Learn four steps your organization can take to improve your employees' mental wellbeing during these challenging times.

1. LACEY McCOURT, MSW
CBIZ Employee Benefits
lmccourt@cbiz.com | 816.945.5500
S T R A T E G I E S
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Article reprinted from Spring 2021
Employee Benefits
Enhancing Employee Mental Wellbeing – Where to Start
BY LACEY McCOURT
T
hese are incredibly stressful times as people are working
remotely while caring for children or elders, feeling
isolated and lonely, worrying about their finances and
job security, trying to stay physically healthy, and more. The
good news is that if you’re reading this, it’s likely because you
care about your employees’ mental wellbeing and want to
learn how you can help.
Recognize the Impact & Break the Silence
The first step is for leadership to acknowledge both the
collective and individual struggles we’re all experiencing. Let
employees know it’s absolutely OK to not be OK. Break the
silence; talk about it. Employees are much more willing to
seek help if they if they know that leadership identifies with
what they’re going through.
Assess & Respond to Employee Needs
Conduct a survey that assesses employee needs,
concerns, etc. Do they have the equipment, technology and
communication tools they need? What would it take for them
to feel safe to return to the office/worksite? Do they need to
adjust their schedule so they can help children with remote
learning? Not only are you getting valuable information that
you can take action upon, you’re also sending a message
that you care and want to know how you can support them.
However, you must follow up with action – respond to the
needs they’ve expressed. And, beyond any survey, managers
should check in regularly to offer ongoing support.
For benchmark data on mental health strategies and
much more, get the report here.
Create a Culture of Caring
Think about your culture. Is it one where employees feel
valued and comfortable asking for help? Make sure they
know that just because they’re working remotely, they’re
not expected to work nights and weekends. Encourage
employees to take PTO. For those back at the worksite,
consider offering a safe and comfortable place for them
to take a mental health break or have some privacy. Also,
positive messages of support from leadership and more
personal notes from a manager for a job well done will go a
long way in creating that culture.
Take Action
The following simple steps can greatly improve the impact of
your existing wellbeing program and how employees value the
offerings.
■
Inventory – Simply put, what are you paying for today?
What resources are currently embedded within your
carrier/partner relationships? Further, what is the
utilization of those resources and benefits? There
are lots of different things that influence what kind of
utilization reports you can get – whether you’re fully
insured or self-insured, whether your EAP is embedded
or standalone, etc. – but you must get that data.
■
Talk to your carriers/partners – Before doing a
request for proposal (RFP), speak to your current
vendors as to what new and emerging services are
already embedded in your contract. They may be
ready for use, but you’re simply not aware of them.
Also, ask if there are any buy-up options.
■
Communication – Assess your benefits
communication plan. No matter how strong your
wellbeing program is, if employees don’t know about
the benefits or how to access them, the program has no
value. There are so many ways to reach employees in an
effective manner – far too many to cover here. However,
here are two examples. The first is a “Do you know?”
series. Each communication discusses a unique feature/
offering of your benefit program. It’s an ongoing series
that can be done via email, a postcard sent home or
both. Another idea is providing a real-life example of how
someone within your organization (without giving names)
utilizes the plan and specific features of it; it’s essentially
a testimonial for your program. When a coworker shares
how they used the benefits, it becomes very impactful.
We’ve obviously just scratched the surface here; however,
by implementing this guidance, your wellbeing program can
fairly quickly and easily be improved and, as a result, so too
can your employees’ mental wellbeing.