By Dave Pawlowski, LCPC, CEAP, Senior Vice President of Operations, CuraLinc Healthcare

In a recent New York Times article, author and organizational psychologist Adam Grant resurfaced a psychological term that hasn’t received much attention in quite some time: languishing.

Languishing refers to the precarious emotional state that lies between thriving or flourishing – the highest levels of emotional fitness – and more severe types of emotional distress that include diagnosable mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Employees who are languishing often report feeling empty and listless – as if they’re going through their work days “in a fog” or living life without meaning our purpose. Stress – especially the type of long-term chronic stress that employees have been experiencing since the start of the COVID pandemic – is one of the most common causes of languishing. However, when left unaddressed, languishing often leads to more serious mental health concerns and is also a risk factor for alcohol and substance abuse disorders.

Since January, CuraLinc has been tracking the emotional fitness of employees through our new digital navigation tool. Mental Health Navigator leverages a short, clinically validated assessment to measure an employee’s emotional fitness and map them to a personalized set of mental health resources. For example, employees who are struggling with depression or anxiety are immediately offered in-person or video counseling, whereas participants with less severe or acute concerns are guided towards sub-clinical resources like coaching or interactive digital tools to help strengthen or maintain their overall emotional fitness.  

A review of the first three months of Navigator data has revealed some interesting trends. Not surprisingly, a little over 1 in 5 (24%) of Navigator participants stratified as high risk for depression, anxiety or stress – which is consistent with years of historical data from the National Institute of Mental Health. Close to another 1 in 5 (16%) of employees are flourishing – showing no signs of mental illness or distress whatsoever. That, however, leaves about 3 in 5 employees (60%) in that shaky middle-ground between mental illness and true emotional fitness: they’re languishing. This emerging 20/60/20 pattern (20% of employees have a significant mental health concern; 60% don’t, but could use support to prevent one from developing; and 20% are thriving) underscores the vital importance of providing preventative, sub-clinical resources that support employees who are at increased risk for developing a mental health concern.

Fortunately, for employees who are languishing, a little support can go a long way in preventing a decline into mental illness and rebuilding emotional fitness. While most people think of an EAP as a benefit that addresses clinical concerns such as anxiety and depression (and, of course, it is), EAPs also provide sub-clinical resources for employees who are looking for a way to boost their emotional fitness or return to their previous state of thriving. Every CuraLinc model includes meaningful support and programming that helps employees reduce stress, stay mindful, learn meditation, improve their sleep fitness and strengthen their over mental health through a variety of subclinical resources including:

• One-on-one emotional fitness coaching via text therapy, phone or video

• Digital cognitive behavioral therapy (dCBT) modules that offer daily inspiration and motivation

• Interactive digital toolkits with resources for mindfulness, meditation, sleep fitness and more

• Work-life benefits that help employees stay balanced and focused

Like all health issues, mental illness is caused by a variety of factors – some of which are in an employee’s control, and others that are not. By providing employees with access to a variety of personally-relevant sub-clinical resources that lower the bar to access and destigmatize the program, employers can help prevent the 60 percent of their workforce that may be languishing from developing a more serious (and costly) mental health concern – and perhaps even get back to thriving once again.