Prioritizing Mental Wellness in the Workplace: Insights from HR Professionals

As an HR professional, your employees’ mental wellness is at the top of your mind. If employees are stressed, adverse effects will follow them to the workplace.  

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost globally due to depression and anxiety on an annual basis.¹ 

So, what can you do to address this massive challenge? Forward-thinking companies like yours recognize that employee well-being directly impacts productivity, engagement, and success. But how can organizations effectively address a multi-generational workforce’s diverse mental health needs?

DailyPay recently hosted an interactive Lunch and Learn webinar to discuss this issue and highlight how to promote mental wellness in the workplace. 

DailyPay speakers included Jim Leahy, Head of Culture and Development, and Dasle Hong, Senior Manager of Brand Marketing. They asked over 50 HR professionals about their challenges, the best practices they’ve observed, and their dream wellness programs.

Let’s review some of our findings.

If you didn’t get a chance to join us, check out the webinar recording

How HR Professionals Can Address Challenges and Support Mental Wellness 

Mental Wellness Challenges In The Workplace 

The group of HR professionals identified various vital challenges when it comes to supporting employee wellness:

• Different Working Styles: Each generation has its preferred ways of working. Some employees thrive in collaborative environments, while others may excel in independent roles. Striking a balance and providing solutions that cater to these diverse preferences becomes a delicate task.
• The Drive to Return to Office: While some employees eagerly returned to the office, others have embraced remote work. Navigating this shift and ensuring those working remotely feel included and supported is crucial.
• Encourage Participation: Create a safe and inclusive environment where employees feel comfortable participating in wellness initiatives. Overcoming stigma and encouraging open dialogue around mental health requires creative strategies and a shift in mindset. 

Best Practices, Programs, and Initiatives To Support Employees 

The panel of HR professionals highlighted some actionable recommendations for programs to ensure their workforce can stay well: 

• Personal check-ins and no contact/work on PTO: Not only is it essential to be mindful of employee wellness with personal check-ins, but it’s equally important for employers to respect employees’ personal space while on paid time off. 
• Corporate wellness events: A holistic approach to employee wellness should include regular wellness events. These events can improve employee well-being and workplace culture.   
• Flex work schedules: Flexible working arrangements have gained popularity in the past few years, allowing employees to work where they are most productive to ease work-life balance and ideally avoid burnout. 

DailyPay Empowers Employee Wellness Through Employee Resource Groups

At DailyPay, we want our employees to bring the best and most authentic version of themselves to work every day. That authenticity helps each of us speak more openly, share a wider range of ideas, and respect differing perspectives to foster better teamwork. 

To support employees and this authenticity, we have several employee resource groups to foster diversity and inclusion. These groups strengthen the DailyPay community by encouraging mentorship, dialogue, and service.

These groups can be a powerful form of community for your employees to promote a mental wellness culture. DailyPay’s ERGs include DailyPride, DailyNoire, DailyWomen, DailyBloom, DailyVida, DailyCare, and DailyValor. 

Support Employees With Financial Wellness Benefits 

DailyPay’s earned wage access solution provides employees with the peace of mind and financial security needed to improve their quality of life at work.

Earned wage access has proven benefits for both employees and employers. 

From an employer benefit perspective, 97% of companies with an EWA solution indicated employee financial wellness has a positive impact on productivity², and 82% of employees surveyed agree that financial wellness programs improve job performance³.

On the employee side, 60% of DailyPay users surveyed say that DailyPay helps reduce their financial stress⁴.

As human resource professionals look for that edge to overcome these challenges, financial wellness benefits like earned wage access can be the difference-maker. 

Learn more about how the DailyPay Platform can improve employee wellness.