keep their employees’ wellness at the fore front of their organizational goals. While
many will develop strategies around creating an environment that pushes physical
activity and healthy eating habits, many neglect evaluating their work environment
for the sake of their employees’ mental health. In this article we will examine the
literature available from the various studies conducted on how the work
environment can impact an employees’ mental health and compare those for
commonalities. In addition, we will review how the working conditions and how
their impact on mental health can affect the organization’s success.
To begin we need to understand that many employees will choose not to disclose their mental health symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress related (Brouwers, Joosen, et a., 2020) especially to their employers due to the fear of the stigma associated with mental health (Brouwers, Joosen, et a., 2020). Employees fear the retaliation and discrimination that can result from it. Moreover, employees who suffer from these symptoms fear to be perceived as having an unstable psychological state (Xin, 2022) that can potentially hinder their growth opportunities within the organization. Also, there’s a perception that employees with mental health illness have an inability to adapt (Xin, 2022) or lack significantly self-awareness (Xin, 2022). Effectively managing and motivating employees for a better mental health state will be important for organizational success. Organizations can foster an environment that supports those with mental illness by creating awareness and providing perks that allow for employees to recognize their efforts in promoting a mentally healthier work environment. When employees perform well organizations can reach their organizational success (Xin, 2022) however, an unhealthy mental health state can negatively impact an employees’ performance if the appropriate working conditions are not available for those employees.
Organizations can achieve success
when facilitating a healthy work environment. A healthy work environment
results from the right working conditions (Hameed, Sabharwal, 2022). The
various articles and studies reviewed for this literature review discuss many
commonalities in what is considered among experts to be optimal working
conditions. For instance, a mentally healthy work environment is one free of
retaliation for those experiencing stress related symptoms (Brouwers, Joosen,
et a., 2020). For some organizations it is not feasible to create environments
free of stress because of the nature of their services, such as first
responders, however, there is a lot the leaders can do to provide appropriate
stress management techniques for their employees. One of these can be regular
stress management training or regular therapy for those who have experienced
traumatic events. The right environment will also provide opportunities for
growth and communication to promote a healthy psychological environment
(Hameed, Sabharwal, 2022). Employees must feel like they have an opportunity to
further expand their skills and responsibilities to be content with their job
and understand how their work can be meaningful. Xin, (2022) discusses how job
flexibility, autonomy and decision-making power can play a role on the
employees’ ability to find meaning in the work they perform. An employee who
can somewhat control their workload and the work they perform will be more
connected to what they do. That connection will in turn lead them to be committed
to their job. Meaningful work leads to organizational commitment (Xin, 2022)
which in turn leads to a positive connection between the organizational
identification (OID) and the well-being of the employees. Organizational
commitment will be important to reduce the turnover rate, which can negatively
impact an organization’s financial state. OID will result from the human
resources practices of the organization (Hameed, Sabharwal, 2022). The right
human resources decisions will allow employees to see that their leaders have
their best interest in mind. It increases security, by reducing the uncertainty
of the aspects of the job and thus improves the employee’s emotional state
(Hameed, Sabharwal, 2022). This will be important for the “psychological
contract” when organization leaders have an unspoken expectations for employees
to perform and employees in turn expect the organization to provide an
environment that allows for them to do so (Xin, 2022). Employees and leaders
who know exactly what to expect of the other will be a lot more confident in
what they do.
According to the experts, however, the problem starts when
the working conditions of the job do not align with the needs of the employees.
For example, the job demands (Brouwers, Joosen, et a., 2020) workload and work
pace (Xin, 2022) are common sources of work-related stress (Mariko, Mutsuhiro, et al., 2022).
