Report: 1 in 3 Georgians would quit their job over mental health concerns

Mental health concerns and burnout would lead one in three Georgians to quit their jobs, according to a new report released by Georgia CEO and goBeyondProfit.

Georgia CEO is a network of local business-focused websites. goBeyondProfit is a Georgia alliance of business leaders committed to corporate generosity.

The two organizations have teamed for the past four years to survey Georgians about generosity at work. This year, the team surveyed more than 500 employed Georgians using an opt-in survey. Separately, they surveyed around 200 company executives in Georgia.

Georgia employees ranked compensation as the top reason they would leave their company with mental health a close second. Thirty-five percent of the workers surveyed said lack of mental health support and burnout would cause them to quit.

“Mental health support plays a major role in why employees are leaving and what will help them stay,” the report notes.

Mental health support is particularly important to workers under age 35 and to women, the survey showed.

There appears to be a disconnect between employees and executives on the role of mental health in the workplace.

“Mental health support did not show up in executives’ top four choices for how best to demonstrate generosity toward employees,” the report states. “If executives focus entirely on employees’ top request — compensation — without tuning into these underlying health and wellness issues, turnover will likely continue.”

“Whether you, as an employer… want to engage on this issue or not, really, you’re not going to have a choice,” added Shane Jackson, a cofounder of goBeyondProfit and president of Alpharettabased Jackson Healthcare.

There were 11.4 million job openings in the United States at the end of April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Jackson said employers should think about increasing flexibility, even for workers in low-wage jobs that traditionally have not been as flexible as white-collar roles.

“I think what people are looking for is someone to actually engage with them as a human being, understand what their needs are, and how they can — within the limits of a certain job — how they can provide that flexibility,” Jackson said.

Jackson gave the example of an employee not showing up for a shift. He said employers should try to understand the underlying reason and show compassion rather than punish or fire the worker.

Jackson said his medical staffing company, which is one of the largest mental health professional providers in the country, is — like everyone else — facing difficulties finding mental health workers to meet the need.

The survey showed that workers tend to trust their companies, which provides employers with an opportunity to help address employee mental health concerns.

“Employers, businesses, companies have a role to play,” Jackson said. “Because the people you work with every day are either struggling with mental health issues, or they are close to someone (who is) … it is endemic and so you have to be prepared for how you’re going to engage.”