Technology and tools can help address these issues in the short-term. Through telehealth, people are conveniently connecting with therapists, and the markets for digital behavioral health platforms like BetterHelp and self-help apps like Headspace and Calm are booming. But, in order to fully address mental health in the workplace, benefits advisors and employers must also think long-term when it comes to resources and solutions.

To do this, we must revisit a root of workforce mental health: resiliency. Moving beyond tools and technology, the question now remains: How can we help employers step up to build and support the mental health and resilience of their employees?

How do we create the culture?

As organizations and companies return to physical offices, the status quo is now jumbled, leaving room for cultural shifts in the workplace. Many employers are using this time to reimagine their approach to work, but they may not know how to get started. Benefits brokers and advisors can be a key resource in helping them chart out the path forward. Below are considerations that should serve as a starting point for improving workplace mental health.

Open up conversations and reduce stigma around mental health in the workplace. Apps and new technologies can only go so far in addressing mental health; the next step is creating a culture of transparency. It must be OK to not be OK at work—and leadership and employees should be able to talk openly about it if they are not.

In practice, reducing stigma starts with education and honest, ongoing conversations. Virtual and on-site trainings can teach employees how shame, stigma, resiliency and suicide prevention factor into their workflows. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can provide additional guidance or training modules and are a great tool for employers to have in their lineup.

Beyond training, leadership must champion openness around mental health. Barriers can break down through spontaneous and formal dialogues with employees around issues related to mental health. These conversations also create opportunities to communicate clearly about existing mental health resources available through benefits plans and employee assistance programs.

Dig deep, listen and become actively involved in employees' health and lives.

Leaders at companies don't check in on or listen to employees nearly enough, to the detriment of employees' mental health. By proactively engaging employees, employers can better understand their situations and actively respond to needs. In turn, employees feel respected and heard. This might look like regular check-ins during the day between leadership and staff, where any topic is up for discussion and the goal is to gauge employees' needs.

Data can complement this. Reviewing recent EAP utilization reports as well as company-wide surveys around mental health may highlight trends or areas that are in need of improvement. The more that organizational leaders and their broker partners can do to regularly assess and understand employees' needs, the more they can use those needs to inform decisions around the resources and benefits they offer.

Customize workplace wellness programs and offerings.

Something I often guide people around is focusing on the four pillars of nurturing your whole self: physical, spiritual, emotional and mental health. When at work, we do the bare minimum to get by, often just nourishing our mental selves. Then, we rush home and decompress, leaving the other three pillars untouched. Employees should be encouraged to nurture those four pillars throughout the workday by bringing previously external resources into the workplace.

Talk to employers about providing opportunities to exercise and take yoga classes during the day, promoting them and even incentivizing employees to attend. Offer more opportunities for socializing throughout the day. They might initiate a recurrent mentoring happy hour with the team or encourage folks to attend relaxation services at the noon hour. And of course, evaluate EAP and employee benefits offerings thoroughly. Are there additional modules or programming that could be incorporated?

Support the whole employee and provide flexibility in workday schedules.

Counterintuitive though it seems, employers should meet employees where they are, actively encouraging workers to do what they need to take care of themselves or their families, including attending appointments or addressing childcare, even during the day. Much of the average work dynamic, from commutes to constant work-from-home situations, to balancing work and life in an overwhelming world, is unhealthy and stressful. Trusting employees and treating them as people with lives will ultimately lead to healthier mindsets. People have more time to do what they need, and they will be better workers. When people are happy and there's more flexibility, organizations are more productive.

Expect confusion along the way.

Cultural shifts can shock some members of a company. Many employees may be unaccustomed to a flexible schedule. Employers need to be prepared for questions and aware that people might not fully take advantage of these benefits right away.

Changing the workplace culture might not be instantly well-received by leadership, either. Leaders are at different milestones in life and may not initially understand the importance of flexible schedules. But, leaders often listen to other leaders, so return to another fundamental of mental health: talking helps. Whether through sharing perspectives in the media in the style of leaders like Bill Gates, participating in industry-wide panels or debates, or sharing updates in one-on-one conversations, leaders must talk to each other, discussing models and what they are doing to better support employees' mental health.

Offering mental health resources across an organization is a critical component of workforce health and employee resiliency. It's also a boost for companies' bottom lines. Companies with happier, more resilient employees experience less staff turnover, reduced stress levels and more productivity. But, in order for those mental health resources to meet employees' needs, leaders and companies need to start by listening, talking openly about mental health in the workplace, providing resources, and communicating with each other and employees about available support. Benefits advisors and consultants can play a key role in driving these conversations and the major cultural shifts that will make a huge difference in ensuring employees feel psychologically and emotionally safe and supported and more motivated to work.

Heather Ford, LMHC, is director of employee assistance programs at First Choice Health.

Read more: 

• 5 ways to support employee mental health (and why it matters)
• Addressing mental health in the workplace: What do employers need to know about EAPs?
• How leaders can help employees and clients reduce anxiety in times of great stress