How to Take a Multi-Dimensional Approach to Mental Health and Well-Being

BY Carrie Snider | November 07, 2023

Even for a proactive company like NTT DATA, a rapidly changing world meant they’d need to give their employees something more. And in order to figure out what the employees truly needed, they’d have to do something very important: listen. 

Terri Hatcher, chief diversity and inclusion officer at NTT DATA, spoke of employee mental health at the From Day One September Virtual Conference in a fireside chat session moderated by Denver Post business reporter Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton.

A 2021 study by the National Institutes of Health found that nearly half of Americans surveyed reported recent symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder. The numbers weren’t a huge surprise, only a year coming out of a global pandemic. But it left many companies wondering, what do we do now?

Aside from displacement from the office or changing how work is done, what about employee mental health? Global companies especially had to zero in on this. NTT DATA, which operates in 45 countries, had already focused on employee mental health, but due to the pandemic, it was time to put an even bigger spotlight on it.

The company launched its Stronger You program, which helps team members get connected with each other and get mental health support. In addition, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have been game changers with employee engagement. Specifically, NTT DATA launched its Lift ERG which focuses on mental health.

“That launch event was over twice as big as any ERG launch we’ve ever had, so that tells you something,” Hatcher said. One key to the success of the Lift ERG has been working across all company ERGs to reach diverse populations, such as Veterans ERGs, Pride ERGs, and more, because mental health impacts all groups, Hatcher added.

For many companies, it’s not just about “getting through” increased mental health needs so that things can go back to how they were before. The world is different, and people are different, so there needs to be a new solution. Addressing employee mental health is the new normal. For NTT DATA, initiatives become part of the fabric of the company to help foster a sense of belonging.

Ulu-Lani Boyanton and Hatcher kicked off the From Day One virtual conference about “Building a Healthy Work Environment.” (photo by From Day One)

“It starts with setting the tone for our employees around the type of company that we are,” she said. “We do that through education and awareness, teaching our team members about our values and the culture that we’re continuing to build and the one that we want to sustain, and more importantly, modeling.”

It must go top-down. CEOs, managers, everyone must be trained to be more empathetic. One-on-one conversations, really knowing your team and their needs, is how to offer the best support. Sometimes, it’s not so obvious, but in the end it’s how the employee can be more mentally healthy at home and at work.

“One team member told me that she really needed a vacation but was just feeling overwhelmed and really had no time to sit down and plan a vacation,” Hatcher said. “She called our Employee Assistance Program, and they helped her plan a vacation. So you never know what people need.”

Aside from offering resources for employees, an important step is ensuring they know how to access them. It’s up to company leaders to continually educate leaders so they can point their team members in the right direction. At NTT DATA, employees can talk to their managers, but they also have an anonymous hotline so they feel there is always someone they can go to.

But then more challenges come as employees work with people outside the company. As a service provider, NTT DATA’s team members regularly go out into the field and work with clients in new environments where they have little control. Sometimes, that client may not share the same values, which can put employees into challenging situations.

Hatcher mentioned a story where a manager reached out, reporting that a client wasn’t treating the team well for some time. Hatcher called the Employee Assistance Program, which brought in a clinical psychologist to talk to those team members to help them understand how they could operate in the most productive way possible in that environment.

“We really needed to address things for our employees,” she said. “You have to know what you can control as an employer, and your employees need to know that you are there to support them, that you’re listening, and you want to help and support them.”

To be truly innovative, Hatcher said they need all types of talent. But to attract all types of talent, they need to create the environment that is going to attract and retain a truly diverse workforce. That means education and training.

“One of our values is teamwork,” she said. “We expect everyone to be able to collaborate. And to do that, you have to be a good listener. You have to be an inclusive listener.”

An effective leader needs to make sure all viewpoints are being pulled in and considered, she added. Employees need to feel comfortable sharing and speaking up. They need to feel valued and heard.

When considering productivity, Hatcher said you can’t have productivity without good mental health. So that’s why training leaders to be empathetic is essential to company culture that helps employees get what they truly need.

“People need to know that they’re cared about and that they are supported so that when they get there, they can innovate there. You’re trying to free them so that they can be creative and give you their ideas and collaborate and come up with the best solutions possible.”

Carrie Snider is a Phoenix, Ariz.-based journalist and marketing copywriter. 

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There are external forces making benefits challenging, including a nationwide lack of available primary care physicians and the rising costs of healthcare.But on the flip side, the current embrace of technology is having a positive impact on the HR world. “There are some things now that are available to provide as resources to our employees that are fantastic, that five, ten, 15 years ago just weren’t available,” Nevas said. This includes app-based resources like virtual healthcare appointments, online professional training courses, and even group fitness classes.Moderator Jeanhee Kim, an independent journalist, notes that the World Health Organization recently stated we are now going on year five of Covid. “Covid strained not just our physical health, but also strained our mental health and the economy,” Kim said. In order to embrace the current moment, employers need to be ready to address each of these concerns among their workforce.A Holistic Approach to Mental HealthNevas says that physical, mental, and financial wellness should all be approached with equal importance, and employers need to recognize how they are all interconnected. “We don't look at one as being more important than the other,” he said. “They’re all equally important to create someone who is going to come in and be fulfilled, be able to do their job, and feel good about themselves as an individual.”Journalist Jeanhee Kim interviewed Nate Nevas of Pitney Bowes at From Day One's April virtual conference (photo by From Day One)Prior to the pandemic, Nevas says, mental wellness tended to fall on the back burner. But throughout Covid, the need for mental health support became apparent, and his team began to put it on equal footing with physical and financial concerns. “We started a concerted effort to destigmatize mental wellness, using the phrase ‘it’s OK to not be OK,’” he said. Pitney Bowes began offering internal webinars “not just as a check-the-box effort, but as a consistent conversation and making it an acceptable conversation.”Since mental wellness statistics can be harder to track among employees than, say, 401(k) participation, leaders can gauge success by reviewing webinar statistics to see which topics are most important and touching base with senior leaders to see what employees are saying.Providing Individualized CareFor a global organization like Pitney Bowes, the workforce population is diverse, from high-powered salaried corporate executives to hourly workers for whom English might not be their first language. 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