Experiencing workplace productivity loss? Check the wellbeing of staff, not work ethic
Sponsored by Old Mutual Limited
By Nkirote Njiru
In 2024, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) released a statement in which it said that an estimated 3.7 million working adults in Kenya lived with a mental health condition. The commission further referenced a report of the Taskforce on Mental Health of 2020, which had pointed out that mental disorders accounted for about 13 percent of the total disease burden in Kenya.
A separate report indicates that the economic loss linked to mental ill-health in Kenya is about Ksh62.2 billion annually, much of it not from healthcare costs, but from absenteeism, presenteeism, and burnout.
At the global level, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that depression and anxiety cost the world economy over $1 trillion every year in lost productivity, with roughly 12 billion cumulative working days disappearing as a result. These are not just health statistics. They are business indicators.
Wellness at work is no longer a soft issue or a human resource trend. It is the foundation of sustainable performance.
The price of silence
Despite these worrying figures, the reported cases of mental disorders in Kenya rose from 171,845 to 184,292 between 2022 and 2023 due to increasing stressors such as economic challenges and social pressure.
Stigma also forces employees to hide their struggles, but the consequences, such as disengagement, high turnover, and a drop in innovation, eventually speak for themselves.
Yet in the midst of these staggering statistics and information on the matter, mental health remains the least discussed item in most boardrooms. This silence fuels the crisis.
A toxic workplace cannot be fixed with a 'wellness day' or a company Zumba class. Occasional perks are like giving a thirsty person a single drop of water. What truly changes the game is leadership culture – the extent to which leaders genuinely listen, empathise, and normalise the seeking of support.
Resilience is not a mask
The danger lies in how the modern workplace often glorifies resilience. Grit and endurance are valuable traits, but when overextended, they become masks.
Many employees have mastered the art of “faking fine” – delivering results while struggling beneath the surface. This misplaced celebration of stoicism often leads organisations to unknowingly reward quiet burnout. Grit is a gift until it becomes a shield for distress.
The primary challenge for executive leaders, therefore, is to dismantle this culture. They must build environments where people can take off the mask without fearing judgment, consequence, or being branded as "weak". This requires more than a policy statement. It demands cultural alignment from the CEO downward.
From perks to operating rhythm: Data as the new diagnostic
As the conversation around workplace wellness matures, organisations must also evolve in how they measure it. Traditional metrics such as absenteeism or turnover provide useful signals, but they do not tell the whole story. Emerging indicators like digital exhaustion, patterns of internal mobility, or the tone of engagement feedback, can reveal early signs of stress and disengagement.
However, these insights must be handled ethically. Data should be anonymised. Consent should be clear and analysis should lead to tangible action. Gathering information without acting on it only deepens mistrust.
The recently launched Old Mutual Thrive digital wellness app is an example of how technology can be applied to facilitate wellness. The app offers holistic support (financial, physical and mental) to employees and their families.
The task for leadership today is clear: Make mental health a strategic priority, not a seasonal campaign. Wellness should be discussed in the same breath as productivity, innovation, and growth. This means leaders are encouraged to model balance, dismantle stigma more effectively than any poster campaign, and check in authentically with their teams, viewing well-being as a shared responsibility.
The future will not negotiate
The real infrastructure of performance is mental health. It’s built through culture, compassion, and courage. The new generation of professionals will not be persuaded by rhetoric. Generations Z and Alpha view wellness as a non-negotiable workplace standard. They will not just ask for it; they will leave if it is missing.
Wellness, then, is not a perk. It is the power source of performance. Because in the future of work, mental health isn’t a benefit. It’s a business strategy. Organisations that grasp this will not only attract and retain top talent, but will build resilient, human-centred cultures that are essential for the future of work in Kenya.
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Nkirote Mworia Njiru is the Group Human Capital Executive at Old Mutual East Africa
