Three out of five professionals don’t believe their employers support their mental health, according to Blind, a website that surveys anonymous technologists about a range of issues.
Only 41 percent of respondents to Blind’s recent survey feel their company supports their mental health. It’s particularly bad at companies like Tesla and Amazon, where only a very small segment (15 percent and 18 percent, respectively) feel supported. Check out the chart:
Things seem much better at companies like Google and Salesforce, where a majority of respondents feel supported by mental-health initiatives. However, Blind also found that a significant percentage of technologists (55 percent) don’t actually use any of the mental health benefits offered by their employer. “Employers could do more to educate their employees about the resources and policies in place to promote better mental health in the workplace,” Blind added in a blog posting accompanying the data.
Employer interest in mental health can take many forms. For example, companies could offer a monthly stipend for therapy, or a subscription to a wellness or meditation app, or referrals to other types of mental-health professionals. Companies could also ask managers to check in with team members on a regular basis to ensure they’re not burning out. At Google, there’s even “resilience training” designed to help employees with their mental balance.
With the “Great Resignation” encouraging technologists everywhere to evaluate potentially better offers, it’s important for companies to build out the best possible benefits and perks if they want to retain their current talent (and attract promising new employees). Given many technologists’ workloads, mental and emotional support could prove one of those benefits that helps retain employees long into the future.