Corporate engagement on mental health rises but biggest companies still lagging on initiatives

While engagement on mental health is improving among global corporates, and leaders are increasingly recognising mental health as a business issue, more than half of the top 10 most valuable companies have been given the lowest score in the latest CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark Global 100+.

In this year’s benchmark, CCLA evaluated the public disclosures of 120 global companies based on market cap and workforce size. They were assessed across 27 criteria, using information publicly disclosed focusing on four thematic pillars: performance reporting and impact; management commitment and policy; governance and management; leadership and innovation. The companies are ranked from tier 1 (best) to tier 5 (work to do).

The research found half of the companies engaged directly with CCLA, compared to 53 last year, and 31 reviewed their preliminary assessment. Almost all (97%) companies said they understood mental wellbeing is a relevant area of management focus, and just under half (44%) make the business case by outlining the risks and/or opportunities associated with mental health at work.

Again, 98% said they offered at least one mental health support mechanism in the workplace, and 75% said they have developed internal programmes to raise awareness of mental health among employees.

However, only 10 of the companies improved their performance tier, and 46 increased their score.

In fact, only one company sits in the tier 1, which is HSBC, and six organisations sit in tier 2 – Novartis, Philip Morris, Roche, Shell, Toronto-Dominion Bank and TotalEnergies. The latter is also the biggest improver increasing its score over the four years since the creation of the benchmark by 60 percentage points.

Over half of the world’s 10 most valuable companies – including Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Meta, Tesla and Alphabet – sit in the lowest tier of the benchmark, which is exposing investors to productivity, management and reputational risks, said CCLA. The 44 companies in the bottom tier alone employ around six million people globally.

Amy Browne, director of stewardship at CCLA, commented: “We cannot ignore the fact that some of the world’s largest, most investible companies remain serious underperformers. Poor workplace mental health is not a soft issue – it is a material risk to productivity, reputation and long-term value. Our benchmark is designed to equip investors with the evidence they need to engage, escalate and drive change.

“We are seeing positive signs. Almost every company now acknowledges mental health as a business issue, and 10 firms have moved up a performance tier this year, improving conditions for more than a million workers. However, nearly six million employees still work for companies in the lowest performance tier, who have yet to take meaningful action.

“As investors, our aim is to use our influence to bring this issue to the attention of senior leaders and incentivise these companies to improve.”

CCLA estimated that 12 billion working days are lost each year to depression and anxiety alone, at a cost of $1trn in lost productivity. Further, research has shown that companies’ spending on mental health and wellbeing generates an average return of £4.70 for every £1 invested – a 370% investment, which CCLA highlighted is “hard to ignore”.

Dan Babington, head of responsible investments at TAM Asset Management, also commented on the findings: “Research shows that companies that don’t look after their employees’ mental health face higher absenteeism and staff turnover, difficulty recruiting and an increased risk of litigation. The resulting costs can pose a material financial risk. CCLA’s benchmark provides an effective and transparent way to identify and address this risk, and we are pleased to be one of the investor signatories supporting it.”

This article first appeared on Portfolio Adviser