"The mental health of the workforce is rapidly becoming one of the most valuable assets a company can have in today's intensely competitive business environment. As we complete the transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, the human mind is replacing physical labor as the mechanism responsible for the "heavy lifting" that drives production and profit. In an economy that generates brilliant innovation and excellent service as its primary products, the ability of the mind to engage in the creation of new concepts, focused problem solving, and effective team work will top our hierarchy of work skills responsible for maintaining a competitive edge. In the most rapidly changing market the world has ever known, the well-being of "human capital" will come to represent an indispensable business investment.
As evidence of this transition to dependence on mental capital, consider the multitude of products introduced during the last decade that have forever changed our ways of living. Once imaginable only in the realm of science fiction, these brilliant developments include the computer technologies, innovations in telecommunications, and Internet access we now consider indispensable. Conceived, designed, and implemented by the magnificent motherboard of the human mind, these products are examples of human creativity and problem solving at the very highest level. Their existence is proof of the possibilities that exist when the mind engages full throttle with the task at hand, working like the exquisitely tuned engine in a high-performance racecar.
Market research has shown repeatedly that the biggest risk to this human capital asset comes from a silent but deadly inside force: the presence of untreated mental health and emotional problems in the workforce. Unrecognized or ignored, this coalition of conditions can seriously impair the mind's ability to perform at an optimal level. With sabotage by stealth, the human problems in this group are credited with draining billions of dollars from corporate coffers each year. Stress and depression might well qualify for charges of grand larceny, as their extortion adds up to $300 billion and $44 billion respectively on an annual basis. Other problems exacting substantial tolls include anxiety, chemical dependency, anger and violence, work-life balance and concerns related to aging parents.
The staggering multi-billion-dollar price tag is measured in lost workdays, "presenteeism" (the employee reports to work but is unproductive), mistakes, accidents, and dramatically increased medical claims. Depression comes in as the number one factor in long-term medical leave and disability claims, with stress-related problems placing second. Retention costs appear on the scene when an untreated employee becomes too severely impaired to remain with an organization. Expenses related to replacement include an amount equal or somewhat greater than one year's salary, with this figure increasing exponentially if the impaired employee is a senior executive. As the ripple effect continues, full accounting would include lost sales, lost innovation, customer service problems, disruptions in teamwork, and failure to oversee the financial processes that protect revenue.
Conservative estimates suggest that between 10 percent and 30 percent of the workforce are impacted by these problems at any given time. The good news is that all of these problems are treatable, often in a short period. The bad news is that employees often go without treatment, thinking they should be able to tough it out or fearing that management will take a critical point of view of any request for assistance. In some business environments, there may be an actual stigma attached to the acknowledgment of mental health problems, in which case employees are truly pressured to suffer in silence.
What can employers do to protect the asset of human capital and avoid these billion-dollar decimations of the bottom line? The answer lies in a high-impact business/mental health alliance, a partnership between the business world and the mental health community in a campaign for optimal mental health. This powerhouse collaboration is uniquely suited to put a win-win solution on the table for both parties. How does the resulting contract work? With the vast majority of the adult population employed, the workplace is ideally suited for screening mental health problems. When organizations invest in early detection, the outcome is an identified need for the services of the mental health community. In return, the products offered by mental health, including education, assessment and state-of-the art treatment, ensure that business can continue operations with a protected and fully productive workforce.
Forward-thinking companies, including most of those in the Fortune 500, are making the business/mental health alliance a standard practice in the strategic plan for success. Effective collaborations on behalf of optimal mental health and a profitable bottom line include: training for managers and supervisors in early recognition of mental health/emotional problems, along with the communication skills needed for referral of troubled employees to treatment; the availability of user-friendly screening assessments in the workplace, on company Web sites, in employee lounges and at yearly health fairs; the provision of free, confidential counseling services through employee assistance programs; and the establishment of workplace policies directed at accommodating employees who seek help. While guardians of the budget may question the wisdom of underwriting these interventions, research on the effectiveness consistently demonstrates an ROI for business that is equal to or greater than cost. In short, the business/mental health alliance is a powerful partnership in eliminating the negative impact of untreated mental health and emotional problems. In the course of effecting an important humanitarian mission, it is decidedly sound business practice.
With this debut column, Judith Humble brings 17 years of experience in the field of employee assistance to the readers of Business Lexington. Future columns will explore the approaches that local organizations and businesses around the world are taking to address these problems effectively. She will also be writing about the uses of business coaching, about new discoveries related to learning and training, and about organizational health.
Judith Humble is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Employee Assistance Professional with 16 years of experience providing mental health services, training, and consultation to the business community. In February, she will become the new clinical director for Croney and Clark, Inc. She will continue to work with individual clients and companies in her private practice, with the goal of facilitating personal and professional success. Judith can be reached at (859) 576-0002, or judydancing@insightbb.com.