First Quarterly Data Brief from the Mental Health at Work Index

Most organizations are not taking a strategic approach to workplace mental health programs and services, despite significant investment in mental health benefits and services for workers and their dependents.

Organizations are disproportionately focused on addressing

mental health problems and need to expand their focus to protecting and promoting positive mental health through upstream systems solutions.

One Mind at Work, in partnership with Columbia University Mental Health + Work Design Lab, and corporate ethical standards measurement company Ethisphere, today released the first Quarterly Brief from the Mental Health at Work Index™.

The Mental Health at Work Index is the first-of-its-kind comprehensive, standardized assessment of organizational programs supporting workforce mental health. Nearly 50 leading global organizations - representing almost 2 million workers - have now completed the Index to measure their own efforts. In addition to providing a customized pathway from measurement to improvement, the data is confidentially and anonymously aggregated for benchmarking and identifying proven strategies.

Of the organizations that have completed the Index, only one-third (33%) include the full continuum

of Protection, Promotion, and Provision in their workforce mental health strategy. These findings indicate that organizations need to shift from a hyper focus on providing care to an comprehensive, upstream approach with attention on protection and promotion.

“A comprehensive mental health strategy includes the full continuum of protection of worker mental health, promotion of psychological well-being, and provision of resources, benefits, and services,” said Dr. Kathy Pike, President and CEO of One Mind at Work. “High performing organizations depend on a healthy workforce. These organizations are leading the way in demonstrating the ability to use science-backed strategies to have a real impact on worker mental health, which fundamentally improves organizational performance across a wide range of metrics, including recruitment, retention, and reputation.”

Craig Moss, Executive Vice President for Measurement at Ethisphere, added, “Building an authentic corporate culture requires that workers at all levels feel aligned with the stated values and purpose of the organization. When an organization commits to protecting and promoting worker mental health and well-being, workers and organizational systems are less stressed and more resilient. Feeling seen, heard, and cared for, workers are more likely to be aligned with the culture, which in turn, increases buy-in for working towards organizational goals. The results from the Index provide leaders with insights about where they are and what to prioritize. You can’t improve what you don’t measure.”

Other key takeaways from the Quarterly Brief include:

• Attention to workplace mental health tends to be reactive, ad hoc, and focused on provision of resources and benefits, with no attention paid to evaluating the impact of their efforts (and financial investment)
  • Only a quarter of respondents (25%) assess the effectiveness of their mental health efforts to eliminate hazards and minimize risks that negatively affect workers’ mental health
• Most organizations aren’t strategic or comprehensive in their efforts
  • Only 25% of companies have a formal strategy for workforce mental health
  • Just 28% of respondents say senior leaders hold their direct reports accountable for advancing and supporting workforce mental health in their respective business units.
• Read all of the findings and statistics here.

The Mental Health at Work Index was launched publicly in May 2023, following a period of beta testing. Built on a foundation of science and best practice, the Mental Health at Work Index is unique in its ability to support organizational leaders in the assessment of their mental health programs and practices and develop data-driven solutions. By engaging with the Index, organizations are given the tools to establish a baseline for their mental health programs and services, identify areas that will accelerate the impact of their existing efforts, and access evidence-based content and guidance to support more strategic and efficient use of resources for improved outcomes. More information on the creation of the tool can be found here.

“We’ve invested heavily in workforce mental health initiatives over the past several years, and had a good sense of what was working well and where we had opportunities to improve and expand,” said Gordon Watson, Chair, AXA Asia, and Co-Chair, One Mind at Work. “All of what we knew was reinforced in the Index results, and there were novel insights that weren’t uncovered in prior assessments we’d completed. I think that speaks to the comprehensiveness of the Index framework, and also the need for companies to really take a mental health lens to everything that they’re doing across the business.”

Addressing an Enormous Opportunity with a Data-Driven Solution

The Mental Health at Work Index was launched to help organizations worldwide provide effective resources to support their workers’ mental well-being in the workplace. Despite the recent proliferation of mental health offerings, independent data or globalized standards do not currently exist to provide scientifically supported decision-making for workplace mental health programs. Research from the World Health Organization shows that 15% of working adults have a mental health condition. According to a survey from 2022, 81% of global employees agree that employers have a responsibility to help them manage their mental health. One Mind at Work has determined that employers have an enormous opportunity to support the mental health and well-being of their workforce, yet leaders are at a loss for how to create sustainable impact.

The Mental Health at Work Index convened a coalition of leading global organizations, forming the Founding Corporate Council. The founding member corporations consist of both new and existing One Mind at Work members who committed to sponsoring the build of the Mental Health at Work Index and contributing their expertise and perspectives to its design. The founding members are:

• AXA Asia & Africa, Founding Principal Partner
• Aon
• Bank of America
• Business Group on Health
• HCA Healthcare
• Jardine Matheson, MINDSET Care Limited (Singapore) and MINDSET Limited (Hong Kong)
• TELUS Health (formerly LifeWorks)
• Prudential
• URAC

To learn more about the team and the science behind the Mental Health at Work Index, visit http://mentalhealthindex.org.

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