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As we approach World Mental Health Day (October 10), it’s a great time to reflect on the value of mental health in the workplace and how we can create a supportive environment, especially for those in the global mobility space. Given the current business environment, it’s also a great time to think about the long-term implications of tempering our focus on the mental health of our employees and the potential impacts on your talent strategy.

This is a conversation we’ve already begun with some of our clients and subject matter experts, asking them to weigh in on the potential impacts on employees (and, more broadly, company culture) if mental health support is not as easily accessible in the years ahead. Here’s what Mala Cornell (RBC) had to say:

Mental health and wellbeing are such an integral part of the employee experience, leading to retention, high performance and many other good outcomes for employers. For companies looking to scale back mental health support for mobile employees, it would be worth looking for options to redirect support to existing programs your organization or health care providers may have today. There are many more options out there than before, including lower-cost tech-driven tools that may be worth exploring.

Mala Cornell Director Global Mobility, RBC

According to The World Health Organization (WHO), the cost of not providing mental health could drastically outweigh any savings given that globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, costing the global economy around $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.

Let’s take a step back and reflect on why mental health support at work is so vital in the first place.

Why Mental Health Matters at Work

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named this year’s theme Mental Health at Work, with a call to action to prioritize mental health in our workplaces, a message that resonates with professionals worldwide. After all, we spend most of our waking hours at work. Ideally, work should provide a sense of purpose, joy, and livelihood. However, for many, work can detract from mental well-being, leading to excessive stress and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. These issues trickle into our personal lives and hurt productivity and performance at work (remember, it’s already costing the global economy around $1 trillion each year)!

A surprising outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic was the widespread understanding of the criticality of supporting mental health and wellness in the workplace and the connection this has to the success of the broader business. Prioritizing mental health leads to healthier, high-performing organizations and communities.

As part of this year’s campaign, here are the top five points emphasized by the WHO about the connections between work and mental health and the key steps leaders can take to cultivate safe, supportive workplaces:

Mental health and work are interconnected.
A positive work environment promotes mental well-being, offering purpose and stability. However, poor conditions can negatively affect mental health, leading to lower job satisfaction and productivity.

Impact on individuals.
A lack of support for those with mental health issues can lower self-esteem, diminish work enjoyment, limit capacity, increase absences, and hinder job opportunities. Family members and caregivers are also affected.

Stigma obstructs employment opportunities.
Stigma and discrimination often discourage people with mental health conditions from seeking help or maintaining employment. Reducing workplace discrimination through education, training, and engagement with affected individuals fosters healthier, more inclusive environments.

Helping workers succeed and thrive.
Employers should provide accommodations to support employees with mental health challenges. Examples include regular check-ins, scheduled breaks, phased task reintroduction, and safe storage for medication.

Training managers to foster mental well-being.
Organizations should train managers to identify and manage workplace stressors. With the right skills, managers can better support their teams and nurture a positive, supportive work atmosphere.

The Mental Health-Mobility Connection

From a mobility perspective, World Mental Health Awareness Day should be our call to action to refocus on the employee experience, which can too often trickle down the to-do list as our work’s loftier tactical and strategic parts take precedence. But hello — we can’t Make Work Happen without people! The health and wellness of our people not only matter from an ethical standpoint, but they’re a critical component of organizational success. And right now, they’re at risk.

Let’s hone in on the mobile workforce, because research has proven time and time again that they’re navigating what is classified as one of the top three most stressful life experiences—more stressful than divorce and (gasp!) having children! So, how can we, as mobility professionals, help them be successful, even if their employers are pulling back on available mental health tools? Building resilience.

Resilience is defined broadly as the capacity to persevere through or recover from setbacks. We can achieve this by building trust, communicating with transparency, and—here’s the biggie—doing these things consistently.

A crucial part of cultivating a resilient mobile workforce is building trust with assignees, which starts with equipping them with all the information needed at every juncture of their move.  As mobility leaders, we’re deeply invested in the well-being of those we support. To that end, it’s our prerogative to ensure they are comfortable, confident, resilient, and empowered to ask questions. Sharing the roadmap of the journey — what they need to do and what we will do — and ensuring ready access to support (this support can include purpose-made tech tools that make their journey easier) will lower their stress levels by creating more certainty and confidence as they start their journey. Facilitating mentor programs – partnering former assignees with current relocating employees – is also a great way to help set expectations and serve as an empathetic ear for any anxieties or concerns related to the transition.

Let’s face it: the mobility landscape is more rugged than ever, and it won’t get any easier to navigate in the near future. The silver lining: the value of mobility professionals has never been greater. We have the specific knowledge, skillsets, and agility to support employees through any existing barriers to relocation. And we are committed to forging trusting, informed, transparent relationships with mobile talent, helping them be resilient throughout their move — and beyond it!