“Earlier, we didn’t have any mental health program at work, and we were okay” is a common refrain in modern offices. There are many reasons why this claim is not true, but importantly, more digital workplaces are starting to care for their employees' mental health.
Employers have come to terms with the fact that mental health affects work performance. Although every type of job is affected, digital marketing introduces way too many challenges that can lead to stress, anxiety, or burnout.
That’s why more employers and employees in this area are turning to tools like the Breeze app to support their teams. Breeze Wellbeing is a self-guided platform with evidence-based features. With 15+ million downloads and growing recognition, it’s perfect for digital marketing agencies that want to create healthier, more resilient workplaces.
How Does Mental Health Affect Work Performance?
Work performance and mental health share a very strong link. Feeling good, confident in the future, and challenged enough make us more inspired and creative (which is very important for digital marketing). The study at MIT showed that happy employees are on average 13% more productive [1].
Employees with psychological support at work are more likely to rate their productivity much higher (74% vs. 43%) [2]. The Breeze app is one of the tools employers use to increase the general mental health of their employees. It’s also about a sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself: be a part of an intelligent team and make a meaningful contribution.
Positive Outcomes of Supported Mental Health at Work
- 91% of workers rate their job performance as outstanding compared to 69% of those who feel stressed about their job [2].
- Highly engaged digital agencies have 78% less absenteeism, 14% increased productivity, and 23% higher profits [3].
- If not for anxiety and depression, the global economy would have $1 trillion additional profit annually [4].
How Does Poor Mental Health Affect Work Performance?
Work performance is one of the first things that is affected when mental health declines. Harliien Man, marketing career coach, named 23 challenges of a career in digital marketing:
- Growing competition
- Remote work
- Highly demanding environment
- Ageism
- Burnout
- Lack of work-life balance, and so on [5].
Not saying that digital marketing work is not rewarding, but it takes most of our time and a lot of effort. How else does poor mental health affect the work performance of marketers?
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Decrease in Productivity
Although occasional bad days and loss of productivity can happen with every marketer, a consistent lack of motivation can lead to decreased self-esteem. How can the Breeze App be used to increase productivity in the workplace?
The Breeze app helps counter productivity decline with a few features:
- Habit Tracker. It works by feeding "dopamine" centers in the brain. When a large goal is broken down into a few smaller, much more attainable steps, we feel more empowered and motivated to achieve them. From experience, this habit is very efficient against procrastination.
- Mood Tracker. Sometimes dips in productivity seem random and unpredictable, which can make workers doubt their skills or motivation. But seeing how our emotional health is intertwined with work provides a relief. For example, if a person had a huge family fight last night, and today feels weird and unable to focus, it's a normal reaction to a huge event in personal life.
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Troubles in Concentrating
Concentration is one of the first functions to be affected when mental health is strained. Poor mental health can reduce attention span and cognitive flexibility.
When personal life is bad, all the attention will be devoted to it instead of work troubles. Can you imagine what happens if you don’t even get to leave for the office to “escape” these troubles just for a little bit? Nowadays, 24% of marketing job postings are for hybrid opportunities, 12% for fully remote ones [6].
The journaling feature in the Breeze Wellbeing or in any form helps clear mental clutter. How exactly:
- Journaling reduces distractions. When a person is really fond of what they're writing, they enter a flow state that feels like thoughts and ideas appear out of nowhere. A state where nothing except getting things done concerns you.
- Journaling is like a spare hard drive. Putting your thoughts and concerns somewhere else besides your head will actually help you to free the mental energy for other types of work.
- Journaling reduces stress. A study using the Three-minute Mental Makeover (3MMM) showed that 85% of participants agreed that expressive writing was useful. Another 59% noticed that they coped better with stress than before the intervention [5].
Additionally, Breeze’s relaxing games and mindfulness exercises can serve as short concentration resets throughout the day. Just a few minutes of guided breathing or a light-focus game can calm overstimulated nerves, allowing employees to return to their tasks with sharper attention.
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Creative Block
Creativity is vital in marketing. Every creative digital marketer knows that when the drive disappears, they are in trouble. And creativity is not limited to designers or illustrators. For example, problem-solving in marketing data requires a lot of brainstorming and imagination.
Neurobiological studies show that poor mental health alters brain networks related to creativity [7]. This harms both idea generation and problem-solving capacity. Psychological issues like fear of judgment and low self-esteem may only worsen the situation for many workers.
The Breeze app offers multiple ways to loosen creative block. Through self-discovery tests, employees can uncover personality traits, strengths, or even hidden insecurities that shape how they approach work. Of course, journaling is very useful in order to give unaddressed ideas an outlet to exist.
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Chronic Stress
Let’s be honest, workplace stress becomes chronic. Sometimes, it is the fault of managers, and sometimes, it is an inherent feeling many people have: "working just to support living." Nearly 80% of workers feel stressed daily, whether because of the toxic environment, overwhelming responsibilities, or being underchallenged [8].
Chronic stress doesn’t just feel exhausting. It has the potential to weaken the immune system, disrupt sleep, and cause burnout. So, there is a reason why reducing stress should be a part of occupational health policies in all companies, especially digital marketing agencies.
If you want your employees to be satisfied with their jobs and give good results, Breeze Wellbeing knows how to break this cycle. Try combining the habit tracker we discussed above with calming games. In order to make it stick, encourage everyone to track together and share the results with each other if employees feel comfortable.
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Strained Work Relationships or Loneliness
Even in busy offices, many employees report feeling isolated. Some workplaces even encourage employees to "mind their own business" and not interact with others to "boost productivity." Such workplaces will never improve their productivity.
On average, 20% of employees feel lonely at their workplaces [9]. According to the CDC, loneliness increases the risk of cardiovascular issues, type 2 diabetes, depression, and even earlier death [10].
What's even worse for mental health is strained relationships with colleagues. In this case, a person is not lonely, but would rather be. Strained relationships increase stress and can increase the risk of workplace abuse, an underresearched problem that many people silence.
Meanwhile, the Breeze app cannot resolve each tense relationship separately, but it can improve your employees' emotional awareness and self-reflection. Through guided journaling and mood tracking, employees become more aware of their own feelings, making it easier to express them clearly to colleagues. Self-discovery tests help employees better understand how they relate to others, strengthening empathy and collaboration.
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Seeing No Value in Your Work
One of the most demotivating experiences in the workplace is feeling that your contributions don’t matter. It is a common feeling among marketers, whose contributions are constantly underappreciated. This mindset might arise in repetitive roles, toxic environments, or when feedback is scarce.
Over time, employees may disengage. Only 31% of U.S. employees report feeling engaged at work, a crazy low number [3].
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