Most mentally healthy people have two primary features in their jobs, according to a new international study of 18,000 working adults in the US.
New research has pinpointed what job features correlate with lower chances of experiencing serious psychological distress or anxiety.
Autonomy in your role and job security are two of the most important features for psychological safety at work, according to a survey undertaken by Boston University.
The study, led by Monica Wang from Boston’s school of public health, was published in the AMA Network Open journal on Tuesday.
“Understanding the association between job characteristics and mental health can inform policies and practices to promote employee well-being,” Wang’s paper explained.
“Organisational policies that enhance job flexibility and security may facilitate a healthier work environment, mitigate work-related stress, and ultimately promote better mental health.”
By examining the associations between these exposures and mental health may identify target areas of intervention to improve employee well-being, the research suggested employers could improve workforce wellbeing by offering expanded flexible work schedules, providing remote or hybrid work options, enhancing tenure-based benefits, and investing in training and upskilling programs to develop and retain talent.
Based on responses from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey, the research analysed data from people aged 18 and over who were employed in the past 12 months between May 2023 and January 2024.
The data was drawn from variable answers to three possible answers, including how easily a person perceived they could change their work schedule to do things important to themselves or their family, the regularity of work schedule changes, and advance notice of work hours.
There were significantly lower odds for workers to experience distress and anxiety if employees felt they had greater flexibility to change their work schedules to support themselves or their families, and if they felt they had a low chance of losing their job.
“Greater job flexibility was associated with decreased odds of serious psychological distress and lower odds of weekly anxiety or daily anxiety,” the paper read.
“Greater job security was associated with decreased odds of serious psychological distress and lower odds of anxiety weekly or daily.”
Beyond self-reported mental health outcomes, the paper also considered the number of missed work days due to illness and the use of mental health services for the current and past years.
The findings back up existing academic literature associating the experience of job insecurity and unemployment with the onset of depressive symptoms. Research also shows that work schedule instability increases the likelihood of psychological distress and job absenteeism.
“Greater job flexibility and job security were each associated with decreased number of days worked despite feeling ill over the past three months,” the paper read.
“Greater job security was associated with decreased absenteeism in the past year.”
Wang’s analysis was particularly interested in 2022 data showing 57.8 million American adults (22.8%) aged 18 years and older experienced some form of mental illness in the past year, 19.4 million adults (7.6%) with concurrent substance use disorder and any mental illness, and 12.3 million adults (4.8%) who reported seriously contemplating suicide.
According to the 2002 US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, one-third of adults experienced anxiety and/or depression, and about 50% of young adults aged 18 to 24 years also experienced such symptoms.
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