Towards a corporate culture that incorporates mental health
Every organization has a specific culture . Like a small society, all its members know, whether consciously or not, that there are shared values, beliefs, and practices. Furthermore, all organizations also have internal subcultures that, in the best-case scenario, complement and enhance the overall culture, and in other cases, generate contradictions and can even lead to conflict.
At the same time, most adults spend the majority of their time at work. Inevitably, the working world shapes our habits, including those related to health. This reality, in terms of well-being, not only impacts individuals but also companies in terms of productivity, talent retention, engagement, and absenteeism.
Fight the stigma of mental health in the workplace
We know that stigma is the main barrier to addressing mental health in the workplace. Fear and lack of knowledge prevent us from creating mentally healthy environments. Many organizations decide to start working on the emotional well-being of their staff by establishing psychological support services or creating prevention protocols, but it is a very common mistake to overlook the enormous impact that company culture has on the mental health of employees.
We know that 90% of people who have experienced a mental health problem have not felt able to speak openly about it at work.
On the other hand, 76% of companies consider the mental health of their teams a concern, but the taboo and lack of awareness mean that only 30% of management staff have received training in this regard.
Clearly, we see a gap here between the impact of mental health on organizations, the importance that executives and managers place on it, and the ability to find solutions. As we mentioned earlier, corporate culture plays a crucial role in this process of change. And it is the leaders who bear the greatest responsibility. After all, they are the ones with the greatest real capacity to establish values that help break down the stigma surrounding mental health.
Any cultural change requires a top-down approach to succeed. Leaders must treat mental health as a strategic priority . It cannot be relegated to human resources or prevention. They must become allies who foster an environment of transparency and openness. Building a stigma-free culture must be the cornerstone of our mental health policies.
Aligning formal and informal corporate culture
It's important to distinguish between formal and informal culture. Formal culture is that which is documented in official records, regulations, and communications. Informal culture, on the other hand, is what everyone learns over time and often has a much greater impact on daily life than formal culture.
Leaders have the power to ensure that formal and informal cultures are aligned and don't clash. It's pointless to have psychosocial risk prevention plans if our teams then believe that asking for help or simply talking about mental health will negatively impact their career prospects.
It is crucial that executives and managers initiate these conversations. Even more important is that they share their own experiences to break down false beliefs that fuel a collective mindset leading to silence and delaying an unstoppable process of change regarding mental health in the workplace.
Ángel A. Urbina
In turn, employees have a responsibility to actively participate in this transformation, as it impacts their own well-being and the collective benefit of the organization. Fortunately, none of these elements require a large investment, simply a constant and sincere commitment to improving mental health in the workplace.
Our business leaders must be trained on stigma and mental health from a leadership perspective and with new skills that will transform their organizations and achieve tangible improvements in the bottom line.
A corporate culture that normalizes mental health is part of the path to success.
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