Employee behavioral and mental health requests have jumped 100% since the onset of the pandemic, and 26% of all adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Consider these seven ways to help employees get the most out of your company’s mental and behavioral health benefits:
- Get feedback. Seek input from employees who have used mental and behavioral health benefits. What worked or didn’t work? What benefits/services would they like that they don’t currently have?
- Communicate more. Studies show that employees don’t know what mental health benefits their company offers. Remind employees frequently and via different platforms about benefits and how to access them.
- Enable/encourage access to virtual counseling and similar services. Stress the benefits of these, particularly during the pandemic.
- Make it easier to access. Start with some low-hanging fruit, such as tip sheets, mindfulness programs, exercise plans and classes, and time management or financial wellness tools.
- Increase the outlets. Offer different ways, times, and locations for benefits and activities.
- Create incentives. For instance, create a wellness challenge where employees get points for each task they complete.
- Help break the stigma. Don’t be afraid to talk about mental health, and work to increase awareness and acceptance.
