Psychological well-being at work: why companies should make it a priority

An irrefutable fact: since the first lockdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, requests for psychological support for Italian professionals and company employees have progressively increased, due to increased stress, economic or housing concerns, and not least fears related to a person's physical well-being. Although the openness to talk about it is slowly growing, mental health in the workplace remains a sensitive issue and the 'cost' factor continues to be a strong deterrent to acting in this direction, with the average age of people seeking therapy falling. Personal relationships, in general, are the area most affected by inadequate mental health (46% of the sample), followed by personal growth and self-esteem (40%), while the percentage of Italians who see psychological malaise as a threat to their career rises to 37%. As for the impact of artificial intelligence on the sector, young people, in particular, do not fear it and, on the contrary, see it as an ally of their psychological wellbeing, with half of those aged between 18 and 29 judging positively the effects of the adoption of this technology on improving mental health care.

The picture taken by Unobravo (a reference reality in Europe for the offer of online psychological support services) with the first edition of MINDex, an in-depth research on perceptions and expectations related to mental well-being that involved a sample of about 4 thousand adults and clinical professionals, is quite explicit about the status of this issue. A problem that, numbers in hand, still shows a widespread presence of misinformation and cultural legacies (only 16% of those interviewed perceive mental health as a subject that is openly addressed) and that is reflected in one figure among others, according to which psychological distress is seen as an index of character fragility by 81% of the Italians surveyed.

The critical situation is also such in the company, where mental health continues to be inadequately valued, with only a third of workers believing their organisation is capable of promoting a psychologically healthy environment. On the other hand, four out of ten workers (42% to be precise) admit that their employer does not currently offer any specific benefits or support for the psychological well-being of its employees. And again: although the majority of respondents (56%) feel free to express emotions and difficulties at work, 32% hold back for fear of appearing weak or unprofessional and 12% feel compelled to 'wear a mask'. Workers aged between 30 and 39, for their part, are the most affected by stress and burnout: 65% of them have considered leaving their job or have already done so.

But what do experts and HR managers think about this phenomenon? Il Sole24Ore.com interviewed some of them, gathering useful impressions to understand how and why organisations must remedy what is certainly a complex situation. The analysis of Danila De Stefano, CEO of Unobravo, is very well circumstantiated: "Psychological well-being continues not to be adequately integrated into corporate policies and while it is encouraging to note that more than half of workers feel free to express emotions and difficulties even within the context of the organisation, the still significant number of people who perceive a reputational risk in doing so is instead worrying. A limitation that can no longer be ignored, according to the manager, is the absence of benefits or specific support measures for mental health, while the fact that so many workers, particularly in the 30-39 age bracket, come to consider resigning due to stress and burnout, must be a clear signal. "Promoting psychologically safe and inclusive work environments," De Stefano further noted, "is today a strategic responsibility for companies, not only in terms of retention and productivity, but also of long-term social sustainability.

Equally punctual and precise is the opinion of Christian Guerrini, HR Director of Jakala, a company specialising in the field of data, according to whom the area of human resources in Italy suffers from a historical matrix of a strongly administrative nature. "We are only in recent years witnessing an evolution of the function from an executive department, focused on contractual and compliance issues to a truly strategic role, alongside leadership in designing the present and future of organisations". And if the wellbeing of employees, including mental wellbeing, is a topic for the HR manager, it is also true that this is a figure that is not always present in SMEs, i.e. the majority component of the Italian economic fabric. The solution to create a virtuous circle of trust among employees? Even though it may seem a paradox, the only tool to resort to, according to Guerini, is technology: 'We need to identify which processes drain precious resources in order to accelerate their digitisation, because only by converting the time currently dedicated to mechanical and repetitive activities into hours dedicated to valuable activities, is it possible to devote time to the development of innovative projects and initiatives and approaches that can enhance the individuality of the employee'.