Managing mental health: DN experts who address employee well-being

What’s one of the biggest challenges facing business leaders in the post-pandemic world? Employee well-being and mental health.

We are living in a time when people are dealing with a lot more stress and anxiety – the ability to cope has become a challenge.  Gallup® recently came out with a State of the Global Workplace report that showed only 33% of the world’s employees are thriving – and that percentage has only increased by 1% since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The needle has not moved much at all…why is this?

Although stress is a normal reaction to the pressures of everyday life, there is also an emotional component that feeds into our ability to deal and cope with all the things we want or need to do in life, including the workplace. Overall last year, people worldwide felt more worried, stressed, and sad than at any time in the past 16 years!  A large majority of Americans are reporting high-stress levels due to financial concerns, inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a poll from the American Psychological Association. 

It’s not uncommon to see fellow employees dealing with the components of emotional stress – whether it’s physical, mental, or behavioral. Perhaps you’ve noticed someone feeling overwhelmed with a simple task, trouble remembering or keeping track of deadlines, or even the inability to make quick decisions or find solutions to problems. While stress and anxiety do not typically show up on a spreadsheet, they do remain an organizational risk.

Understanding how people are feeling is essential for leaders who strive to create thriving workplaces. Employee engagement within an organization also plays a large part of its overall success and ability to flourish. When organizations intentionally address both well-being and engagement, the effects are additive and mutually beneficial for employees and business outcomes alike. A person’s well-being at their place of employment can be the foundation or launching pad for the other well-being elements in their life – health, finances, etc.  In the absence of a good job and fulfilling career, there is no net thriving.

That is why employee well-being is crucial right now to organizational health and employee engagement -

and it’s important for leaders to understand that it is the single biggest driver of career well-being.  Forbes even warns that if leaders do not pay attention to this, they are likely to be blindsided by top performer burnout and high quit rates.

The data is quite clear—when your employees are happy and able to cope with the everyday stresses of life in a healthy way, your organization directly benefits. Your people will take fewer sick days, deliver higher performance, and have lower rates of burnout and turnover. But when your employees' health and well-being suffer, so does your organization's bottom line.

Today, the question many leaders are asking is, "Are my people stressed and disengaged?" If the answer most likely is “yes”, then the next question needs to be—“What do we do to change that and how?”  Leaders need their employees to confidently know that their organization cares about their well-being. 

DN has experts who address this subject matter from their own unique and personal perspectives. Their insights help leaders create a better and thriving workplace for the future. 

SUNEEL GUPTA 

SUNEEL GUPTA helps organizations reach sustainable peak performance by bolstering their people’s emotional resilience and overall well-being.  As CEO of RISE, he helped thousands of people overcome their challenges with physical and mental health. He shows audiences simple science-based habits that unleash more energy, creativity, innovation, and fulfillment at work. 

SUNEEL GUPTA: Help During Tough Times Enhances Well Being

NICOLE MALACHOWSKI 

What can we learn about managing stress, focus, and engagement from a combat pilot and first woman Thunderbird? A lot. NICOLE MALACHOWSKI draws on her experiences to reveal fresh ways to focus on your stakeholders, keep everyone moving in the same direction, and lead with calm and confidence.

NICOLE MALACHOWSKI: Beyond Resilient - Resurgent

 MIKE ABRASHOFF

The captain of the best ship in the Navy, MIKE ABRASHOFF, offers a roadmap for leaders to help build trust and authentic ways of engaging to empower employees and unleash levels of performance, engagement, and fulfillment that exceed expectations.

 MIKE ABRASHOFF: Appreciation Goes a Long Way

POLLY LABARRE 

How can leaders create organizations that are as human as the people who work in them? POLLY LaBARRE unpacks design rules for unleashing your organization’s full human and creative capacity and lays out a path for humanizing work.  Polly is an inspiring and provocative voice on the big ideas and important questions that will shape the future of organizations, work, and collective progress. 

POLLY LaBARRE: A New People Model Transforms Business