FINANCE SALES & MARKETING HR SOLUTIONS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

“ We talk a lot about mental health in terms of a medical diagnosis or burnout . While those are serious issues , the dayto-day stressors we live with – especially those caused by work – are what we should talk more about as leaders ,” said Pat Wadors , Chief People Officer at UKG . “ Life isn ’ t all milk and honey and when leaders open up about their own struggles , they acknowledge employees are not alone , and that it ’ s OK not to be

OK . Authentic , vulnerable leadership is the key to creating belonging at work , and , in turn , the key to solving the mental health crisis in the workplace .”

Workers are tired , stressed and want leaders to do more

At the end of work , 43 % of employees are ‘ often ’ or ‘ always ’ exhausted and 78 % of employees say that stress negatively impacts their work performance . That stress from work carries into our personal lives , as employees say work negatively impacts their home life ( 71 %), well-being ( 64 %) and relationships ( 62 %). For people who report ‘ poor ’ or ‘ very poor ’ mental health , around one-quarter ( 28 %) say they lack work / life balance , compared with just 4 % of people in ‘ good ’ or ‘ excellent ’ mental health .

While nine in 10 HR and C-suite leaders believe working for their company has a positive impact on employees ’ mental health , only half of employees agree . In fact , one in three say their manager fails to recognise the impact they have on their team ’ s mental well-being , and seven in 10 would like their company and manager to do more to support mental health .

“ The chronic anxiety that comes from working through one global crisis after another is wearing on employees ,” said Dr Jarik Conrad , Executive Director of The Workforce Institute at UKG .

“ Being overwhelmed consumes human energy and impacts retention , performance , innovation and culture . Employers can be the anchor of stability for their people by giving them the support and resources they need — not just what we think they need .”

It ’ s OK not to be OK

Forty percent of employees are ‘ often ’ or ‘ always ’ stressed about work , but 38 % say they ‘ rarely ’ or ‘ never ’ talk with their manager about their workload . Yet , research shows that managers and C-level leaders carry much of the same burdens as their people – sometimes more .

Managers are more often stressed out than their team members and senior leadership ( 42 % vs 40 % and 35 %, respectively ) and 25 % say they are ‘ often ’ or ‘ always ’ feeling burned out .

The C-suite is not immune to challenges , either . A surprising 33 % of C-level leaders said , ‘ I don ’ t want to work anymore ’, and the younger the leader , the more they agree with that statement .

In fact , a whopping 40 % of the C-suite says they will likely quit in the next 12 months due to work-related stress . x www . intelligentcxo . com

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