Dial AI for mental health. Are you serious?

• Now more than ever, organisations need to address this issue – if it goes ignored, it will have a profound impact on global productivity as well as the personal and professional lives of the global workforce.

The world celebrated the World Mental Health Day recently and the recent survey showed that people voted overwhelmingly in favour of speaking to a robot to discuss mental health issues. 

That people are dealing with higher levels of stress and anxiety than ever before is stating the obvious. But at a time, when all of us are yearning for a ‘return to the normal’, stats such as these sound crazy, even a bit depressing. Only they are not. Here’s how:

I don’t judge you

We asked: “What can a robot do to support your mental health better than humans?” And workers said that robots can support their mental health better than humans by providing a judgment-free zone, giving them an unbiased outlet to share their problem, and quickly answering their health questions.

Employees don’t really feel comfortable going to HR, for instance, and saying, “Hey, I’m suffering from burnout.” There is a lack of trust, a fear that they might get laid off or suffer in some way if they ask for help.

The human element

We asked: “What can humans do to support your mental health better than a robot?” The top answers were: understand the pressures of my job, interpret my feelings when I don’t know how to explain them, and make me feel safe and secure.

That tells us that humans will handle the emotional high-touch aspects of mental health, and the process and problem-solving aspects will be with machines. This also means that HR needs to lay more emphasis than ever on consistently training new and existing managers and leaders on ‘Emotional Intelligence’.

So, where do we go from here?

The term ‘robots’ actually refers to ‘technological automation’. This is a bit more inclusive than what people traditionally think of as a robot. In any case, they can help automate tasks and decrease workload. They can also help people prioritise tasks and get answers to questions quicker. This all helps prevent burnout, thus directly supporting mental health.

The study shows that if we invest more in technology to streamline the workday, it can make people’s lives easier. The study found that AI has helped over half of the workers shorten their workweek and allows them to take longer vacations, improving job satisfaction overall.

If companies promote mental health programs and invest in employee assistance programs in the workplace, then they’re helping workers focus. Workers will feel like their organisation is taking care of them and cares about them, and therefore, they’re more willing to stay with the organization longer, work harder, and recommend their organisation to peers.

Technology is not the full solution

Therapists won’t magically lose their jobs. Therapy is going to be a combination of human and machine, and those roles will evolve over the years.

The global pandemic has created a seismic shift in workplace mental health. Now more than ever, organisations need to address this issue – if it goes ignored, it will have a profound impact on global productivity as well as the personal and professional lives of the global workforce.

The silver lining

The silver lining is that the pandemic has helped call attention to employee mental health and prompted organisations to start taking action like never before. What is clear from this study is that people want their employers to do more to help them deal with this increased stress. Undoubtedly, the time to act is now!

• Gaurav Bhatnagar is the Senior Director for Corporate Communications at Oracle Middle East and Africa.