Like many places around the world, mental health and wellbeing are still not openly discussed at most workplaces in China. While people today are more aware of the importance of mental health compared to the last decade, people prefer self-regulation rather than seek external help. This is particularly prevalent in the age groups of 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 – both of which form a significant proportion of today’s workforce. Over 70% of them in both age groups use their own ways to deal with mental health and well-being-related issues. Their hesitation to talk about mental health and share issues or concerns with their colleagues and employers can lead to stress, anxiety and burnout.

Most employees choose to keep their mental health concerns to themselves for several reasons. For one, the view of the workplace as a “professional” space where personal concerns are rarely discussed discourages people from opening up. They feel they may be labelled “unprofessional” and make others uncomfortable if they talk about what’s bothering them.

Another reason could stem from the workplace environment which may not be conducive to these discussions. The company may focus more on tasks and timelines in comparison to employees’ well-being. Employees could perceive that talking about stress and anxiety would not be well-received and have a negative impact on their careers.

Whatever the reason, bottling up mental health issues in the workplace adversely affects employee well-being and needs urgent attention.

Creating a safe space within our orange walls

At Avanade, we can relate to the initial hesitation among employees to talk about mental health openly and comfortably at the workplace. To break down these invisible barriers, we developed a people-centric approach that is deliberate, consistent, long-term and integrated into our employee experience.

For example, we have intentionally created a strong support ecosystem for our people based on a partnership model. Beyond Human Resources (HR), every employee will have at least three other partners – a Career Adviser, a Talent Community Lead, and a Project Lead. Through regularly scheduled conversations, the partners proactively raise the topics of employee well-being, performance, and career development. This support ecosystem increases the probability of employees finding a trusted person to talk to about mental health in the workplace.     

In addition, there are diverse employee networks within Avanade such as the Women’s Employee Network, Asian Employee Network and more. Through these networks, employees connect with one another across the globe and participate in discussions and activities. In partnership with our Inclusion and Diversity Leads and Champions, we also organize talks and webinars on topics such as “Menopause Awareness” and “Breaking the Silence on Men’s Well-being” – normalizing conversations that are not commonly discussed and giving our employees the confidence to recognize and overcome these issues at work and in life.

More recently, we launched a series of “Thriving Together” Mental Wellness Workshops –introducing a wide variety of topics such as well-being tools and resources, fostering a strong sense of belonging, and how to build team resilience. We also invited speakers such as psychologists, medical experts, and consultants from our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to talk living and working in the post-pandemic era, fundamentals of cognitive nutrition, building eating habits for better brain health, and even strengthening our understanding about the COVID virus and how to protect ourselves from it.

Empowering every voice

To normalize mental health discussions in the workplace, it’s important that we embrace these conversations with an open mind, continue to place emphasis on well-being activities, as well as engage specialists to promote learning and awareness. I look forward to doing more of what truly matters for our people in China!