2021 Mental Health at Work Report | Qualtrics and ServiceNow

At the beginning of this year, I mentioned in my article, 2021 HR Trends and Priorities: A Summarized View of 9 Sources, how employee well-being (EWB) is a priority for many organizations. And as workers place greater emphasis on their well-being, EWB will be a focus for many organizations in the years to come. This 31-page report shares findings from a recent study on a critical component of EWB: mental health at work. The study is a follow-up from a 2019 study that includes statistically significant sample sizes for demographic groups across gender identity, racial and ethnic communities, generational divides, the LGBTQ+ community, and more. While there are several insights throughout the report, one point to reinforce is that mental health’s future is culture, not simply perks. This point speaks to the narrative around mental health being framed as an individual issue to solve using benefits and perks. While these perks and benefits (e.g., mental health day or an internal self-care campaign) provide support, a large part of mental health at work is affected by how an organization operates and how its people are valued. As firms refine their EWB practices, they should keep in mind “the future of workplace mental health is culture change — of openness, transparency, and, compassion from organizations and leaders, of safe and supportive environments for mental health, of healthy and sustainable ways of working.”