Worth Reading – Your ‘Culture’ is a Lie Until You Fund Mental Health
The title above is a strong statement. So is this:
Mental health should be treated as a core component of your company’s infrastructure, not an afterthought or perk. Neglecting it leads to diminished productivity, burnout and high employee turnover.
It may seem shocking to call your culture a lie, but I agree with Craig’s point. Culture in a business is ultimately about how we treat each other. When companies describe their culture as collegial, professional, or respectful, they are making a promise to their employees. At a bare minimum, that promise is that we care about you enough to want to see you be successful. When we dismiss employee mental health concerns by providing them with a wellness app subscription and checking off an item on our “Employee Benefits” checklist, that’s not enough. It’s certainly not an example of the culture you claim to have.
The culture you describe would be working toward solutions to the epidemic of burnout and anxiety. Especially the stress that results from financial instability, caregiving responsibilities, and discrimination, to name a few. A good workplace culture addresses these issues by providing a living wage, flexibility, and equal opportunities, among other benefits related to quality mental health care.
An app doesn’t show that you care, and if you don’t care, you have no culture.
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