Benchmark to look at business risks and outcomes, leadership influence
A working group has been convened in Singapore for the development of a benchmark related to mental health.
The benchmark is expected to "demonstrate the intersection of business risks associated with mental health, the influence of leadership and culture, and the resulting impact on business outcomes and stakeholder value," according to Anthea Ong, WorkWell Leaders founder and chair of the board of directors.
While there are global and local benchmarks for workplace mental health that focus on perceptions of individual employee support, this benchmark “will focus on the status of organisation-wide transformation aimed at enhancing worker wellbeing, organisational performance, and long-term stakeholder value," Ong said on LinkedIn.
"In other words, we will look at the impact of individual interventions on overall wellbeing versus organisation-wide transformation of culture, including behaviours, workload and work design, team collaboration and a sense of belonging, amongst others."
Working group for benchmark
The working group has 12 local and global experts, including the Singapore National Employers Federation, The Straits Times reported.
Among the named members are international government advisers on workplace health, Professors Niki Ellis and Dame Carol Black, behavioural scientist Reuben Ng and occupational health doctor Andrew Tay, according to the report.
"Quantification of organisational change is extremely complex and setting a relatable framework for outcomes will take some deliberation from the different stakeholders on the research design," Ong said.
The group aims to finish the study by the end of October, according to the Straits Times, with findings to be released by the end of 2024 or in 2025.
First adaptors of the benchmark will likely be larger organisations, Ong told the news outlet, but it will be designed to encourage firms to move their best practices down their supply chains of small and medium-sized enterprise.
"This benchmark has been on the board agenda since we formalised in 2021 - and in her heart for much longer," she said. "A very complex study but we are now braver and ready to embark on this after a treasure trove of honest conversations that we’ve had with over 500 CEOs and leaders who have attended our learning sessions and dialogues as well as the 80 one-to-one CEO catch ups that I’ve had so far."
