
profitable companies
“We must not forget that the pandemic altered sleep patterns, increased the use and abuse of electronic media, social isolation and domestic violence. To build mentally profitable companies, it is necessary to consider personalization, measurement, return on investment and accessibility”, says Regina Espinoza, CEO of Cuéntame.
Personalization. Solve the needs of the right people at the right time and depending on the profile and moment of life they are going through. Despite the fact that nine out of 10 organizations in the world have launched at least one initiative of wellbeing, only a third of employees perceive that these initiatives really meet their needs.
Effectiveness measurement. It can be linked to a reduction in depression rates, anxiety levels, sleep quality, that is, guaranteeing sustainable changes throughout people’s lives.
Return on investment (ROI). It can be linked to the identification of voluntary rotation of key talent and high performance by location, sense of belonging and purpose linked to the workplace; in addition to productivity and motivation linked to stress levels and burnout.
Accessibility. Measure the scope through demographic data such as location, area, age and gender that take care of the confidentiality of the collaborators. Really make mental health a right that everyone can access.
“The conversation about mental health in work spaces has to be opened. Breaking down this barrier and moving from a reactive to a preventive model will be what guides the wellness strategy. It is also relevant to consider that effective and efficient communication is the key. Take special care in what is said and how. Deploy levels of awareness, education and activation. And finally, do not apply massive strategies, since each collaborator has different needs. As a leader, be empathic, listen to the other and accompany them in the process”, concludes the CEO.