How to foster healthier & happier workplace -- Good employee mental health starts at the top*

How to foster healthier & happier workplace -- Good employee mental health starts at the top*

Kana Enomoto

It's clear from the data: employees are struggling with burnout and mental health. What's also clear is that organizations want to support their workforces' mental health, both because it's the right thing to do and because healthy employees are more productive, fulfilled workers. But for leaders, how exactly to create supportive work environments isn't always as clear.

At the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI), we define burnout as a phenomenon that happens when your job demands outstrip your resources to perform your job. It's when you have too many things to do, and not enough tools, energy, or mind space to do them.

Based on a survey of more than 30,000 employees from around the world, we know that about 20 percent of employees in the global workforce are experiencing symptoms of burnout. Burnout can contribute to alienation, distancing, exhaustion, and even cognitive impairment, and it puts people at risk for increased anxiety, depression, and substance use.

 

A particularly worrying trend is that young people are experiencing poor mental health at a much higher rate than their older counterparts. Of all the generations, Gen Z has consistently shown increasing rates of anxiety and depression. One in four Gen Zers McKinsey surveyed globally in 2022 self-reported poor mental health. That's three times the rate of baby boomers. We know this not just through self-reporting but also through epidemiology. During the pandemic, there was a 50 percent increase in children showing up at emergency departments with suicidality.

What's behind this? 

Social media tends to be an easy scapegoat because increases in mental health problems appear in parallel to its rise. But there are other factors in play, like changes in social connection, family structures, and even our diets.

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(*) McKinsey's classics -- 30th may 2024