Employers that invest in the mental health and well-being of their employees see higher employee engagement, the Mental Health America (MHA) says in an annual survey about work health.

The new report examines employees’ direct experiences in the workplace to inform best practices for employers.

“When employers implement healthy workplace practices, employees report more positive experiences of belonging, psychological safety, and empowerment in their workplace,” the group says in its report.

Here are some key findings from this year’s report:

• Most employees report that work stress impacts their sleep and relationships, but the degree varies greatly depending on their workplace’s overall health.

• Employees of all generations report similarly high rates of work stress negatively impacting their sleep and relationships, with about three in four employees reporting an impact on sleep and three in five reporting an impact on relationships.

• Generation Z employees and Millennials report poorer overall work health scores than other generations.

• Part-time employees and those working mainly on their feet in a set work location also report poorer overall work health scores.

• People-management training and flexible work options promote autonomy and support employees’ work-life balance.

• Employees with higher rates of psychological safety feel more confident advocating for their or others’ needs in the workplace.

• Transparent communication and supportive people management are strongly associated with trust, appreciation, and psychological safety.

The MHA aims to influence how business leaders can integrate a workplace wellness mindset into their organization’s infrastructure and culture. This aligns with recommendations by Energage to create a people-first workplace culture that prioritizes well-being.

Recommendations by Energage for well-being that minimize burnout include: • Address under-staffing or high work volumes at their source and experiment with other benefits separately.

• Clarify and align people’s roles in employee wellbeing across all levels of the organization. Leaders should show enthusiastic support for well-being and be an active participant; managers should discuss employee needs and address workload issues; and employees should speak up early and become fierce self-advocates.

• Value employees as people, and then make decisions and create well-being policies through that lens.

• Experiment to learn what works – and what does not.

Find out what matters most to your employees.

Bob Helbig is media partnerships director at Energage, a Philadelphia-based employee survey firm. Energage is The Denver Post’s survey partner for Top Workplaces. To nominate your company as a Top Workplace, go to denverpost.com/nominate.