May 2022

RECOMMENDED

Protecting women’s mental well‑being at home and in the workplace

By Christine Katziff, chief audit executive, Bank of America

With National Mental Health Awareness Month observed this month (May), we examine the strains on women’s mental health and how organizational leaders can help support their female employees.

The global health crisis has put a strain on all Americans over the last two years. For those fortunate enough to be able to do their job from home, there has been the challenge of navigating childcare, virtual school, caring for potentially elderly or sick family, and which parent gets to concentrate on work and when. In many cases, women end up carrying a disproportionate amount of the mental load and emotional labor, both at home and in the workplace.

Emotional labor—which includes everything from hiding stressful emotions from others, bearing the brunt of family care, and performing responsibilities outside of your role at work—is difficult to measure, which means many women don’t realize they are carrying this extra load. Neither do their families or employers.

This has negative impacts on the mental well-being of female employees across almost every industry, including higher levels of stress—women are almost twice as likely to be affected by stress than men—and greater risk of burnout, a state of exhaustion caused by prolonged and extreme stress. For those of us who have experienced burnout, we know it’s almost impossible to perform to the best of our abilities, whether at our jobs or with our families.

Leaders can prioritize a mentally healthy workplace by ensuring all employees have a manageable workload, are able to participate in decision making and have clearly defined roles and responsibilities.”

So, what can we do to protect the mental well-being of the women in our lives? At Bank of America, we believe that women are a force for driving economic, political and social progress in our world—and we’re investing in women to support mental wellness and unleash their power. Our strategy, programs and actions are guided by our commitment to be a leader in the advancement of women both within our workforce and in society as a whole.

With more representation comes more advocacy and greater inclusion. We are pushing for female representation at all levels of the organization. Women make up 50% of our global workforce and 32% of our global management team.

A strong commitment from organizational leaders to prioritize mental health produces stronger programs, a healthier culture and better results—for both employees and the organization.”

An effective diversity and inclusion program goes beyond recruitment and includes progressive workplace policies, so all employees feel supported in managing responsibilities at both work and at home. However, protecting the mental well-being of our female employees also requires systemic change at all levels, and a commitment from all employees. For example, leaders can prioritize a mentally healthy workplace by ensuring all employees have a manageable workload, are able to participate in decision making and have clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

With women disproportionately shouldering the emotional labor of the pandemic, female employees need and expect their employers to be a source of help and hope. A strong commitment from organizational leaders to prioritize mental health produces stronger programs, a healthier culture and better results—for both employees and the organization.