2 The Business Case for Investing in Mental Fitness

      In this chapter, I build a case for how mental fitness contributes to the bottom line in any organisation. Based on data from a variety of sources, it can be a valuable tool for HR and well-being practitioners or managers who need to make the case in their own organisations.

      The World Health Organization (WHO) defines good mental health as follows:

      ‘A state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.’

      In other words, good mental health isn't just the absence of ill health, just as good physical health isn't the absence of disease. Many arguments have been made (and often fallen on deaf ears) for the importance of addressing mental illness in the workplace and enhancing well-being.

This work is foundational and fundamentally important. But there is another opportunity here. What if we went beyond illness and wellness and also began to call for a focus on mental fitness in the workplace? As laid out in the last chapter, being mentally fit is about strengthening and enhancing, and just as peak physical fitness might see you through a marathon, peak mental fitness can help people to achieve extraordinary things – to become adaptable, more engaged, more resilient, and more creative in their work. With those sorts of results, why isn't everyone doing it?

      Well, because the whole topic of ‘mental’ anything is largely still taboo. But beyond that, it's intangible in many ways. How do we know if we are doing it right? How can we convince stakeholders to invest in something we can't really measure? What IS the ROI? Do we know how it affects the bottom line? Is there a business case that lays out all the facts and figures in a simple, digestible way that I can use to first convince myself, then convince my company? Well, the answer is YES – this is it. In this book, we give you the executive summary version. If you want to access the comprehensive business case, you can download it (along with the summary version) at www.symbiapartners.com/mentalfitnessresources.

      What I've done is look at the argument in a number of different ways:

Mental Health: The Magnitude of the Problem

Poor mental health is a huge cost to businesses and the economy. According to The WHO, the world economy loses about US$1 trillion per year in productivity due to depression and anxiety. That's the equivalent of $130 per person on the planet!

      Table 2.1 illustrates the magnitude of diagnosed mental health illness globally. The numbers are so huge that it may be difficult to imagine how this impacts your business. So, to bring it closer to home, imagine a global team of 30 people. Three of your colleagues may currently be suffering some mental health problems. This is likely to rise during the current COVID-19 pandemic. People at work in 2020 have faced unprecedented levels of disruption and change, not only with their own work but with their family situation.

       Table 2.1 Global statistics on the scale of mental health illness.

The Tip of the Iceberg

If we overlook (or under-support) people with mental health issues, we risk overlooking a significant proportion of the working population. In the UK, people with mental health problems make up a significant proportion of the workforce. However, diagnosed mental health issues are only the tip of the iceberg. Mental health at work is not limited to just diagnosed conditions. We should consider mental health problems as any mental health problems that are brought to, experienced