It’s not just the right thing for employers to pay attention to their employees’ health and well-being; it’s the right thing to do for the bottom line. 

According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report, 70 percent of the U.S. workforce is NOT engaged at work, costing U.S. companies $300 billion annually in lost productivity, including an estimated $84 billion on absenteeism and $11 billion on turnover. 

A mounting body of evidence is beginning to explain WHY so many American workers are disengaged at work. There’s a large percentage of the U.S. workforce coming to work with problems that are invisible – neither recognized nor understood – by most employers. 

Somewhere between 20 to 70 percent of the U.S. workforce is dealing with trauma that has led to a serious mental health or physical health concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a national study correlates traumatic childhood experiences with adult physical and emotional/mental health. The Adverse Childhood Experience [ACE] study indicates that two-thirds of all respondents report at least one adverse childhood experience, and 20 percent report experiencing three or more adverse childhood experiences. Moreover, this research shows a strong connection between the amount of trauma and potential physical and mental health risks in adulthood.

What is an adverse childhood experience and what is an ACEs score? According to www.iowaaces360.org, an adverse childhood experience is: Physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, substance abuse in the household, mental illness in the household, adult/domestic violence in the household, parental separation/divorce, incarcerated family member.

An ACEs score is figured by how many of the above a person has experienced during childhood. The higher the score, the higher risk for serious health problems, including arthritis, asthma, cancer, COPD, diabetes, heart attack, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and vision problems, in addition to the more expected mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction.  

As long as employers pay for employee health insurance, they will understand the high cost of poor physical health. However, the cost of mental and emotional health of the workforce continues to be unrecognized, misunderstood and underestimated. The ACES study and data from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) shows that the prevalence of mental health conditions in the U.S. workforce is far greater than most Americans know. 

NIMH estimated that in 2012, 43.7 million U.S. adults – or 18.6 percent of people older than 18 – experienced a mental illness, with approximately 7 percent experiencing at least one major depressive episode. The NIMH also estimates that 18.1 percent of the general population has an anxiety disorder.

While the prevalence of mental illness is surprising, it’s even more shocking to learn how many mental illnesses go undiagnosed and untreated. According to the Center for Disease Control:
• Nearly half of children and adults suffer a mental disorder over the course of their lifetimes.
• About 11 percent of children suffer depression by the age of 18; 8 percent of children between 13 and 18 suffer an anxiety disorder with symptoms as young as 6.
• Yet, only 38 percent of those needing mental health treatment receive appropriate services

As an employer, you have an opportunity to do the right thing for your business by looking at your employees differently. People dealing with trauma and mental health conditions don’t look any different than anyone else. However, data tells us that 70 percent of your employees come to work with a significant trauma in their past and 20 percent are currently experiencing a mental illness. 

Provide the support they need through valuable work-life balance, fair time-off policies, employee assistance programs, and initiatives that encourage employee wellness. In turn, they will become more engaged and more productive.