Know your employees’ mental health state
How well do you know your employees’ mental health state?
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global work environment has been especially inhospitable to employees’ mental health and well-being. Faced with ambient health stress and the impact of isolation, workers have had to deal with challenges at every turn in their efforts to maintain a positive headspace.
Fortunately, many business owners have noticed what employees are experiencing and want to help. More than three-quarters of large businesses have made mental health care a top priority, and over half of companies plan to run anti-stigma campaigns in 2022 to ensure employees get the help they need.1
If you similarly endeavor to help your workers, there are several steps you can take. One, in particular, is important and worth giving some extra attention: obtaining more data about your employees’ mental health so you can tailor offerings to their needs.
Focusing on mental well-being
There are numerous reasons to focus on your employees’ mental health. The most obvious is simply humanitarian concern for how your workers are doing. There are business motives, too.
Not only will professionals deliver substandard work when struggling through mental health issues, but they also may not want to remain with employers that don’t offer any relief for their problems.2 Top-performing employees are especially likely to leave when a business isn’t doing enough for their mental well-being. In today’s candidate-focused hiring market, this is a key consideration.
Of course, simply making mental health care offerings available isn’t enough. Your business should ensure workers know what types of care are available to them, while also aligning the options with the issues your team members are experiencing.
Promoting mental health offerings takes a proactive effort from all levels of your organization. When leaders speak openly about mental health issues — and the company actively works to fight stigmas around seeking help — it’s easier to see participation rates rise.
But what about the suitability of your programs? Is your lineup of care offerings addressing the range and severity of conditions felt by your workers? The best way to verify that you’re on the right track is simple: ask.
Surveying employees’ mental health
Making assumptions about the mental health of your employees, or extrapolating the results of national surveys, can only get you so far. To better understand your team’s well-being, month to month, measure different aspects of employee mental health while tracking the offerings designed to help.
Tracking data relating to employees’ mental states and their usage of the options available to them can make these programs more impactful. You don’t have to wonder whether the services you’re offering are the right ones. If the data says you’re not on the right track, you can make intelligent adjustments.
If you have specific goals in mind for your mental health care program, it pays to survey about those areas of health and wellness. Recent McKinsey research shows this isn’t always the case — even though 46% of employers want their mental health care offerings to increase engagement, only 38% track that metric.3
As for the information-gathering tools at your disposal, McKinsey suggests options such as focus groups, surveys, claims analysis and lived experience panels. There are plenty of ways to ask employees about their experiences in the workplace. The main way for a company to fail in this regard is to not use any of them.
Modernizing health insurance offerings
A basic health insurance package may not offer the types of coverage and programs employees need to improve their mental health and well-being. If surveys of your workforce have revealed that workers aren’t being adequately served by your insurance options, step up your commitment to mental well-being by choosing a complimentary insurance plan.
At ArmadaCare, we’re committed to filling in the gaps in standard employer health insurance coverage, including in mental health coverage. This is why we offer WellPak, a complementary insurance plan* specifically designed to grant all-in-one access to relevant coverage and support. Covered services include coaching and counseling.
Whether you’re targeting a specific segment of your employee population or the whole organization, WellPak can bring mental health into the picture. Learn more now.
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1 Business Group on Health, 2021
2 Society for Human Resource Management, 2020
* The above referenced supplemental health insurance policies have exclusions, limitations and benefits that vary by plan and state. To obtain a quote or for more details on coverage, contact ArmadaCare.
ArmadaCare’s supplemental health insurance policies are underwritten by Sirius America Insurance Company and Transamerica Premier Life Insurance Company. Insurance plans and coverages vary by state. Please contact us to confirm state availability.