Can you move beyond to perks to create a mentally healthy culture now?
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ve been reflecting on a powerful insight from workplace culture expert Catherine Mattice who said “Good perks can’t fix a bad culture.”
This resonates deeply with me, especially in light of recent research from Michael Page showing that 46% of employees don’t trust their leaders to balance business needs with well-being.
Even more telling, 3 in 5 employees would refuse a promotion to preserve their mental health. Yikes – good for them but bad for you.
What’s happening here isn’t a lack of wellness offerings – it’s a disconnect between what organizations say and what they do.
You’ve got to move beyond the surface solutions
Many organizations today offer impressive wellness benefits:
- Meditation app subscriptions
- Fitness reimbursements
- Mental health days
- Employee assistance programs
These resources are valuable, but they address symptoms rather than causes.
When we offer stress management tools without addressing what’s causing the stress, we unintentionally send a troubling message: “Here’s how to cope with the pressure we’re putting on you.”
It’s like handing someone an umbrella while ignoring that the roof is leaking.
Creating Cultures That Nurture Mental Health
True mental health support requires addressing root causes. The most effective leaders I’ve worked with focus on:
1. Developing psychologically safe environments When people feel safe to speak up, make mistakes, and be themselves, stress levels naturally decrease. This means actively encouraging honest communication and responding without judgment.
2. Setting clear, reasonable expectations Many workplace stressors stem from ambiguity or impossible demands. Co-creating realistic goals and timelines shows respect for people’s wellbeing. Sometimes just being able to tell an employee where to place your latest demand on their “to do” list actually helps.
3. Equipping managers with people skills Research consistently shows that people leave managers, not companies. Investing in management training for emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and effective delegation pays enormous dividends. (And you know we teach that in our Positive Leadership programs!
4. Modeling healthy behaviors Leaders who take lunch breaks, maintain boundaries, and openly discuss their own mental health (without going overboard) create permission for others to do the same.
Measuring What Matters
What gets measured gets managed. Consider creating specific standards for how managers support team well-being:
- How effectively do they manage workloads?
- Do they foster collaboration and psychological safety?
- Are they skilled at addressing conflicts constructively?
- Do they recognize both achievements and effort?
The Positive Leadership Opportunity
When we address these fundamentals, something remarkable happens: productivity, creativity, and engagement naturally increase. The most effective leaders recognize that well-being isn’t separate from performance – it’s a prerequisite for sustainable excellence.
As one client CEO recently told me after implementing these approaches:
“For years, I thought pushing harder would get better results. Now I realize that creating the conditions for people to thrive is what actually delivers.”
Other clients are now sharing with me that one of the many benefits of studying Positive Leadership is that their relationships with family and friends are benefitting too!
What one step could you take this month to move beyond perks to creating a truly supportive culture?
With appreciation,
JoAnna
