Mindfulness can be a way to improve the mood of employees. The study „Mental wellbeing of employees in Poland” shows that as many as 5 hours and 43 minutes a week employees lose due to poor mental condition.

Almost half of Poles complain about poor mental condition through work. A statistical employee loses 36 days a year. For 46 percent. Poles’ professional life is the reason for the deterioration of mental condition – 60% of respondents are stressed, and half have a problem with burnout. These are the conclusions of the study „Mental wellbeing of employees in Poland” conducted by Mindy. Although we are aware of these problems, we rarely take steps to prevent or deal with them. The respondents also misjudge the help of employers in this respect.

A deteriorated mood is greatly reflected in the productivity of employees. For this reason, they lose an average of 5 hours and 43 minutes of work per week, which is 36 days per year. The statistics provided by the Medicover network for the Mindy report confirm the scale of this problem. In 2020 alone, the number of mental health consultations increased by half compared to the previous year. This jump was more pronounced in the case of women (60%) than men (47%). In turn, the number of days on which employees were on sick leave due to mental problems increased by 58%.

„Research shows that two-thirds of employees experience stress, almost half face burnout and as many as 39 percent of respondents have a problem with depression and anxiety,” Igor Pielas, founder of Activy & Mindy, told Newseria Biznes. In addition, a third of employees do not sleep enough compared to the recommendations, which are seven to nine hours, and probably have problems with concentration, mood swings and coping with stress.

Awareness of poor mental condition is increasing, but employees do little about it. As the survey showed, the main explanation for passive attitude is lack of time (33% of respondents). In second place is the lack of sufficient knowledge on how to solve such problems.

” It is worrying that among people who have problems with lack of concentration, mood swings or do not cope with stress, as many as 50 percent do not look for solutions and perhaps do not know how to do it. At the same time, which also surprised us, 30% of respondents answered that if they feel a deterioration in mental mood, they do nothing about it in the hope that it will pass by itself. If they are already looking for solutions, they usually reach for those that are easily available, free and based on scientific research – informs Igor Pielas.

Employers’ commitment to improving the mental well-being of employees is also not enough. Employees rated them as a school double with a plus, and exactly 2.48 on a scale of 1 to 5. This result is higher for companies with a global reach, and lower for domestic or regional employers.

„Only a fifth of employers offer their employees tools that can support the quality of their sleep, coping with stress or improving concentration. On the other side, there are as many as 75 percent of employees who want such a benefit – notes the founder of Activy & Mindy.

As many as 85% of respondents say that employees are afraid to report to their boss the need for support in mental health treatment. A little less, 81 percent, estimate that they also have concerns about asking for support in the area of prevention. In turn, almost half of employees did not observe an increase in activities and solutions supporting mental well-being in their companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Another 24 percent of employees cannot determine this, and only 27 percent answer in the affirmative.

One way to prevent mental health is through mindfulness training. For now, mindfulness activities are a rarity among employers, but – as Igor Pielas emphasizes – also a novelty that will allow them to stand out on the market. Employees would be happy to take advantage of such training. This need can be seen especially among people stressed by work. Employees who have access to mindfulness training tools are 10 times more likely to positively assess their employer’s commitment to mental condition (65% of good grades compared to 6% of good grades in a group without access to such tools).

Two-thirds of respondents who practice mindfulness attribute it to having an effect on better well-being. Thanks to practice, 63% of them feel lower levels of stress, more than half concentrate more easily, and 48% feel an increase in empathy and kindness. In turn, 62% believe that investing in mindfulness builds the culture of the organization.

Source:  https://kadry.infor.pl/kadry/hrm/szkolenia_i_rozwoj/5340136,Mindfulness.html

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.