Want to Retain Your Workers? Show You Genuinely Care About Their Mental Health

BY the Editors | November 20, 2024

When employers make a sincere effort to support the well-being of their workers, does that investment have a positive return for the company? Does it go beyond goodwill to improved corporate performance? Nivati, an employee mental-health platform, decided to find out.

In a study of 25,741 workers at 56 companies that used the Nivati platform during 2023-24, the company found a dramatic impact among employees who were fully engaged with the platform: a high level of employee retention. The overall turnover rate within this group of employees was only 1.7%, meaning they were eight times more likely to stay in their jobs than co-workers who were only casually engaged with the program.

Retention is a key number for employers because unwanted turnover can be so expensive. According to Gallup research, “replacing leaders and managers costs around 200% of their salary, replacing employees in technical roles costs 80% of their salary, and replacing frontline workers costs 40% of their salary, excluding unmeasured losses in morale and knowledge.”

Yet reducing employee turnover is not merely about cutting costs; it’s strategic investment in an organization’s future. By embracing programs that enhance engagement, satisfaction, and overall workplace culture, employers can cultivate a loyal and motivated workforce. The benefits—ranging from improved productivity to enhanced customer satisfaction—far outweigh the costs.

The American workforce’s state of mental health is often described as a crisis. How does that present itself on the job? “Employees often approach Nivati struggling with mental health challenges like stress, burnout, anxiety, relationship challenges, and work-life balance issues, which are major contributors to workplace dissatisfaction,” said Nivati CEO Amelia Wilcox, who founded the company in 2020. “When companies don’t provide mental health support, employees are more likely to leave due to feeling unsupported or unable to cope with their work environment.”

In the nearly five years since the start of the pandemic, many factors inside and outside the workplace have aggravated employee stress. “The shift to remote and hybrid work, combined with economic uncertainty and social isolation, has significantly affected employee wellness,” said Wilcox.

Amelia Wilcox, CEO and founder of Nivati (Company photo)

While many companies have stepped up their support for good mental health, there’s still a significant gap. “Many employees are still unaware of these benefits and underutilize them. This commonly stems from lack of communication and engagement strategies that remind employees and make employees feel like the resource is readily accessible and OK for them to use,” Wilcox said.

Cultural challenges are a factor too, especially when a company talks a good game about mental health but fails to make it a core value. “For instance, if a company is saying they value mental health and then covertly sends the message that taking time off is not OK, the employees internalize those covert messages over the overt messaging the employer is trying to send,” said Wilcox. “Effective onboarding, consistent conversations on mental health, periodic reminders, and visible support from leadership increase utilization, making employees more aware that their employer genuinely cares about their well-being.”

Karen Fikse, senior director of HR at Cummins, the engine manufacturer, said in a From Day One panel discussion that the idea of leaders practicing what they preach formed the basis of her company's “It’s Okay” campaign, which provides managers with resources to process whatever they’re going through–be it anxiety, stress, pressure or hardship.

In the five years since its Nivati’s inception, said Wilcox, “we’ve learned that the key to impactful mental health support is a holistic approach, including therapy, fitness, finance, and self-care tools, all made accessible within a flexible platform that meets employees where they are. We’ve also learned that some people aren’t comfortable with jumping right into therapy. So our platform was designed to allow people to start in an area that’s less ‘scary’ for them and build trust with the platform and team. They can take baby steps to grow into therapy.”

Before any therapy or other steps happen, the pathway needs to be a welcoming one. Nivati’s platform “provides an intuitive experience for employees to seek help: from signing in and selecting self-guided resources around mental health, nutrition, or finance—to scheduling and engaging with qualified professionals in each of those areas of well-being. The entire process is designed to be simple and confidential,” Wilcox said.

Nivati partners with a network of hundreds of licensed therapists, registered dietitians, life coaches, financial advisors, meditation practitioners, yoga instructors, personal trainers, and more. These providers work 1:1 with employees, they facilitate group training and education for Nivati’s customers, and they create the content for the self-guided resources on the company’s platform.

Even for workers who aren’t at risk of quitting their jobs, in many cases because they need the financial security, paying attention to their mental health can lead to thriving on the job rather than every day being a struggle. They can reframe their work experience and boost their resiliency. Nivati’s platform has a career development and coaching category to help workers grow in their roles as well. “Even if these employees aren’t leaving,” Wilcox said, “providing them with support can increase their satisfaction and productivity, ultimately benefiting both them and their employer.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner Nivati, who sponsored this spotlight.

(Featured photo by SDI Productions/iStock by Getty Images)

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