Eight in 10 local officials—and many of their employees—have faced harassment, threats, or violence on the job, according to a report by the advocacy organization National League of Cities (NLC) (On the frontlines of today’s cities (PDF, 3MB)opens in new window, NLC, 2021).
Public health officials have come under fire for mask and vaccine mandates—80% of those surveyed in Coloradoopens in new window were threatened since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, teachers and school board members are targeted for book bans and lessons about race and sexuality, city managers are facing backlash for budgetary cuts amid a flagging economy, and one third of local election officialsopens in new window polled in 2021 feel unsafe at work. Some workers encounter antagonism and hate speech at public meetings; others receive death threats by phone or see their children harassed at school.
On top of the attacks they face related to the pandemic, political polarization, and economic downturn, many municipal workers are also coping with their own stressors. Backlogs at courthouses and other public agencies, combined with the toll Covid-19 has taken on families, are leaving many local government employees feeling overwhelmed at work.
To help build supportive workplaces for municipal employees, as well as other workers across the country, APA and four partner organizations launched a joint Mental Health in the Workplace initiative this spring. More than 150 groups, including nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, universities, and local governments have now joined the effort to redefine how employers approach mental health. Psychological research shows how municipalities can improve workplace culture to promote mental health and well-being.
“How do we equip leaders and organizations to be more mental health literate?” said APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD. “How do we help organizations to normalize mental health issues? And how do we help them create psychologically healthy work environments?”
A tough spot
Compounding stress—left unaddressed—can cause problems at the organizational level. U.S. workers say that stress on the job has negatively affected their work performance, leading to low motivation, trouble focusing, and a lack of effort, according to APA’s 2021 Work and Well-being Survey. Over time, it can also increase absenteeism, employee turnover, and other organizational challenges (Mental health in the workplace (PDF, 2MB)opens in new window, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018).
Returning to “business as usual” after the pandemic is one of the primary challenges municipal workers are facing, according to a group of local government leaders from nearly 40 states that participated. The challenges vary from one agency to the next—but often involve backlogs, burnout, and budgetary restrictions, all while staffers deal with ongoing personal stressors related to Covid-19, such as mourning the loss of a family member.
In court systems, for example, case backlogs and delays in access to various services, including mental health referrals for people who are detained, are causing stress for workers at every level. Those added demands are typically not matched by additional staffing or resources, said Judge Joseph C. McGraw of Illinois’ 17th Circuit Court.
“Everyone involved in the court system is being asked to do more and more and more,” he said. “If you aggregate that over time, and there is no relief, it has a cumulative effect.”
On top of the mounting workload, municipal employees report facing more incivility, harassment, and threats. That hostility affects prominent elected officials, but also public servants at the local level who weren’t elected or appointed by a politician.
In response, some workers have started taking medications to manage their anxiety or have sought support from a therapist. Others report feeling waning motivation and productivity at work and seeking stronger security measures to protect themselves and their families. Some have simply resigned (On the frontlines of today’s cities (PDF, 3MB)opens in new window, NLC, 2021; Fraser, M. R., American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 112, No. 5, 2022opens in new window).
“We’re living in a time of political polarization, and government agencies are a place where that can come to the surface,” said Dennis Stolle, JD, PhD, APA’s senior director of applied psychology. “It puts those workers in a tough spot.”
Shifting workplace culture
More than 80% of workers now say that mental health supports—including flexible hours and onsite professionals with mental health training—are important when choosing a new job (Work and Well-being Survey, APA, 2022). Investing in mental health pays off for businesses in other ways, too, with a return of about $4 for every $1 spent (Prioritizing employee mental healthopens in new window, National Safety Council, 2021).
Here are APA’s recommendations for how employers can foster a culture of well-being at work:
Normalize mental health challenges. Embracing psychological well-being as something that’s safe to talk about should be a priority for organizations, said Marc Ott, executive director and CEO of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The association is holding 11 events related to mental health in the workplace at its annual conference this month.
Practice listening in the workplace. Listening to employees and using their feedback to improve workplace culture is another key way to bolster mental health. The mechanics will likely differ from one organization to the next, Stolle said, but could take the form of a daily check-in email or a monthly company-wide well-being survey.
Audit mental health benefits. Organizations should ensure that health insurance policies cover adequate mental health care services—and that employees know how to access them. If such services aren’t being used, workers may need more information about what sort of help is available and where to find it.
Train leaders to promote well-being. Even 3 hours of mental health awareness training can improve attitudes toward mental health at work (Dimoff, J. K., et al., International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 23, No. 2, 2016opens in new window). In Illinois, Judge McGraw has delivered mindfulness training seminars to judges, including during statewide educational meetings, to help them and their staff stay healthy and engaged with their public service mission in the face of stress.
Additional tenets of the initiative that will be an ongoing focus for APA and the other founding partners of the Mental Health in the Workplace initiative (NLC, ICMA, the American Public Health Association, and the YMCA) include increasing belongingness at work and examining organizational policies through a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Having been “responsible for delivering basic services and attending to their residents’ needs…throughout the pandemic, municipal workers have recently faced some of the biggest mental health challenges of their careers,” said Clarence E. Anthony, CEO and executive director of NLC. “To support their well-being, local leaders have an important responsibility to commit to policies and practices that sustain their employees’ mental health.”
