How can we promote mental health in the workplace?
It's a question that Dr. Zhiqing (Albert) Zhou and Lawanda Lewis ask themselves constantly in their work, but from different perspectives. Dr. Zhou, an associate professor in the Department of Mental Health, studies how employees' experiences at work impact their health, well-being, and safety. Lewis, an HR business partner who oversees multiple academic departments at the Bloomberg School, has firsthand experience assessing employee mental health needs and the effectiveness of workplace mental health and wellness programs.
This year for Mental Health Awareness Month, we brought them together for a wide-ranging conversation about research, practice, program implementation, and what workplaces still need to learn to manage and support the mental health of their employees.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Lawanda Lewis: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we've seen a variety of different ways of working, from fully remote to hybrid work to a combination of both. Hybrid work now seems to be the norm around the world. What approach can organizations take to better promote the mental health of a hybrid workforce?
Albert Chou: Hybrid work offers consistent benefits, including greater flexibility, greater autonomy, shorter commutes, and better work-life balance. However, there are also reports of remote and hybrid workers feeling lonely and isolated, dealing with increased stress from shared spaces and family responsibilities, and feeling pressured to be available and present all the time. We published research in the International Journal of Human Resource Management in 2022 that found that when employees feel closely monitored by their managers, it negatively impacts their mental health.
One way to address this is for managers to be trained to prepare, support, and better communicate expectations and guidelines for hybrid and remote workers, while giving workers flexibility and freedom to manage their time. Social and emotional support from colleagues and managers is also important in building a healthy work life. No matter when or where they are working, people need to be able to ask questions, connect with colleagues, and access resources. My collaborators and I are exploring how hybrid and remote work can be better managed to help workers reap the benefits and mitigate the negative impacts on their mental health.
LL: What has recent research revealed about the mental health benefits of moving to a four-day workweek without a loss of pay?
AZ: The four-day work week needs more research. The topic has been discussed for over 50 years, and there is still no consistent solution. However, pilots and case studies have been conducted in several countries, demonstrating increased productivity. Workers who participated in these studies reported greater job satisfaction, better work-life balance, and less stress and burnout. However, one issue emerged: that of schedules. For example, I work a four-day week, but my client doesn't. How can I adjust my work? I studied my weekly work cycle and found that Monday is already the most stressful day. Since it's impossible to work on Friday, how can I make sure that work doesn't pile up on Monday?
It is important to note that these pilot programs were tested in a small number of organizations that voluntarily participated, meaning that these organizations were already open to the idea of ​​a four-day workweek. Therefore, it is unclear whether these organizations' practices can be generalized to other workplaces. The transition to a four-day workweek may be easier for office workers, but it will be harder for blue-collar workers and those in industries with less flexibility in their work schedules, such as health care workers. Again, many of these changes will be implemented through the HR department, so further research is needed, especially from HR professionals like you. You will be on the front lines making sure it works as planned, receiving feedback, and continually shaping the practices.
I'm learning a lot about HR work, so can you give us an example of a program you've implemented to promote mental health in the workplace?
LL: One of our most important programs is the Johns Hopkins Employee Assistance Program (JHEAP), which provides employees and their families with confidential counseling, resources, and referrals for personal and work-related issues. We also offer flexible work arrangements. Hybrid or modified hybrid schedules allow employees to manage both their personal and work lives while meeting the needs of their role or department.
We also offer programs to help employees manage their physical, mental, social and financial well-being, including meditation and yoga classes; premium memberships to tools like the Calm app to reduce stress and improve focus; and our Healthy at Hopkins Wellness Initiative hub, which provides resources and perks.
Our leadership training raises awareness of mental health and unconscious bias, and helps managers recognise and manage stress in their employees. To reduce the stigma around talking about mental health, we regularly coach managers on how to have open conversations with their employees about issues like stress and workload. Through these efforts, we hope to help managers create a psychologically safe work environment.
AZ: Offering a range of programs can be very effective in addressing the different needs of individuals and building psychologically safe relationships, while also being mindful of the overall work environment. Of these different programs, what works well?
LL: Our employee assistance program has evolved over the years. The college has been good at adapting our program to changing work environments and employee needs, and that flexibility has led to many reforms over the years. It has worked very well by being flexible with how employees work. Everyone is dealing with daily issues and unpredictable situations, so we want managers to strike a balance between knowing what to do and taking care of their employees.
JHU's supervisor training has helped managers to exercise leadership fairly, build open communication, and provide timely feedback to ensure employees always know where they stand. We also believe it is important to show appreciation and recognition for employees' hard work.
AZ: Absolutely. Research shows that a lack of recognition has a negative impact on productivity, performance and mental health. It's always good to have appreciation and recognition coming from the top down. What other workplace mental health topics are HR professionals like you currently interested in?
LL: I’d like to know more about efforts to reduce bias and promote open dialogue, especially when it comes to the relationship between superiors and subordinates. What should organizations look out for when managing that relationship?
AZ: This is a great question because managers play an important role in employees' mental health. From a research perspective, we develop specific, reliable, and valid scales to assess manager behavior. A commonly used approach is to ask employees to answer questions about the frequency of certain manager behaviors, such as rudeness or inattention. These behaviors can be subtle and low in intensity, but can impact people's health if experienced regularly.
It is important to note that employee perceptions may not match the actual behavior of their supervisor. A supervisor may not be intentionally rude, but their behavior may be perceived as rude or disrespectful. Therefore, when studying supervisor behavior, it is important to calibrate across multiple direct reports of the same supervisor. This is a sign of a behavioral pattern, which requires action in the form of intervention or training. Therefore, I think it is important for organizations to continuously collect employee perceptions and combine data from multiple sources to more accurately reflect supervisor behavior. To prevent incivility in the workplace, it is important to create an environment where people are aware of their behavior, consider its impact, and discuss mental health.
LL: Reducing the stigma of mental health is a major theme. We want to raise awareness of resources and make sure people get the support they need. But when you start talking about illness, you start to touch on protected health information a little bit and think about what to do with that information. We have an office that supports employees with accommodations, but we're still learning.
AZ: It's great that HR departments are thinking about and prioritizing mental health in the workplace, because that's not the case everywhere. Research on mental health in the workplace is also still developing. Together with my students, I'm writing a review article on disclosure of mental health conditions and how to encourage more open communication so that support can be offered. But there is still a long way to go. As a researcher, I want to continue to provide evidence to help teams, like yours, that are implementing in practice and supporting the health and wellbeing of their employees.
