The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that the UK economy is expected to avoid a recession this year, after it sharply upgraded its growth forecast. Yet, although the UK has marked itself safe from recession, one of the largest risks to the British economy remains high levels of absenteeism at work – which has a knock-on effect on productivity levels. Figures from the ONS show record levels of people absent from work due to ill health, dating back to the pandemic. Most notably, the statistics show an increase in the “conditions related to mental health, particularly in the young”. With research indicating that 80% of British employees admit to not wanting to attend work at least once a week, compared to just 74% of their European counterparts, it is clear that the British workplace needs a cultural overhaul if employees are to engage meaningfully with their jobs. New research from Rethinkly – a virtual world platform that helps resolve communication and wellbeing challenges – unveils that almost one in four (23%) UK workers say they’re suffering from poor mental health due to work stress, resulting in their productivity being half of what it could be.

In light of the concerning figures, with their research showing that over one in five (21%) 18-34-year-olds say that workplace interactions are now their most significant source of anxiety, post-COVID, Andrew Jackson and David Tinker, the definitive workplace and wellbeing experts, as well as CEO and co-founders of immersive tech platform, Rethinkly, discuss how companies can look after the mental health of their employees, in the midst of not only a productivity crisis, but a worsening mental health epidemic.

Building a culture that promotes ‘psychological safety’ is vital in ensuring that employees feel heard. The term, now ubiquitous in organisational settings is key to unlocking a healthy workplace culture. Describing a shared belief held by members of a team that it’s OK to take risks and to express their ideas and concerns, as well as to speak up with questions, and admit mistakes — without fear of negative consequences or judgement. However, Rethinkly’s latest study reveals that just under one in five UK workers (18%) worry that their employees will judge them for making a mistake, and consequently, 26% harbour all workplace tension due to finding confrontation too difficult.

David Tinker from Rethinkly says: “An unhealthy culture tends to be one where even the fact that something is undiscussable cannot be discussed – the huge elephant in the room. This normally results in avoidance of risk, poor decision making and low levels of creativity all resulting in poor performance. We don’t like working in unhealthy cultures as we know it has a negative impact on our wellbeing and yet we can feel trapped. The only way out is to create ‘psychological safety’, especially at the top. Psychological safety is achieved by increasing levels of self-awareness through some kind of reflective practice – looking in the mirror and listening to feedback”.

To further this, Rethinkly’s data shows that a staggering 22% of UK employees say that verbal communication with bosses and peers is the hardest part of their job. Perpetuated by a two-year hiatus, Zoom interactions and isolated communication, Tinker argues that it is no surprise that workplace anxiety is on the rise following the pandemic. A study from the Harvard Business Review showed that employees who felt their managers were not good at communicating have been 23% more likely than others to experience mental health declines.

Andrew Jackson from Rethinkly says: “Most challenges at work stem from a lack of or just bad communication. Communication challenges are directly aligned with morale, productivity, and commitment which have real business impact. Effective communication and building a strong culture based on healthy engagement are often talked about but surprisingly difficult to achieve. But when organisations start to embed and grow critical communication skills and adopt them as a competitive advantage, they can start to see a significant shift in their trajectory.”

Now more than ever proactive and preventive workplace mental health training for leaders, managers, and individual contributors is essential to foster an environment that supports staff wellbeing. As more and more people struggle with mental health, it’s important to debunk common myths, reduce stigma, and build the necessary skills to have productive conversations about mental health at work.

Andrew Jackson comments on the need for a scalable organisational solution for mental health: “There are two reasons why organisations need to think about providing support to their entire businesses – one ethical, one commercial. In many organisations, coaching is reserved for the very senior but actually, those that need it the most are those starting out their careers who are just forming their approaches and skill sets.

“Only providing a critical skill to a senior few isn’t fair and it isn’t a great strategy for the future of your business. Our vision is that this level of interaction and support should be available to everyone in an organisation. And organisations that do this find that it unlocks creativity and innovation on a wider scale. All this is better for the bottom line.”