Starbucks announced in September it would be enhancing its mental health initiatives, supervisor training and EAP offering. By presenting such benefits and promoting workplace wellness, the company is helping to reduce the stigma around behavioral health and is fostering a safer and healthier workplace environment. Just three weeks later, U-Haul International announced a similar update, which included adding mental health coverage and resources to its benefits package.

Attitudes around behavioral health, and behavioral health care, are finally starting to show signs of change. According to World Health Organization, an estimated 264 million people suffer from depression and anxiety disorders, costing the global economy U.S. $1 trillion each year in lost productivity.

Behavioral health is a critical issue for today's workforce, yet limited provider access is a problem that is just as serious. Workplaces that promote mental health and support their employees with mental health services are more likely to reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and benefit financially from reduced mental health costs.

Employers are struggling with the best ways to address employee behavioral health concerns due to lack of access and timely care. However, many are turning to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) for support.

EAPs can positively impact your workforce.

EAPs provide solutions that help employers develop and maintain healthy work environments while improving employees' health and productivity at work and home. EAPs can offer a variety of services including counseling, crisis support, and referral services along with a wide range of helpful tools and resources. Employers that offer EAP benefits help employees to resolve their concerns, focus on what matters and feel appreciated by their employers.

For example, EAPs provide immediate support for handling situations without putting the company at risk. When a workplace issue becomes a chronic problem, your EAP can guide you through a mandatory referral process, which is an effective management tool for addressing problematic employee conduct, performance, and/or violations of company policy. This process provides valuable support to the employee, HR team and management, allowing most employees to retain their job and feel more valued by their employer. At First Choice Health, we've found that more than 80 percent of referred employees are able to complete the program and retain their job.

EAPs look at the issue of behavioral health holistically and offer an affordable, seamless solution to addressing the shifting mental health care landscape while helping to remove the barrier between insurance providers and an individual's unique health care needs.

Companies are reassessing their behavioral health needs and are looking to their health care partners for creative, integrated and holistic solutions.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that one in five U.S. adults have been undiagnosed or untreated for a behavioral health issue. Managers are likely to have someone on their team who is struggling with their mental health. Standalone EAPs are utilized 6 to 8 percent of the time, often because employees are unaware of their available mental health benefits and resources.

Companies like Starbucks are training their managers to respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse. This strategy is smart because managers often act as a front-line, on-site emotional support for their teams and are able to guide team members on the benefits and resources available at the company. The supervisor serves as a "doorway" to educating the rest of the employee population, thus increasing the EAP utilization rate and making the most value out of your EAP.

Both Starbucks and U-Haul are setting themselves up to succeed and support their employees. With an industry so flooded with point solutions, companies can look to Starbucks and U-Haul as a basis for establishing their own behavioral health initiatives, which can offer a broad solution for supporting their employees at work and at home.

Within the past year, around 6 to 7 percent of full-time U.S. workers experienced major depression. Organizations have a responsibility to support individuals with mental health issues and many are now taking action to improve their mental health care benefits, such as partnering with an EAP. To gain the most value out of your EAP, it is critical to have a good relationship with your account executive and partner with a program that is accessible, attentive, flexible and transparent.

It's all about fostering a healthier workplace community.

When you have a leader who can promote and talk about mental health in the workplace, it reduces the stigma associated with behavioral health issues, and employees are more likely to utilize their EAP and gain the most value from their mental health benefits.

While there is still more work to be done, the increasing number of companies incorporating mental health services into their employee benefit package should serve as a model to countless employers across the U.S. who are struggling with the work-related risk factors associated with behavioral health. Going down this path will lead to healthier employees and stronger businesses.

Heather Alder is the employee assistance director at First Choice Health. With experience in health care technology and a focus on advancing integration of behavioral health and primary care, Heather understands what can happen to our physical health, our workplace performance and our healthcare costs when we forget to take care of our mental health.

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Addressing mental health in the workplace: What do employers need to know about EAPs?

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