The mental health crisis is having a significant impact in the workplace, with 67% of organisations reporting an increase in mental health issues, confirmed a new report.
Mental health issues were also the most significant driver of employee-related issues and events, revealed the study carried out by tech platform HR Acuity. The results of its Seventh Annual Employee Relations Benchmark Study, show that employee relations teams are now triaging mental health issues, conducting threat assessments and evaluating security risks.
The striking conclusion is that with deep insight into workplace culture, employee experience and wellbeing, employee relations plays a critical role in managing these issues. To effectively support employee mental health, organisations must commit to greater investments in training, investigation aftercare and additional employee relations resources, noted the report.
TRUST & TRANSPARENCY
Tracking employee relations and investigations data is universal, but many organisations struggle to effectively leverage the data to inform business decisions. Nearly one in five organisations collects but does not use employee relations data and metrics. These organisations are missing the opportunity to both demonstrate to leadership the value of employee relations practices and to unlock additional resources and build greater trust, according to the study.
Many employers still engage in employee relations practices that can undermine transparency and trust. Although some organisations have made efforts to improve employee experience and culture, this year’s study shows only 17% of organisations share investigation outcomes with employees, a rate of ten points below that in 2019. Fortune 100 respondents are leading the industry as 27% shared aggregated, anonymous investigation and employee relations data with employees in 2022.
TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY
“This year’s data provides a striking reminder that living through times of great change requires courageous leadership. While we have emerged on the other side of the pandemic, the impact on employees’ mental health is far-reaching,” said Deb Muller, CEO of HR Acuity. “Simultaneously, as younger generations transform the demographics of our workforce, we are leading at a time when expectations for transparency and accountability are at the highest levels ever seen.”
Introduced in 2016, the Employee Relations Benchmark Study is the preeminent source for information from employee relations leaders at organizations with more than 1,000 employees from a wide range of industry sectors. The study has become the go-to resource for employee relations professionals to guide strategy, resource, and process decisions to improve the employee experience and drive better business outcomes.
For more insights from the study, click here.
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