How Company Culture May Be Impacting Your Mental Health

By Taylor Adams, Manager, Workplace Mental Health

Think back to the last time you were struggling at work because of stress or a personal issue. Did you talk to your supervisor about it? When was the last time you took a day off for your mental health? Work-related stress is common in the workplace, but your company’s culture and your relationship with your supervisor play a major role in how you perform your job and manage your stress.

Mental Health America (MHA) just released its 2019 Mind the Workplace Report to explore how company culture and supervisor-employee communications impact an employee’s confidence, motivation, and pride in their workplace. Based on its findings, an employee’s pride was most correlated to company culture and the managerial style of a supervisor.

A company culture with safe and open communication is essential to employee engagement and wellbeing. A company culture where employees do not feel safe to report unfair practices and supervisors disregard employee feedback breeds an unhealthy work environment. Of the employees surveyed, 54 percent said that they would not report unfair practices to management or human resources. When employees don’t feel safe to report issues such as bullying or sexual harassment or don’t feel that their input matters, an unhealthy company culture perpetuates.

Media often reports on examples of unhealthy company culture in industries like entertainment and technology where unfair practices persist as part of the culture. Only when these issues catch the public’s attention do companies consider changes to their workplace culture. Meanwhile, employees who do not feel comfortable talking about their stress to a supervisor often experience negative consequences, including sleep troubles, job dissatisfaction, and lower levels of confidence, motivation, and presenteeism.

Along with a work environment of open and safe communication, the importance of a communicative managerial style cannot be overstated. Only half of employees surveyed reported that they receive enough guidance from supervisors to perform their jobs well. Supervisors can incorporate certain practices to better support their employees including regularly checking in, remaining objective in workplace conflict, and valuing feedback. These practices can help decrease workplace stress and boost employee motivation. With the support and guidance of a supervisor, an employee can feel more confident and equipped to perform their job well.

To download the full 2019 Mind the Workplace Report, click here.