Show New Hires You Take Mental Health Seriously

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Mental health is an increasingly pressing priority for new workers—and as an employer, you need to be prepared to offer support. Here’s how to show new hires you value mental health: 

  • Integrate mental health into recruiting, hiring, and onboarding. When recruiting, create an employee well-being statement that clearly defines what mental health means to your organization. In job postings, be transparent about the mental health resources you offer, and include in-depth guides for navigating mental health benefits in onboarding materials (especially for incoming people managers). 
  • Create a sustainable, mentally healthy work culture. This entails being upfront about workplace norms—both “hard norms” like roles, timelines, and deadlines and “soft norms” around urgency, responsiveness, and how people communicate. It also means establishing collaborative, flexible expectations around when, where, and how people work. 
  • Make mental health support accessible and intuitive.During employees’ onboarding, hold learning sessions and Q&As with your benefits team and publish simple how-to guides on your intranet detailing how to navigate and weigh different benefit options. Train managers on mental health first aid and consider subsidizing tools for developing healthy behaviors, such as meditation apps, coaching solutions, sleep tools, and gym memberships.

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