The World Health Organization defines mental health as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.”
Our research in Sapien Labs, drawn from over 1.3 million people who have taken the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) diagnostic, shows three concerning findings:
1. The state of mental well-being as described by WHO, i.e. the ability to function, is declining globally
2. This crisis is profoundly affecting younger generations. Young adults (18 – 24) are 3-5 times worse off than the oldest working generation. They will become the largest workforce demographic within the next 5-7 years
3. Mental well-being directly correlates with performance. People with low MHQ have 3-5 times lower productivity, and 10-12 times lesser ability to show up for work, than people who are thriving
Organizations will increasingly contend with this phenomenon as a greater proportion of people have lower mental well-being than at any time before.
So what can they do? We believe that a fundamental mindset shift is needed from viewing this as an individual phenomenon to an environmental one. Fostering a healthy environment within organizations leads to enhanced well-being, and thus better individual and collective performance. From our research, we have identified four factors that organizations can directly influence towards sustaining high performance. Watch on to learn more.
Do these resonate? Are you actively taking steps towards these?
