World Mental Health Day 2019: Supporting Employees at Work
The World Health Organization (WHO) has outlined five ways employers can reduce work-related mental health risk factors, including high job demands, low supervisor and coworker support, job insecurity and long work hours.
Plus, advances in technology are making it easier for employers to give employees access to mental health benefits that can help.
5 Ways to Promote Mental Health at Work
Research by Harvard Business Review found that less than half of employees felt their employers prioritized mental health and even fewer viewed their company leaders as mental health advocates. Most employees, 86 percent to be precise, think a company’s culture should support mental health.
Here are the WHO’s five ways employers can promote mental health, adapted from a guide from the World Economic Forum:
- Implement and enforce health and safety policies and practices, including identification of distress, harmful use of psychoactive substances and illness and providing resources to manage them.
- Inform employees that mental health support is available.
- Involve employees in decision-making, conveying a feeling of control and participation.
- Create organizational practices that support a healthy work-life balance and build programs for career development.
- Recognize and reward the contributions of employees.
A study led by the WHO found that for every $1 employers put into scaled up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of $4 in improved health and productivity.
Mental Health Benefits During Open Enrollment
We’re only a month away from open enrollment and there have been plenty of technological developments that make it easier for employers to provide benefits that support the mental health of employees.
A recent analysis from the National Business Group on Health found that more than 80 percent of employers will provide mental health services to employees virtually. One-third of employers will offer onsite mental health counselors. More than 25 percent will provide digital cognitive behavioral therapy for mental health issues. And nearly half will provide training for managers to help them recognize mental health issues and guide workers to resources.
Now is the time to consider what kind of mental health benefits your organization offers and how you can use new technology to give employees access to programs and tools that can help.
More on Topics Related to World Mental Health Day 2019
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Choosing the Most Important Benefits to Employees in 2020
Financial Wellbeing & Its Role in a Complete Employee Wellbeing Program