Is Your Workplace Designed for Thriving? 4 Clinical Pillars to Build Healthy, High-Performing Environments

What does it mean to truly thrive at work? Not just for you, but for your employees too? As we celebrate World Mental Health Day, it's the perfect time to reflect on these important questions. This year’s theme, "It's time to prioritize mental health in the workplace," feels more timely than ever.

For many of us, work can feel like a place where we put our mental health on hold. After all, what do our emotional lives have to do with getting the job done? Yet, too often, we drift through the workday in a haze, just waiting to clock out so we can start living our “real lives” and reconnect with positive emotions.

Here’s the tough truth: too many employees spend eight or more hours a day feeling disengaged, disconnected, and emotionally drained. That’s not just bad for organizations—it’s also a recipe for an unfulfilling life. As writer Annie Dillard wisely said, "How we spend our days is ultimately how we spend our lives."

Recent Gallup polling shows that only 32% of employees are actively engaged at work. It's time we rethink our approach to mental health, thriving, and engagement in the workplace. Because when it comes to supporting employees' well-being, there's absolutely no downside.

The state of employee mental health 

Let’s zoom out and briefly consider updated polls about how employees are faring regarding their mental health. The recent Mind Share Partners' mental health at work report paints a picture that's less than rosy:

• Workers' perception of their overall mental health has declined in recent years.
• The biggest culprits impacting mental health? Personal finances and work itself are the top two factors.

When it comes to work, the causes employees report are unsurprising:

• Emotionally draining tasks 
• Poor work-life balance 
• Lack of recognition 
• Poor communication 
• Limited growth opportunities

Employees’ mental health is in a state of permacrisis

Here's a sobering thought: employees are now more likely to experience stress, burnout, and depression at work than they were before the pandemic. In fact, they're 51% more likely to experience depression at work compared to pre-pandemic levels. These continuing levels of distress represent a permacrisis in employee mental health.

So, what does thriving mean to your workforce? The Mind Share Partners’ report found some pretty clear answers:

• 78% say a healthy and sustainable work culture is key
• 67% want a safe and supportive culture for mental health
• 64% emphasize the importance of mental health treatment
• 60% appreciate having self-care resources for mental health

There is a silver lining. Employees who felt supported by their employers reported better mental health outcomes. They were more likely to see work as a positive factor in their lives, felt more comfortable discussing mental health at work, and showed higher levels of engagement.

As leaders, you have the power to improve work experiences, and, therefore, people’s lives. Are you ready to step up to the challenge?

Four pillars for employee thriving

Let's consider ways to address the permacrisis in employee mental health. We’re using a framework of four clinical pillars that can provide a foundation for employee thriving: autonomy, connection, competence, and mental health support. These pillars can help transform the workday from a countdown to clock-out into a fulfilling part of life.

Autonomy

We all want some control over how we spend our days, right? That control may be stronger than any external motivator to be engaged and do good work. In the 1970s, two psychologists challenged the idea that external rewards are the best motivators and, in doing so, changed the entire field of study. They proposed self-determination theory (SDT), the idea that motivation comes more from inward drivers based on autonomy, connection, and competence.

An employee with zero flexibility who is micromanaged at every turn, is likely to be less motivated than one with autonomy. Would working under those conditions make your days feel fulfilling? Your disengaged employees might feel a lack of control over their work lives.

Autonomy is associated with greater psychological well-being, both generally and at work.

So ask yourself:

• Can your employees voice their opinions without fear?
• Do they have some control over their work structure?
• Is there flexibility in where and when they work?
• Are they micromanaged or allowed some freedom in how they go about their work?

While you can't make work inherently meaningful for everyone, you can create an environment where employees have choices that align with their interests and values. It's about creating opportunities for engagement, not mandating meaning.

Connection

Picture the people you spend your days with at work. Having good relationships and close friends at work makes the day a lot more pleasant, doesn't it? Connection gives us a sense of belonging and can make our work feel more fulfilling, even when it's not our life's passion.

Gallup's polling shows that people with a close friend at work are significantly more likely to engage customers, be productive, innovate, and have fun. What a difference this can make in the quality of our lives.

So, how can you foster connection?

• Create time and space for shared activities and interaction
• Celebrate birthdays, achievements, and life events together
• Encourage open communication about challenges and struggles
• Talk about mental health
• Offer mentorship opportunities
• Involve employees in brainstorming and decision-making

I've worked in places where it was common for our team to share life challenges and mental health struggles, knowing we'd get support from each other. That kind of deep connection makes work more than just a job and is more likely in workplaces that normalize conversations about mental health. 

Think about the specifics of your workplace. Are there any barriers to forming supportive relationships?

Competence

Even if our work isn't our dream job, there's satisfaction in doing it well. Remember a time when you didn't love your job, but still felt proud of being good at it? Competence affects the quality of our days.

Employees who see themselves as competent are more likely to report higher well-being. It's closely tied to autonomy, too–when we're good at something, we usually get more freedom to do it our way.

Organizations with a strong investment in employee development also report higher profitability and better retention. 

So, how can you promote competence?

• Invest in skills development
• Match people's talents with roles and projects
• Train managers to be coaches, not micromanagers
• Regularly highlight growth and skill-building
• Offer time during the workday for development

I facilitate support groups for children at a domestic violence shelter. My coworkers and I recently stayed late after training, peppering the trainer with questions. Why? Because we had relished the opportunity to get better at our jobs. That's the enthusiasm competence can breed.

Tailored mental health support

As we celebrate World Mental Health Day, remember that comprehensive mental health support underlies well-being. An astounding 92% of employees think employer-sponsored mental health support contributes to a positive culture. You won't find that level of agreement on many topics!

Quality mental health support enables a culture where mental health is de-stigmatized and openly discussed. When we can bring our full selves to work, including our emotional lives, we're more engaged, better equipped to be competent at our work, and better able to form connections.

Consider offering mental health support that provides:

• Personalized and culturally relevant treatment
• Fast access to care
• A diverse provider network for better patient-provider matching

Working somewhere that asks us to leave an important part of ourselves at the door isn't conducive to engagement or connection. By prioritizing mental health, you're not just ticking a box—you're creating a foundation for true workplace thriving.

Life at work can be well spent

World Mental Health Day reminds us that while we've made great strides in understanding and destigmatizing mental health, there's still work to be done, especially in the workplace. 

As leaders, you have the power to shape workplace culture in a way that promotes autonomy, connection, competence, and robust mental health support. By doing so, you're not just improving productivity and engagement—you're contributing to your employees’ overall well-being and fulfillment. 

It's an investment that pays dividends far beyond productivity—you also contribute to lives well lived.

‍Explore how you can create a thriving workplace where employees are growing, feel valued, and know their mental health is fully supported.