Employers are being challenged to commit five per cent of working hours to mental health in the workplace, in a major new initiative by Cigna.
The 5 per cent pledge was established today in response to recent data that found 88 per cent of employees worldwide—particularly young individuals aged 18 to 24—are experiencing burnout, with 96 per cent of them reporting this and 91 per cent reporting stress.
Cigna is urging CEOs and other company executives to publicly pledge to devote 5 per cent of their yearly working hours to transforming organisational cultures while tackling the problem of employee well-being in an “action-oriented manner.”
According to Cigna, the project intends to encourage and enable leaders to give their employees’ mental health more attention.
Cigna Europe CEO Arjan Toor says: “We want to motivate business leaders globally to take the 5 per cent Pledge so we can create a community of like-minded leaders to work together to drive positive change.
“Bosses need to be part of this transformation as active agents – they need to be seen to use their voice and stature to help all departments feel comfortable embracing the change and to build a supportive workplace, one where it’s sometimes ok not to be ok.”
Cigna will provide dedicated mental health assistance and counselling to businesses that make the promise, along with specialised tools and services to address the needs of individual employees.
The initiative is being launched as a result of new research by Cigna that included nearly 8,000 adult workers. The study found that 88 per cent of these workers are experiencing burnout, 84 per cent report feeling stressed, 63 per cent report feeling overwhelmed, 48 per cent say remote working has made work feel more transactional, and 36 per cent say that their stress is primarily being caused by rising living costs.
Toor will be the first to volunteer his time, and the company will then ask friends and clients of Cigna to join the campaign to show their support for employee mental health with the hope of persuading more business leaders to make the commitment.
Minds@Work global mental health campaigner and co-founder of charity Geoff McDonald says: “Covid has really accelerated the conversation about mental health and well-being in the C suite, and has in many ways, ‘democratised’ mental ill health. As we come out the other side of the pandemic, it’s important that organisations recognise the true impact they can have on the mental health and well-being of their people by addressing every fabric of the company culture and creating an environment where employees feel safe and supported. I am extremely encouraged to see Cigna’s approach and to take the pledge with them”.