How can HR promote mental well-being?

Countless industry reports are stating how stress continues to persist as the number one health issue among Singapore workers – a detriment to their mental well-being.

On a positive note, an increasing number of employers are making employee well-being a top priority, in hopes of improving engagement levels at the workplace.

We spoke to Derek Goldberg, managing director, Asia Pacific at Aetna International, a health insurance provider, to find out how HR can work on improving workplace well-being.

“I’ve observed that Singaporeans on average seem to work long hours. When people spend a disproportionate amount of time at work, the stress can build up to create unhappy and unproductive employees,” Goldberg said.

The lack of downtime – to exercise, prepare healthy meals, as well as spend quality time with loved ones – will affect the individual’s ability to take care of both their physical and mental well-being, he added.

He firmly believes it is every company’s responsibility to help employees improve their health.

“In addition to it simply being the right thing to do, helping employees improve their health can improve the bottom line through reduced healthcare costs.

“There are also significant business benefits related to reduced absenteeism as well as presenteeism. Healthier employees are likely going to be happier employees – and happier employees bring more value to work,” he said.

So what can HR do to help improve employee well-being?

Goldberg suggests providing some form of mental health support resource, such as an employee assistance program where staff can get access to counsellors.

Such programs can help staff address mental health and stress-related concerns.

Alternatively, organisations can emulate “progressive” local employers who have in recent years developed a more holistic view of employee support programs.

These employers have gone beyond traditional wellness programs and attempted to address the root cause of the stress, for example the link between a person’s financial situation and his/her daily stress levels.

Companies then extend programs on financial literacy to employees, Goldberg shared.

“Every business is different and will need its own solution, so the key thing is to make employee well-being a priority, listen to feedback and develop plans that suit their people best,” he said.

Something to talk about
Despite rolling out the appropriate wellness programs, there may be individuals who are especially distressed and may need extra attention to prevent burnout, for instance.

How can HR identify these individuals and help them manage their stresses

“When someone is not mentally well, oftentimes even the people close to them don’t notice the symptoms. It would take a concerted effort for HR representatives to detect these conditions amongst individuals in the workplace. Even then, it’s likely many more will slip through the cracks,” Goldberg said.

Instead, what HR should focus on to effect real change is to promote mental health awareness and make it “okay to be discussed” at all levels of the organisation, he said.

“Having worked in Asia for almost a decade, my observation is that Asian workplaces still tend to emphasise conformity to norms and emotional self-control.

“This can unfortunately result in any kind of mental instability being perceived as a sign of weakness and a source of shame, which in turn prevents people from reaching out for necessary support.”

Taking an active role in encouraging open discussion on the topic is thus vital to create a “happy” and “resilient” work environment, he said.

On top of this, companies also need to provide employees with resources to build mental resilience.

“One example is that at Aetna, we promote a culture of mindfulness – paying attention or noting whatever is happening in the moment with a calm and open mind and being present in that situation,” Goldberg shared.

“Our US offices have rolled out free mindfulness-based wellness programs to all employees, and those who have participated report, on average, a 28% reduction in their stress levels, a 20% improvement in sleep quality and a 19% reduction in pain.”

What are you doing to help improve mental wellness at the workplace? Share your comments below.