What is the role of work in the mental health and well-being of workers?

On the occasion of the findings of the largest global study(1) on the well-being of employees, Gallup(2), I share below the key points and the predictive factors of organizational resilience and performance.

Open questions:
• How it will benefit the businesses and organisations if you give priority to the improvement of the practice of human resources management and the development of the directors;
• What practices will strengthen the commitment to the work at each stage of the cycle of cooperation between workers and managers;
• What happens if businesses begin to invest systematically in creating a culture of well-being, including both economic and psychological aspects;
• What you need to make the politicians and employers to work together in order to create a working environment that supports the well-being of workers and the economic development of the country?

Findings:

1. Deterioration of Mental Health:
   • The mental health of the people is deteriorating worldwide. As stated, “over the last 10 years, the number of people who express anxiety, sadness, worry, anger, or anxiety increases, reaching the highest levels since they started the research of Gallup.”(3)
   • 41% of workers report that they are experiencing “a lot of stress”.
   • Employees of companies with bad management practices are 60% more likely to be stressed than those in companies with good practices.
   • The report explores the essential result of the actions for wellness, stress management, stating that “there is little evidence for the benefits of these interventions.” Argues that “initiatives at the organization level, such as improvements in the planning, the management practices of human resources or the custom design of work”, can contribute to the improvement of Mental Health
2. Cost Of Low Employee Engagement:
   • Low employee engagement costs the global economy an 8.9 trillion, or 9% of global GDP.
   • Global employee engagement has stabilized 2023, while the overall well-being of workers has decreased.
3. Loneliness:
   • Social interactions, and even technological, are associated with a better mood.
   • The work reduces loneliness, general workers (20%) experienced less loneliness than the unemployed (32%).
   • 20% of employees worldwide are experiencing daily loneliness.
   • Loneliness is higher for the fully remote workers (25%) compared with employees who work in full at the company's offices(16%).
   • The well-being of younger workers (under 35 years of age) decreased 2023.
4. Work Engagement and well-being:
   • The commitment of the employees is an important factor for the overall experience of working life.
   • When workers find work and working relations essential, employment is associated with high levels of daily pleasure and low levels of negative emotions.
   • Employees who do not like their work have high levels of daily stress and anxiety.
   • Employers, it is necessary to support the well-being of workers.
5. Committed Employees and Business Results:
   The increase in the number of committed workers leads to improvement of organizational outcomes, including earnings, rates of retention and customer service. The groups with high engagement are:
   • 78% less absenteeism
   • 21-51% lower mobility
   • 63% fewer cases of accidents
   • 10% increase in customer engagement
   • 18% increase in productivity
   • 23% increase in profitability
   • 70% increase in the well-being of workers
6. Role of the Director:
   • The directors are responsible for 70% of the work commitment of the team.
   • Employees in managerial positions experience more negative daily experiences of workers in non-managerial positions.
   • When the directors is committed employees are more likely to be committed.
   • The creation of a relationship with a manager who respects you, is positive and understands the unique talents of the employee increases the commitment.
   • The directors are important to guide employees through the application of feedback and accountability.
7. Role of the Economy and of Policy
   • The countries where it is easy to find a job, the employees have the freedom to escape from the miserable working conditions.
   • The laws on labour rights associated with better assessment of the total life of the workers.
   • Work engagement is associated with hope for the future.
   • Employees with high commitment in countries with laws that aim to fair wages, safe work, family responsibilities and motherhood report lower anxiety.

Conclusions:

The report underlines the vital connection between the well-being of workers, work engagement and organizational performance. Stresses the need to shift the focus from the individual actions wellness initiatives at the level of the organization, improve the management practices, resources, and the design of work. In addition, it highlights the importance of creating a culture that supports the well-being of employees, develop the skills of managers to manage teams, as well as the recognition of the effect of the economic and political context in the experience of the workers.

Happy new year with health and prosperity!!

Sources:

1. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx
2. www.gallup.com global company analysis and consulting
3. Methodology. The primary data in this report come from the Gallup World Poll, through which the Gallup has been conducting research in the global adult population, using randomly selected samples from 2005. The investigation is usually given every year face-to-face or over the phone, covering more than 160 countries and regions since its inception. The total number of global employees interviewed for this report (from 2009 to 2023) is 2.336.570. For 2023, the total is 128.278.