New Data From Uprise Health Sheds Light on Employee Sentiment Leading Into 2022

Uprise Health, a leading digital mental health company that cares for the total person, announced findings from its new survey in its report, “Are You Listening? What Employees Expect From Employers for Mental Health Support.” Conducted at a pivotal moment with the “Great Resignation” on the minds of many employers, Uprise Health commissioned a survey of 1,166 people, all U.S.-based and employed full-time, via a third-party research group to learn more about ongoing employee mental health struggles and what employees want and need to succeed.

“What this research says loud and clear is that employers want to do the right thing and are aware of the excessive feelings of stress, burnout and anxiety employees are facing, but so far haven’t provided the levels of mental health and wellbeing support employees need”

While many respondents think their employers have been supportive during the COVID-19 pandemic, many feel overworked, underpaid, and have heightened feelings of stress and anxiety. Many employees, particularly in the Generation Z age group, are considering switching their career, job, or leaving the workforce. In particular, women are disproportionately overloaded with work, leaving them feeling frustrated and stressed. Often, they may not be accessing mental health services at the level needed to keep them happy and productive.

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“Promoting employees’ health, happiness, and mental health stability is how forward-thinking employers can do their part to address the mental health crisis,” said Mike Nolte, CEO of Uprise Health. “The risks of not providing convenient and easy to access digital mental health offerings include high turnover, continued low morale, and higher costs, circumstances employers should aim to avoid.”

Key findings from the research include:

• 78 percent of employees surveyed said that their mental health had been affected by the pandemic, while just 22 percent said their mental health had been “stable.”
  • Among those whose mental health had been impacted, 56 percent said they felt overloaded with work, and 50 percent felt frustration with colleagues, managers or leadership.
• Women have been disproportionately impacted by work-related stress. Among female respondents who said they’d felt increased work-related stress, 60 percent said they felt overloaded by work and 53 percent felt frustrated with colleagues, managers, or leadership.
• While 83 of respondents said their workplace had been supportive of their mental health needs during Covid, 34 percent said that their employer doesn’t offer mental health or wellbeing benefits.
• Some employees are conflating their mental health with financial stress. One in three respondents perceived that their mental health is being impacted by being underpaid, and think a salary increase or bonus would improve their mental health or wellbeing. 28 percent wanted remote work flexibility and 19 percent wanted more time off.
• Younger workers, perhaps not surprisingly, are more likely to switch jobs or careers. 31 percent of Generation Z employees (ages 18-29) have switched jobs in the past six months due to pandemic-related stress, compared to 18 percent overall. This means that Generation Z workers are more than 50 percent likely to transition jobs than all other generations surveyed.
• 55 percent of respondents said they had “moderate” to “high concerns” about the pandemic affecting their ability to visit with family this holiday season

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“What this research says loud and clear is that employers want to do the right thing and are aware of the excessive feelings of stress, burnout and anxiety employees are facing, but so far haven’t provided the levels of mental health and wellbeing support employees need,” said Dr. Jay Spence, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and Chief Product Officer at Uprise Health. “Employers can help keep their employees happier and healthier by providing digitally-enabled tools, coaching, and counseling services that their employees can conveniently access within their busy schedules. These services can go a long way to reducing absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover, while improving productivity and organizational culture.”

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