Mental Health in the Workplace

The topic of mental health is one that has become more prevalent as the years have gone on. Recently, mental health in the workplace has become a popular discussion among both employers and employees. Mind Share Partners’ 2021 Mental Health at Work Report in partnership with Qualtrics and ServiceNow showed that while in the past preexisting mental health conditions were the primary focus of discussions centered around mental health, recently the focus has shifted to how the workplace affects everyone’s mental health.

With this shift in focus, company culture seems to be changing as well. The study found that 47% of respondents felt that their company’s leadership advocated for mental health at work. Around 54% felt that their company prioritized mental health. And while overall workplace culture seems to be changing to include a higher awareness of overall mental health, 84% of respondents said that at least one workplace factor had impacted their mental health in a negative way. This highlights the importance of finding a work environment and position that is a great fit for the employee from the beginning. This can be difficult to do, especially if one is unsure of what that environment or position should look like.

employU’s Psychological and Vocational Evaluations can help a jobseeker figure out exactly what they should be looking for when it comes to finding a workplace and career that is the best fit for them.

Psychological Evaluations are used to assess an individual’s

Cognitive and learning abilities
Intellectual functioning
Academic achievement
Educational aptitude
Perceptual and mental or emotional status

This can assist in helping to identify strengths and weaknesses in the areas of cognitive, behavioral, social, emotional, and developmental functioning and identify any mental health challenges in order to assist in guiding recommendations for appropriate work settings.

Psychological Evaluations can also be combined with Vocational Evaluations to further identify and develop employment goals. This individualized assessment utilizes work, either real or simulated, and incorporates medical, psychological, social, cultural, and economic information to assist individuals in developing their employment pursuits.

With these evaluations, finding a workplace environment and career path that works best for the employee can improve mental health in the workspace and therefore, improve mental health overall.

Afterall, mental health symptoms seem to have become increasingly more common – 76% of respondents reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past year. And work environment seems to have been a contributing factor.

In the study, 41% of the respondents reported that going back to working in-person from working remotely had a negative impact on their mental health, while 37% reported a lack of flexibility or work-life balance due to their workplace’s policy negatively affected their mental health. With these findings, it is clear that finding the right workplace and job match for an individual can greatly improve mental health while at work.

Now that the discussion of mental health in the workplace has shifted to allow work culture to change in a way that promotes mental health, employees seem to be more motivated than ever to find a work environment and career that best suits them. Psychological and Vocational Evaluations are tools built to do just that. And knowing the best employment plan for the employee seems to be the first step to improving mental health in the workspace overall. For more information on Psychological and Vocational Evaluations visit https://employu.org/evaluations/ or contact us using the form below.