Only five of 119 companies assessed in this year’s CCLA’s Corporate Mental Health Benchmark Global 100+ were placed in the top two performance tiers as companies still fail to recognise the importance of mental health, according to the firm.
In its third year, the benchmark – managed by CCLA Investment Management – ranked 119 leading global companies on how they manage and report on workplace mental health. It uses publicly available information to evaluate companies against 27 criteria covering: management commitment and policy; governance and management; leadership and innovation; and performance reporting and impact.
It found only 12 companies have improved their performance since last year’s assessment. HSBC was the only company ranked in the top tier, followed by Roche Holding, Shell, Toronto-Dominion Bank and TotalEnergies in tier two.
Six of the magnificent seven tech giants ranked in the lowest performance tier. Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla all scored between zero and 20% in the assessment, while Amazon ranks in tier four.
Although almost all companies in the benchmark are taking some steps to support their employees’ mental health, the average improvement score was 28% this year. The 10 new companies added to the benchmark in 2024 achieved an overall score of 22%. This comes as just 24% of the companies disclose the provision of mental health training to line managers, a 2% increase from 2023. Mental health training is a key intervention recommended in the 2022 WHO guidelines on mental health at work.
Some improvements
However, on a more positive note, the report also revealed that there been some progress among the 99 companies that joined the benchmark over the past three years, with the average score rising from 24% in 2022 to 29% in 2024.
Further, 98% of Global 100+ companies provide some degree of mental health support services to employees, such as access to clinical counselling and therapy sessions, or subscriptions to digital mental health apps. Further, 78% of companies assessed disclose details of awareness-raising initiatives, such as internal communications campaigns and whole-workforce training.
The benchmark is backed by a global investor coalition of 55 investors – including the likes of Schroders, Rathbone Greenbank and Federated Hermes – with a combined $9.8trn (£7.5trn) in assets under management, as at August 2024.
Amy Browne (pictured), director of stewardship at CCLA and co-author of the benchmark report, said: “While some employers are improving the support they give to their employees’ mental health, too many are ignoring a critical issue for their workforce, to the detriment of their people’s wellbeing.
“It is disappointing we haven’t seen more progress by companies within the benchmark on improving their performance – not least because there is a clear economic case for doing so. Investments in mental health interventions at work yield an average return to employers of £4.70 for every £1 spent.
“Despite the broad lack of progress, we are making headway. A small handful of employers – those in tiers one and two – have demonstrated a very strong approach to mental health management and disclosure, and should be celebrated. Those that have put time and effort into improving their ranking should also be commended.
“We call on CEOs to demonstrate a clear leadership commitment to employee mental health, to implement robust policies, set targets, work to raise awareness and equip managers with the necessary skills and training to support employee mental health.”
Peter Hugh Smith, chief executive of CCLA, added: “We created this benchmark because we recognised the importance of mental health for companies, employees and their investors. Supporting employees’ mental health is not only the right thing to do, it also pays dividends in terms of corporate performance.
“It is therefore disappointing not to have seen greater improvement across the market, but it is also important to recognise where companies have stepped up. We will continue our work to engage on this issue, with the hope and expectation that we will see greater progress in future.”
Remi Fernandez, head of human rights, social & governance issues for the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), also commented on the findings: “The Corporate Mental Health Benchmark 2024 reemphasises the importance of workplace mental health. The report highlighted a promising growth in formal commitments and policies linked to mental health. However, there is still more work needed on implementation. As a material issue for investors, the PRI encourages signatories to engage companies on how they are addressing workplace mental health.”
