Our research found that employers can greatly reduce the mental health issues of their employees by using basic human resource approaches. For example, they could remove tasks from an employee who is constantly overloaded or provide more flexibility in their jobs. As we explain in the Academy of Management Annals journal, these fixes would require changes to work that employers seldom make or approve.

We studied the findings of 556 articles written by researchers and found that it is more common to help employees deal with their problems after they arise than to take steps to prevent problems from occurring.

Culture and Job Design

Some very stressful and demanding jobs may come to your mind when you consider the impact on mental health. Doctors, Soldiers, and First Responders are all professions that can affect mental health.

We found that it is not always the jobs employees do that affect their mental health. The culture of an employer and how its jobs are structured play a major role.

This pattern may explain why mental illness is prevalent in many occupations, and not just those that are emotionally demanding. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that rates of suicide for truckers, warehouse workers, and farmworkers are among the highest in the country.

The culture of an employer is the foundation for social interactions between employees and clients, students, or the general public, depending on their profession.

It is important to consider how people interact with each other. Employees who are subjected to bullying at work and do not have a boss or co-workers they can confide in may have poor mental health.

It is important to understand that the design of a job can lead to stress, anxiety, and mental and emotional exhaustion. Lacking authority to make decisions, a lack of clarity regarding responsibilities, and having obligations that conflict with personal obligations can all lead to mental health issues.

People who do jobs that are inherently traumatizing should also consider the workplace culture and job design.

An analysis of 61 studies on the mental health of aid workers revealed that insufficient leadership and inadequate support caused workers to suffer disproportionate mental damage. These factors were distinct from the trauma that they experienced and witnessed in the aftermath of disasters.

The research shows that employers can reduce the risks of mental illness at work by examining how their jobs are structured and determining if any positions need to be redesigned for the mental health of their employees.

Mental health benefits

Employers can make a decision. Employers have a choice. They can either take action to prevent mental illness before it happens or deal with the aftermath. According to our research, it is more common for people to experience the aftermath of mental health damage.

In the right circumstances, people with mental illness can thrive in their jobs. The Affordable Care Act has helped to make it possible for most employers in the United States to offer mental health benefits. In 2010, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, which requires that insurance companies treat mental health benefits in the same manner as physical health services when providing coverage.

About 78% of U.S. employers offer mental health benefits. These include employee assistance programs and work benefits, which provide individual financial, legal, and mental support. These measures can be helpful, but only if the damage has already occurred. These benefits do not address the psychological hazards of work or prevent work-related injury.

Workplace stress can affect mental health.

Employers can take four steps to improve mental health.

Revise job descriptions. Wherever possible, employers should remove ambiguity about the core duties and responsibilities. Employers should ensure that employees understand the reasons why they may need to adapt and be flexible in their jobs. Employers should balance the need for long hours with rest breaks and recharge opportunities when there are unavoidable workloads, as in accounting firms during the weeks leading up to Tax Day.

Train staff to be proactive about the behaviors they should expect. Employers can identify interpersonal skills as important in the same way they plan for job-related skills and evaluate them, like technical abilities when hiring and promoting. Employers can fire, retrain, or reassign employees who engage in bullying.

Build resilience in employees. According to research on police officers, resilience-building training can help reduce the risk that they will develop post-traumatic disorder if trauma occurs on the job. The same types of resilience training may also be helpful in less traumatic jobs.

Do not assume that employees are going to speak up. Only 65 percent of employees with mental health issues said they would share their problems with a colleague, manager, or human resources representative. Due to the stigma surrounding mental health issues, they may hide the severity if they talk about these problems. It’s important to address the causes of poor health in all people, as employers cannot know the full extent of the problem.

Employers can improve workers’ mental health just as construction sites have improved in terms of physical safety. 

Spot hazards

It is much easier to identify physical hazards at work than psychological hazards. But that does not mean psychological hazards are any less dangerous or cannot be addressed.

The use of hard hats and the posting of warnings have all reduced workplace accidents. Researchers found that redesigning jobs, and adopting a better workplace culture can help improve mental health.