Momentum for Mental Health in the Workplace👩🏽‍💻

Mike Berland
7 min readAug 24, 2021

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Graphic by K8 Strassman

People are getting more comfortable with remote work — there has been nearly a 40% increase in the percentage of workers who wish to remain fully remote.

More importantly, we look to the Up and Down to tell us what is UP, what is DOWN and what is NEXT.

What’s on the UP is that people are getting comfortable with remote work. What is driving it is unexpected and will require a different solution than sanitation and social distancing. The workforce isn’t worried about physical health — they are concerned about their own mental health.

NET NET: Prioritizing our mental health has never been more prevalent — momentum for mental health is pinned at 100. One area fueling this momentum is the return to office movement — and what it will mean for employees’ psyche.

At the core of the back to office discussion is the mental health & well-being of workers. Workers (and the media) are fighting for the control that remote work gives them over their lives and time. Now, even as return to office dates are shifting given the new COVID variants, companies are starting to focus on boosting mental health for their employees through evolutions in the office space.

Companies are starting to approach the issue mindfully, innovating on ways to evolve their in-person office environment with an eye toward mental health.

We spent years identifying how employees can bring the office home when they need to… now the biggest insight in office innovations is how to bring the benefits that people like about working from home to the office space.

WHAT’S UP: Return to Office Innovations

Pre-Covid, employees perceived many workplace innovations to be focused on what offices can do to boost productivity and enhance happiness. Think open office plans that encouraged collaboration, direct messaging apps that kept coworkers in constant contact, free food / snacks, game rooms, etc.

Graphic by Trevor Briggs

NOW workplace evolutions are starting to focus on the benefits of the office that promote mental health — building on emotional and physical benefits like community, perks and boundaries between work life and personal lives. Employers are taking into account what people like about working remotely that can be carried over in office spaces — relaxed dress codes, masseuse visits, paid for lunch, in office fitness, company wide monthly days off, outdoor work areas and remote “destination offices” in desirable locales.

Our analytics show the biggest topics in the return-to-office conversation surround control, mental health and anxiety. 4 out of 10 adults in the U.S. reported feeling symptoms of anxiety and depression. Employees are becoming less tolerable of working at companies that increase their stress levels. They want to maintain the same control over their schedules and environment that they enjoy when working remotely.

WHAT’S DOWN: Our challenge to companies encouraging employees to work in an office again… Stop trying to return to old office ways.

WHAT’S NEXT: Innovate by building on what we all learned to like when working remote throughout quarantine. Strive to create a better office environment — one that humanizes your employees and prioritizes their mental health. Providing benefits that address what everyone loves about the work from anywhere experience will show your workers you value them, and help you retain them.

DEEP DIVE

How evolving the office experience to support mental health hits all 5 drivers of momentum.

POLARIZATION: Empowering & providing employees with choice vs. instilling fear & control

In communicating the benefits of working from the office, companies like Crocs & Apple play to employee empowerment and emphasize the importance of in-person collaboration. On the other hand, more traditional companies like those in finance are playing to fear by making the argument that in-person work is more conducive for those who “hustle”.

DISRUPTION: Flipping company culture on its head — Mental health days, flexibility and work-life balance are in. Working long hours and never taking PTO is on the out.

Rather than putting the burden on the employees to set their own boundaries to achieve work life balance, companies are starting to put structures in place like no meeting days and monthly company wide days off — giving staff an additional day off every month on top of normal benefits.

STICKINESS: Learning from the lasting benefits of working from anywhere… like the ability to work outside or in travel destinations.

Outdoor office space: Landlords are betting that outdoor space will be central to the offices of the future: they are investing in outdoor conference rooms, terraces, and roofs that foster a more balanced and healthy work environment, from both a mental and physical health standpoint.

  • Satellite Offices: Some companies are beginning to open “remote” offices in destination locations like Colorado, Utah, Florida, etc — to enable employees the flexibility of working from destination locations while maintaining an in-office experience.

SOCIAL IMPACT: Employer health plans are starting to include mental health.

They are removing typical barriers to seeking help, providing the resources and encouragement that often makes the difference between someone in need getting help vs. not getting it.

INNOVATION: Companies are taking advantage of innovative health & wellness apps, providing corporate memberships to apps like Peloton, BetterUp, Talkspace, Calm, and Lyra Health for their employees.

WATCHOUT: While providing corporate access to benefits like mental health apps is certainly a step in the right direction, this new frontier in mental health care is rife with debate, especially when it comes to the workplace. Questions about privacy/confidentiality and the risk of employees using mental health apps instead of actual therapy, rather than on top of actual therapy, abound.

Privacy concerns include:

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Mike Berland

Momentum Maker, Author of Maximum Momentum, Founder & CEO of Decode_M