Introduction
Organisations in Singapore have been stepping up their efforts in prioritising their employees’ mental wellbeing over the past few years. Corporate insurance providers, such as AIA Singapore, Mercer Singapore, and Great Eastern, have shared uptake of mental wellbeing benefits by organisations for their employees has almost doubled since 2019.
This uptake within organisations is a result of the recognition that job-seekers are now looking for companies that place importance on their employees’ mental wellbeing.
Furthermore, organisations have realised that mental wellbeing initiatives have to be seen as an investment. Indeed, a 2017 survey by National Council of Social Service highlighted that for every $1 invested in workplace adjustments to support staff recovering from mental health conditions, it generated an average return of $5.60 through reducing absenteeism, medical claims, and increase in productivity.
However, despite all these efforts, over 73 per cent of employees in Singapore experience stress caused by work at least once a week. This leads us to the important questions – What is driving employee stress despite the efforts by their organisations? And could organisations bank on technological solutions to solve this issue?
Why are the current efforts by organisations not effective?
Organisations might struggle with supporting the mental well-being of their employees as their efforts might not be suited to the demands of their employees.
The most common challenges employees face in sharing their mental wellbeing concerns at work include not wanting to burden others with their problems, not wanting to be judged or discriminated against, as well as the fear of being perceived as weak, unproductive, or lazy.
Furthermore, 46.2 per cent of employees said that they would be “very embarrassed” if they were to be diagnosed with a mental illness, according to a 2017 study on mental health stigma amongst Singapore’s youth.
It is due to these factors that employees might shy away from sharing their mental wellbeing issues at work with their colleagues or managers. This in turn leads them to keep their issues to themselves, which can compound into long-term stress.
What are the technological solutions, and how do they help?
Interest in mental health apps has grown by over 500 percent since the Covid-19 pandemic. The interest in these apps was mostly tied to the fact that these applications allow users to seek help for their mental wellbeing with the convenience of a simple tap on their mobile phones. It also provides the privacy and anonymity of being of sharing their mental wellbeing issues with the app instead of another person. This takes away the worries that users may have on issues such as discrimination, being judged, and feeling embarrassed.
These mental health apps may work in a variety of ways. One way would be to get users to share the issues they are dealing with, and offer guidance on what users can do in dealing with these issues. They also provide links and resources that users can refer to in dealing with such issues. This type of mental health app could take on a coaching role via access to a therapy chatbot or mental health professional and may help with issues such as insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and learning distress tolerance skills.
Other apps may help with managing the moods and anxiety levels of their users by taking on more of a thought diary format. This works by helping users to record their mental wellbeing issues as well as their triggers in a sequenced and orderly manner. Doing so helps them to better recognise the patterns and triggers of their mental wellbeing issues. In turn, this enables users to understand and steer away from such patterns and triggers.
These apps may also include meditation-based apps, which can help to reduce stress, improve sleep and increase focus among its users.
How do organisations benefit from incorporating such apps?
Organisations will have to invest in order to incorporate these mental wellbeing applications, but the pros heavily outweigh the cons. For a start, studies have shown that happy and engaged employees collaborate better and perform as much as 3.5 times better and are 50% more productive.
Additionally, businesses that invest in employee wellbeing reported 65 per cent less employee turnover, while 93 per cent of employees have stated that they are more likely to stay with an empathetic employer.
On the flip side, employees with unresolved mental wellbeing issues experience up to a 35 per cent reduction in productivity, and an average of 31.4 missed days of work per year for each employee with poor mental wellbeing.
Furthermore, poor mental wellbeing among employees can lead to a higher turnover rate that affects organisations financially. This results in increased recruitment costs and the costs of training a new employee, which in turn costs businesses in the US up to $1.4 trillion annually.
There are thousands of apps out there that claim to promote mental well-being, but not all of them are safe or effective. Organisations should select the apps wisely looking into areas including privacy policies and high-quality research demonstrating that the apps live up to their marketing claims.
Mental health apps also work best in a population that is motivated and have mild illness. Organisations should also take stock of the baseline well-being of their
employees before embarking on any endeavour.
Conclusion
While technological solutions may bring a lot of benefits to the mental wellbeing of employees, they should not be viewed as a substitute for in-person efforts by
organisations, but rather as a supplement to them.
Psychological stressors, such as depression and anxiety, emerge largely in response to problematic human relations and traumatic history. Studies have shown that people who are struggling with mental stressors benefit greatly from having a person who is able to empathise with their issues, helping them when they feel lonely and ensuring that they receive the appropriate help.
Hence, even if organisations were to adopt technological solutions for the mental wellbeing of their employees, they still have to ensure that their employees have access to peer or manager support and professional help.
About the author
Dr. Low Kiang Wei, Medical Director at International SOS, is a proponent of workforce and mental resilience, working with mental health professionals to design tailored programs for local and multinational corporations. He has been featured in media and is a member of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce Mental Health Workgroup.
