Mental Health America’s Mind the Workplace 2019 report explores the relationships between supervisor communication styles, company culture of open and safe communication, and employee engagement and wellbeing. • What matters more in creating safe spaces for disclosure – having supervisors who create safe spaces or creating a company culture of safe and open communication? • How does a supervisors’ communication style or a company’s culture of open communication foster motivation, engagement, and mental healthy workplaces? • If a person does not feel safe to speak out on personal concerns or ethical violations, how much does that contribute to their engagement and wellbeing?

FINDINGS • Supervisor communication and a company culture of safe and open communication are correlated with an employee’s motivation, confidence, and pride. • Supervisor communication is correlated with safety in reporting ethical violations and areas for improvement in the workplace. • Feeling comfortable to report dishonest or unfair practices was most correlated with pride (whether you would recommend your workplace to others). • Among all employee wellbeing measures, pride was the most correlated with supervisor communication and a company culture of safe and open communication. • People who are the most stressed also reported they were in companies where it was safer to remain silent about their personal problems.

Employee Engagement and Wellbeing • Fifty-eight percent of people reported that they were unmotivated at work. Of those, twenty-four percent were strongly unmotivated. • Sixty-six percent reported that workplace issues negatively affect their sleep, and half of respondents engage in unhealthy behaviors to cope with workplace stress. • Over half of respondents would not recommend their workplace to others, and 1 in 5 were strongly against it. • Nearly half (45 percent) look for a new job at least several times per week.

Supervisor Communication and Support • Sixty-one percent of respondents disagreed that their supervisors check in on their workplace needs. • Only half reported they receive enough guidance to perform their jobs well. • Fifty-three percent reported their supervisor remains objective when dealing with workplace conflict. • Whether a supervisor valued feedback on workplace culture was most correlated with the health of the organization.

Organizational Culture • Fifty-four percent of people reported they were not comfortable reporting dishonest or unfair practices to human resources or management. • Sixty percent reported it was safer to remain silent about things that need improvement, and sixty-nine percent reported it was safer to remain silent about their workplace stress. • Over half (55 percent) reported they were afraid to take a day off to attend to their mental health.