The exponential growth in need for services combined with a major shortage of providers presents a significant challenge for employers looking to meet their employees' mental health needs. (Photo: Krakenimages.com / Shutterstock.com)
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has generated a surge in stress and anxiety, creating a need for employers to step up their mental health offerings. According to a recent study by the American Psychological Association, Americans are experiencing higher levels of general stress than in recent years. The Lancet Psychiatry Journal recently found that 20% of COVID-19 patients later developed a mental illness, and TouchCare's own member data shows that behavioral health-related inquiries have doubled since March and the first wave of COVID.
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By all accounts, the pandemic has exacerbated an already rampant mental health crisis in America. A 2019 Substance Abuse & Mental Health study showed that even before the pandemic set in, 16.5 million Americans said they needed mental health treatment or counseling but didn't receive it. Now, with COVID-19 worsening an already bad access problem for mental health services, it's up to employers to offer virtual options to their employees as a standard part of their health care strategy. The exponential growth in need for services combined with a major shortage of providers presents a significant challenge for employers looking to meet their employees' mental health needs. However, those who do not rise to the challenge will face significant losses in productivity, which will directly impact business success.
In order to come out of the pandemic stronger and more productive, employers should consider some best practices when it comes to supporting employee mental health – because employee well-being ultimately contributes to a more successful business as whole.
Employers and HR departments should consider the following ways they can help ease the stress among their workforce:
The human connection
With the use of technology on the rise, employers and their HR departments need to keep in mind the importance of staying human. During a time when so many feel isolated, HR practitioners should get creative to make sure employees know that their health and wellbeing is top-of-mind. While technology has helped in many areas throughout the pandemic, employees crave the face to face interaction that was once part of everyday life.
Employers can facilitate this with pulse check-ins to see how employees are doing and offer support. Pulse checks are also helpful to remind employees of the resources that may already exist in the benefits program. Other examples can be scheduling time for meditation or mindfulness sessions during the day or allowing employees the time to work with a personal therapist. This seemingly small step can go a long way towards ensuring employees feel supported.
Support takes many shapes
We have seen the inquiries for behavioral support rise in real-time and can only expect that they will continue to increase. Adding mental health support apps or sessions to employee benefit offerings is another way employers can show that they are committed to supporting employees' changing needs. Studies have found that mental health apps have been successful in both breaking down the access challenges typically associated with finding care as well as the stigma barrier – meaning more employees engage in getting the mental health support they need.
The looming return to work
As an additional measure to ease stress, employers should also put a system in place for testing and contact tracing, making both easily accessible, and also have a plan for distributing the vaccine once it becomes available. HR teams should be transparent about the measures they are taking to ensure employee safety as the top priority once offices reopen. The eventual return to the office is likely to bring a new layer of stress for many employees, so having a transparent system that protects employees' safety in the office will be crucial for minimizing the impact returning to the office has on mental health.
The big picture
The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating a long-overdue shift toward making mental health benefits available to employees. While these circumstances have amplified the need for mental health services, the need will not go away after the pandemic is gone. Employers should take a long-term lens when evaluating mental health benefits, using the current urgence of mental health resources as an opportunity to ensure this becomes a permanent part of benefits packages. After all, what's best for employees' health is best for long-term business as well.
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