The Mental Health of a Business

Gabriel Delgado Valentin, Concordia University Chicago, Senior, Summer 2024

When a person gets a cold, they may call off work to avoid spreading their sickness to the rest of the office. The person needs to get better before returning to work, which may negatively affect their physical well-being. Just like physical well-being, mental health plays the same crucial role in the employee's performance and, therefore, the business.  

The mental health of employees should be as important as their physical health. A 2002 study conducted by Goetzel et al. discovered that workers with depression experienced more short-term disability days than workers without depression. Thus, affecting productivity with a loss of between $182 and $395 during a month (Goetzel et al, 2002). In an article from 2022 from the University of California, Berkeley, this topic is addressed in more contemporary times. Unresolved depression accounts for a 35% reduction in productivity in companies. Employees who suffer from depression miss an average of 31.4 days of work per year” (Berkeley Exec Ed, 2022).  Overall, this is an issue that could cost the company money, affecting the decisions made within the company such as pay, budget cuts, and staff cuts, leaving employees unsatisfied. 

Dr. Michael Carroll is a professor in the faculty of business at Concordia University Chicago.  When asked by Dr. Carroll about the topic, he suggests that “corporations should be proactive when it comes to handling depression”.  Dr. Michael recommends managers and human resources should be aware of depression symptoms. This factor may negatively affect the company's performance and productivity if it is not treated adequately. 

Similarly to Dr. Carroll, Alberto Cruz Jr, a private financial advisor at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, agrees and adds that “it is more cost-efficient for companies to be proactive”. He adds that many companies are stepping in the right direction to make sure that their employees are happy and that their mental health needs are met in the work environment. 

Overall, mental health is a topic that is being touched increasingly in the daily lives of people across companies. For this business, it is in their best interest to have adequate care for their employees since they do the work for these companies. The mental and physical integrity of employees should be the company's largest priority. 

Sources:

Goetzel, R. Z., Ozminkowski, R. J., Sederer, L. I., & Mark, T. L. (2002). The Business Case for Quality Mental Health Services: Why Employers Should Care About the Mental Health and Well-Being of Their Employees. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 44(4), 320–330. https://doi.org/10.1097/00043764-200204000-00012

The Impacts of Poor Mental Health in Business. (2022, September 29). Berkeley Exec Ed. https://executive.berkeley.edu/thought-leadership/blog/impacts-poor-mental-health-business

Interviews:

Dr. Michael Carroll michael.carroll@cuchicago.edu

Alberto Cruz Jr. Nelsonacjr@att.net