Emerging themes in global mental health regulations

Companies that take the initiative to prioritize mental health in the workplace can cultivate more successful employee relationships to increase productivity and creativity, while improving reputation, retention, and attractiveness. But better mental health support for employees isn’t just best practice — it’s a requirement across many jurisdictions. Our new expert-authored eBook, Mental health in the workplace: A guide for EHS managers, explains where it’s a requirement – and where it’s non-mandatory. Either way, businesses must be familiar with new terms entering the mental health landscape, to ensure they’re maintaining compliance and supporting their employees’ mental health.

The familiar terms

The lingo often associated with mental health discussions is amplifying, as the issue continues to become more prevalent in global regulations. Companies that aren’t prepared and up to date on the key words can get left behind, which can harm their employees and the business overall. 

As an evolving and growing topic, mental health doesn’t so much change its themes — it simply adds to its roster. Before looking at the new key words now being adopted, here’s an overview of the main topics that form the foundation of workplace mental health and why it’s important for businesses to understand and support employees experiencing difficulties relating to mental health…
 

Stress

Defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation,” indicators of stress typically include: difficulty concentration, frequent headaches, an upset stomach, weakened immune system, and difficulty falling asleep at night. Feeling stressed at work can cause employees to struggle to meet expectations and manage their workload.  

Depression

Differing from the colloquial use of “depressed” when describing a low mood, depression is a medical condition, or mood disorder, categorized by a persistent low mood or loss of interest for a long period, or periods, of time: usually up to two weeks at a time or more. There are multiple types of depression that can have varying impacts on employees: 

• Clinical depression — the most severe and sometimes referred to as major depressive order (MDD) 

• Atypical depression — symptoms include increased appetite, sensitivity to rejection, and temporary mood improvement 

Like stress, depression can cause sleep problems and challenges with concentration at work and at home, likely resulting in major difficulties for the employee and their role in the company, without proper support from management.
 

Anxiety

Similar to depression, anxiety can be used colloquially to describe a current feeling or state of being, distinguished by tension, worry, and increased blood pressure. In severe cases of anxiety, it can become a medically diagnosed condition. In medicine, there are four types of anxiety disorders: 

1. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) — the most common type, characterized by restlessness, feeling on-edge, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, headaches, and trouble sleeping 
2. Panic disorders — a type of anxiety that presents itself in the form of intense, and often unexpected, fear, discomfort, or loss of control. There may be no identifiable dangers or triggers 
3. Social anxiety — this is diagnosed when someone carries an intense fear of being watched and judged, or communicating with others 
4. Phobias —phobia-related anxiety is defined as intense, disproportionate fears or aversions to things. Arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and agoraphobia (fear of being in situations where you might feel trapped or can’t easily escape) are examples

Seasonal affective disorder

Often referred to by the acronym SAD, seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression that usually only occurs in the autumn/fall and winter seasons, when it’s typically darker and colder than other times of the year. Its symptoms can almost mirror that of depression, but the difference with seasonal affective disorder is it usually disappears in the warmer and sunnier months of spring and summer.
 

Burnout  

The term ‘burnout’ came to the forefront of mental health discussions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Defined as chronic workplace stress that builds up over time — and is therefore not immediately recognized for what it is — burnout is characterized by energy depletion and exhaustion, an increase in cynicism or negativity towards one’s job, and reduced productivity or efficiency at work. It’s not a medical condition, but it can cause severe issues relating to mental and physical health.

The newer terms

While some of the mental health key words have remained the same over the years, new buzzwords are also emerging all the time.
 

Carewashing

Similar in its concept to wellbeing washing (where businesses claim to advocate for employee wellbeing and mental health support without any solid proof) carewashing describes a company’s attempts to attract employees back to the office with unsubstantiated claims of support. These unevidenced claims harm businesses as employees lose trust and motivation in the company, leading to lower employee engagement overall. This will, in turn, impact the company’s ability to meet its goals.

Right to rest and right to disconnect

Over the last several years, companies around the world have adopted ‘right to rest’ or ‘right to disconnect’ policies for employees, whether by law or by choice. These policies allow employees to fully disconnect from work by mandating that they don’t have to engage with work-related activities or communications, such as emails and chat messages, outside their working hours. This allows employees to foster a better work-life balance, improve mental health, and reduce the risk and cost of burnout.
 

Absenteeism and presenteeism

• Absenteeism — when employees are physically absent from work 

• Presenteeism — when employees are physically at work but not fully functioning due to an illness, injury, or other condition 

In the past, missing work for mental health reasons wasn’t perceived positively, as a good work ethic was often misconstrued as being at work despite the difficulties. But presenteeism can cost companies more financial loss than absenteeism, as employees may be struggling with productivity loss, distractions, and poor time management.
 

Languishing versus thriving

• Thriving — when a person feels at their best 

• Languishing — a state between depression and thriving, characterized by feeling low 

Everyone, inside and outside of the workplace, aims to thrive; we all wish to feel our best and have a strong purpose throughout our days. However, sometimes we can fall into a state of languishing, where we don’t feel as good as we want to and may feel that we’re simply “getting by” for the time being. Employers can help those languishing by encouraging time off for self-care and rejuvenation.
 

Aloneliness

While we’re all familiar with the term “loneliness” as a sadness that occurs when someone is socially isolated, “aloneliness” is a dissatisfaction that arises from not spending enough time alone. It’s, in fact, the opposite of feeling lonely — instead, someone feels that they want or need more time alone and not surrounded by people. This feeling can carry into work, with further feelings of frustration, hostility, and lower motivation as employees remain overwhelmed with the company of others.
 

Psychological safety

Psychological safety describes an environment at work where current employees and new hires feel comfortable enough to share ideas and opinions, and take risks, without fearing negative consequences from management. Instilling a sense of psychological safety boosts mental health as workers feel more supported.
 

Neurodiversity

A term that has soared in recent years, neurodiversity is an umbrella term referring to “people whose brains process information differently than most people”, and includes conditions such as ADHD, autism, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and Tourette’s syndrome. Neurodiverse employees are often more innovative and creative, with different ideas and thoughts than the majority of the workforce. This can make them a great asset in organizations, but companies can also suffer if they don’t manage the diversity of their workers in line with equality and inclusion policies, as many neurodiverse individuals can also become overwhelmed by noises, lights, relationships, and overstimulating environments.

How businesses can support better mental health

There are a number of programs, policies, behaviors and approaches EHS leaders can implement and adopt to foster better support for employee mental health and create a supportive and compassionate work culture.  

To read more about them, and to see where such programs are mandatory — and non–mandatory — requirements globally, download our new eBook Mental health in the workplace: A guide for EHS managers.