Despite a growing awareness of mental health challenges among employees, data consistently shows that many valuable workplace mental health resources go underutilized. This raises a critical question for HR and benefits leaders: What are the primary barriers preventing employees from accessing the support they need?
Mindi Cox, Chief People Officer at O.C. Tanner, explores actionable strategies that organizations can implement to boost engagement with mental health benefits that will ultimately drive significant ROI through improved productivity and retention.
Data shows that employees value mental health resources, but usage rates remain low. What are the biggest barriers preventing employees from utilizing these programs?
Stigma and access are often the primary culprits that prevent employees from utilizing mental health benefits. While over 57 million adults have some form of mental illness, discussing mental health at work is still a taboo topic. And while our millennial and Gen Z colleagues are helping make mental health conversations more mainstream through things like social media (where people share their journeys with things like depression or anxiety openly), for some, it continues to be a difficult topic to discuss openly.
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Beyond societal stigmas, even organizations who demonstrate good intentions by offering mental health resources often fail to provide meaningful access to those benefits. Whether it is a lack of clear and frequent communication about what benefits are available or a workplace structure that makes it impossible to participate in accessing the benefit, workplaces can do better as a whole. Eighty-five percent of employees say they are confused about their benefits, and 38% say their organizations could improve internal benefits communications. I know many HR teams are frustrated by statistics like this, as they feel open enrollment communication is robust. But, the reality is that it takes repeatedly broadcasting the what, why, and how to access any benefit that makes the difference.
Additionally, if employees are unable to take the time needed to utilize their benefits when needed due to workplace expectations or culture, it can only add to the frustration. In order to clearly communicate the intention that our people are expected and encouraged to utilize benefits resources including mental health services, O.C. Tanner has designated a specific time code called “Health Center Time.” Employees use this allocation of paid time off to attend to their health needs.
What can HR leaders do to maximize employee usage of mental health resources across the organization?
The first step to increasing adoption of mental health resources is to create or increase internal communication around benefits. Many employees read about their benefits during onboarding periods or open enrollment. This issue is that there’s often so much information presented to them at one time that it can be difficult to remember everything.
Employees also typically don’t seek out benefits until they need them. But at that point, they may not know where to go to access that information or be too overwhelmed to sort through a benefits package – especially if they’re struggling with their mental health. To make the information more accessible, HR teams should use regular communication opportunities to recap these offerings in a digestible way. In these communications, make sure employees also know how they can learn more and who to reach out to if they need assistance.
For our team at O.C. Tanner, this means weekly reminders about specific benefits available to our people. We often hear stories of long-term employees who said they did not pay attention or appreciate certain benefits until they needed them most. This makes keeping benefits education top of mind all year long vital. In the end, even the best benefits are pointless if employees don’t know they exist. By creating consistent and frequent opportunities to share benefits information with employees, they are more likely to remember the resources available to them and use them when applicable.
Where possible and appropriate, sharing and celebrating employee success can also encourage others to access their benefits. We often tell stories of employees who caught a condition early, experienced a good outcome, or who express thanks for the benefits we offer. This creates a positive dialogue around real people and real outcomes that encourages healthier behavior.
Another aspect of increasing adoption of mental health benefits is addressing the lingering stigmas around mental health at work. To do so, HR teams and organizational leaders can lead with practical empathy – the practice of listening and understanding, followed by meaningful action. When leaders practice empathy, they create a workplace where people feel heard, seen, and understood, which can have a profound impact on employee wellbeing.
Communicating with practical empathy is incredibly important, as research shows that managers often have a stronger influence on an employee’s mental health than their spouse or doctor. Unfortunately, many leaders struggle to apply empathy effectively. To strengthen this skill, HR teams should equip managers with tools to help them have conversations with the goal of understanding their employees’ perspectives, opinions, and struggles. 1:1 meetings are a great time to practice practical empathy, and leaders can use these moments to check in with employees, share additional resources, and foster trust through honest dialogue.
It’s not enough to have mental health benefits available. To increase usage and effectiveness among employees, HR teams need to focus on empowering leaders to have honest conversations around mental health at work and consistently remind employees of these resources to encourage adoption.
What data or ROI examples can HR teams use to prove the value of ongoing investments in mental health resources?
Data shows that on average, each person with depression contributes to about $16,854 in costs per year for organizations due to things like healthcare expenses and lost productivity. Specifically, $43.3 billion is lost to presenteeism – when employees are at work but less productive due to depression – and $38.4 billion is lost to absenteeism or missed work days. Those can significantly impact the financial health of an organization and is a strong proof point of the value of addressing mental health struggles through benefits.Another way to prove the value of these resources is by comparing benchmark healthcare costs over a period of time for things like drug costs and ER visits. In tandem with increased efforts to amplify mental health resources within the organization, HR teams can draw a correlation between healthcare costs and benefit usage. If HR teams are seeing a decrease in healthcare costs and an increase in employee engagement with their benefits, this can help make a strong case for the ROI these resources provide.
HR teams can also lean into the emotional and cultural ROI of supporting employees through mental health resources. For example, O.C. Tanner’s onsite health clinic offers mental health services to our employees. Through our clinicians, we often hear that these resources are making a significant impact – some employees have even said that it’s saved their lives. Combined with hard ROI numbers, these anecdotes can help HR leaders make a very strong case for the value of investing in mental health resources to the C-suite.
How does supporting employee mental health contribute to overall business performance, including productivity and retention?
When employees are suffering from mental health struggles, it impacts what they’re able to contribute and how they show up at work. Through our research, we found that employees struggling with their mental health often use phrases like “burnout” to describe feelings of anxiety and depression, which can fuel things like disengagement, attrition, and role dissatisfaction. When organizations dedicate the effort and resources to improving mental health, whether that means increasing benefit communications or implementing mental health resources, they will see a decrease in instances of absenteeism and presenteeism. These issues can cost organizations over $1,500 per employee per month and over $800 per employee per month, respectively.
Opening the floor and encouraging honest discussions between employees and their leaders to discuss issues like mental health is a great way to build trust within the organization and encourage employees to seek help. When employees feel like their leaders are empathetic, they are 513% more likely to report a strong connection to their workplace, which can boost retention and employee satisfaction, all while improving their ability to cope with mental health issues.
Anything else you’d like to add?
It’s incredibly important to foster practical empathy among employees at work, but meaningful recognition (considered a workplace gratitude practice) also plays a major role in reducing the mental health stigma and feelings of anxiety and depression at work – for both the giver and the receiver of the recognition. When appreciation is a part of workplace cultures, the odds of probable depression and anxiety decrease by 58% and 54%, respectively.Organizations with a strong recognition program will save approximately $8,000 per employee with probable depression. Research shows that giving gratitude can improve mental health, so encouraging all members of the organization to give recognition can help boost positive feelings for everyone involved.
Organizations can become catalysts for healing. Positive solutions such as open dialogue, psychological resources, and modeled conversations promoting mental wellness can significantly impact employees and help them thrive. Add recognition (so people feel appreciated and valued for their contributions) and both the individual and employer become stronger together. It’s time to replace silence with support and cultivate workplaces where caring is the protocol and mental health is nurtured, not neglected.
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