Stress significantly contributes to the onset and further complications of
mental health (Brouwers, Joosen, et a., 2020). A demanding job or excessive workload
as well as a lack of supervisor support, can create a stressful situation. As
well as the inappropriate pace, which can either stress or demotivate an
employee. An employee who is unable to keep up with the pace required will grow
anxious while the one who is not challenged enough will grow bored. Either one
will affect the employees’ satisfaction with their job and lead to a stressful
situation. Regularly being subjected to a stressful situation can take a toll
on the mental health of the employee. This is especially true when the employee
is unable to find the right support in their superior. When employees are
properly supported, they are better prepared to perform well. However, on the
other hand we must also look at how the working conditions can have a positive
impact on mental health under the right circumstances (Xin, 2022). To positively impact the employees’ health,
employers must understand how the job control or the ability to have a say in
the distribution of workload provides with the flexibility that (Shifrin, & Michel, 2022) can positively
impact an employee’s work environment. Flexibility in the work
arrangement leads to a better work-life balance (Shifrin, & Michel, 2022) although it is worth noting
that none of the studies reviewed considered the gender differences as a
contributing factor. Flexible work schedules are linked to better
physical health (Shifrin, &
Michel, 2022) although the connection between flexible work schedules and
mental health has yet to be made, those with flexible scheduling abilities were
found to have fewer levels of stress. The impact of stress on mental
health has been a very well researched topic. Work-related stress is the cause
of a high number of absences, employee dissatisfaction and high turnover rates
among other organizational weaknesses (Lashewicz, B., Mitchell, et al., 2020). A persistently high level of
stress over time can lead to burn out, (Lashewicz, B., Mitchell, et al., 2020) a sign of a diminished
mental health state.
Organizational culture and mental health
It is important to determine the
role organizational culture plays in the mental health of employees
(Jablonowski, 2017) for organizations to develop employee wellness programs
that will help them maintain a healthy workforce. Working conditions’ impact on
mental health related symptoms (Rolland, Hadouiri, et a., 2022). Biman,
Maharana, et al., (2021) studied the effects of workplace yoga as an initiative
to reduce stress and musculoskeletal pain as
a result of the long-standing periods employees were subjected to in the
diamond industry. They had 155 employees participate in a program with sixty-six
of them participating in a one-hour session of yoga at least four times a week,
while the others continued their existing lifestyle routines. After three
months both groups were re-evaluated to find that the group who participated in
the yoga exercises were significantly showing higher levels of improvement in
their pain and stress levels than those who did not participate. This study
differentiates from the others reviewed in that most experts are concerned with
the effects of the working conditions on the mental health of the employees,
however very few proposed a way to improve those conditions by adding benefits
such as, yoga, extra time off or even perks that would lead an employee to have
a healthier balance in life.
For this reason, more and more organizations are considering
the employees’ wellness and incorporating that at the forefront of their
organizational strategic plans, because mental health has an impact on organizational
success. To begin we can look at the impact of mental health and business
functions (Kensbock, Alkersig, Lomber, 2022) by considering that the number one
cause of long-term absences (van
Hoffen, Rijnhart, et al., 2021) are due to symptoms related to mental illness
such as, burnout, depression and anxiety. Moreover, psychological health
and the impact on performance (Panchal, Singh, et al., 2022) as an employee
experiencing a mental crisis is unable to concentrate and perform their duties
as diligently and efficiently as they would otherwise. Consider men’s mental
health for example, men who experience mental health illness symptoms are less
likely to seek help due to the stigma associated with their need to be strong
and resilient providers of their families. As a result, they are in a constant
cycle of needing to be busy to show that they are performing well, and thus are
doing well mentally, but the suicidal rates of men surpass those of women.
According to the Centers for Disease Control website (www.cdc.gov), in 2020 the suicide rate of males
were 4 times higher than those of females. Lashewicz, Mitchell, et al., (2020)
attribute this to the need to be constantly viewed as the strong, busy,
provider of the family.
Improving working conditions of the
psychosocial work environment will be key to securing a mentally healthier
workforce. To do this, organizations will need to ensure that their leaders
realize the job is not just that of the human resources department, but rather
everyone plays a role. The psychosocial work environment has a lot to do with
the organizational culture. It is the way employees work with each other, and
the workload, along with the level of control the employees have on the job
they perform, as well as their involvement in the decision-making process (Shifrin,
& Mitchel, 2022).
In conclusion, the relationship between mental health and
working conditions is one worth examining further. Not only do organizations need
to keep that in mind at the time of creating their organization goals, but also
for the sake of public health. Considering that as adults we are spending more time
at work than ever before, it is important that for the sake of public health we
study how the working conditions of the employees can affect the general mental
health of our communities. An employee who is constantly subjected to high
levels of stress at work will likely impact family life as well.
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