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Surgeon general’s focus on mental health in the workplace mirrors AHA initiative

A healthier workplace makes for healthier people and communities, according to the U.S. surgeon general, whose recent on mental health and well-being in the workplace complements the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥’s  initiative.

“When the mental health of workers suffers, so do workplace productivity, creativity and retention,” said Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murphy.

The report was prompted by the profound impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on work in America. The numbers are startling:

• 76% of U.S. workers in a 2021 survey reported , such as anxiety or depression, a 17% jump in only two years.
• 81% of workers said they will be looking in the future.

The surgeon general presents a framework of five essentials to organizations that want to support the mental health and well-being of workers and includes evidence-based practices for doing so.

Here are the five essentials and how employers can promote them:

1. Protection from harm: Ensure physical and psychological safety; allow adequate rest; provide mental health support and policies that promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
   
   
2. Connection and community: Encourage a sense of inclusion and belonging; cultivate trusted relationships; promote collaboration and teamwork.
   
   
3. Work-life harmony: Provide more autonomy on how work is done; make schedules as flexible and predictable as possible; increase access to paid leave; respect boundaries between work and nonwork time.
   
   
4. Mattering at work: Pay a living wage; engage workers in decision-making; build a culture of gratitude and recognition; connect individual work to organizational mission.
   
   
5. Opportunities for growth: Offer training, education and mentoring; create clear, equitable pathways for advancement; ensure relevant, reciprocal feedback.

The surgeon general champions workplaces as “engines for mental health and well-being,” which is how the  assesses them as well. The scorecard, developed with , industry leaders and AHA volunteers, helps businesses build a healthier, more equitable and productive workforce through evidence-based evaluation and analysis.

Both efforts identify similar grounds for success: safety, security, equity and opportunity. The scorecard goes further, generating data that pins down the substantive changes a business can make in programs and policies to transform its work environment.