Are Employers Responsible for Employees’ Psychological Resilience and Mental Well-being?

The pandemic led to major changes in working life. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 47.8 million employees voluntarily left their jobs in 2021. This was an increase of 33 per cent from the previous year and became one of the main signs of the period known as the Great Resignation.

However, it would not be accurate to explain these resignations only through the pandemic. Pay, working conditions, work-life balance, caring responsibilities, career expectations and opportunities to move to other jobs also played a role. Working conditions became particularly visible in sectors directly affected by the pandemic, including healthcare, accommodation and food services.

These developments raised an important question:

Are employers responsible for employees’ psychological resilience and mental well-being?

Employers cannot be held responsible for every aspect of an employee’s mental health. Personal life, health, individual history, financial circumstances and relationships outside work can also affect mental well-being.

However, employers cannot ignore the working conditions within their control.

The World Health Organization identifies excessive workloads, low control over work, job insecurity, discrimination, inequality, bullying and limited organisational support as psychosocial risks to employees’ mental health.

These risks cannot be removed simply by providing resilience training to employees.

Psychological resilience does not mean silently accepting every kind of pressure or continuously performing at a high level under unhealthy conditions. It is the ability to adapt to difficulties and regain balance. However, responsibility for adapting to problems in the workplace cannot be placed only on employees.

Otherwise, instead of changing the conditions it has created, the organisation is asking employees to tolerate those conditions for longer.

Employers should first identify psychosocial risks in the workplace and reduce them as far as possible. The recommendations of the World Health Organization also give priority to organisational interventions. These include managing workloads and work schedules, clarifying roles and responsibilities, improving communication and involving employees in decision-making.

Managers should also be able to communicate supportively. Employees should feel safe when expressing their concerns, and effective systems should be in place to address bullying and discrimination.

Coaching, training, management development programmes and employee support services can contribute to this process. However, they cannot replace healthy working conditions. Organisations should first examine the source of the problem and then use individual support tools where appropriate.

Giving an employee stress management training does not remove an unmanageable workload. Providing coaching to a manager does not automatically correct unclear job descriptions or unfair organisational practices. Individual and organisational interventions should be treated as complementary, not as alternatives to each other.

Caring about employees’ mental well-being is not only an economic decision aimed at reducing staff turnover or improving performance. Creating a safe and healthy working environment is part of an organisation’s responsibility towards people.

The answer to the question is therefore neither completely yes nor completely no.

An employer is not responsible for an employee’s entire life or mental state. However, the employer is responsible for the effects of the working conditions it creates and has the power to change.

## Sources

US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Quits during 2021

World Health Organization: Mental health at work

World Health Organization: Guidelines on mental health at work