May is Mental Health Awareness Month - a time to consider the important role mental health plays in overall well-being. Since 2020, mental health issues have been on the rise, with 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. reporting mental health issues. Employers are taking action.
The 2023 theme is look around, look within. We see leaders already implementing this idea by looking around their communities and within their workforces to detect risks and link those who may be struggling to appropriate resources. It's no wonder 67% of employers are strengthening mental health offerings in the workplace, since poor mental health is associated with $47.6 billion in lost annual revenue in the US alone. Here, we discuss actionable tips for prevention, intervention, and access to resources in your organization.
Promoting Employee Mental Health through Prevention
It's a dismal outlook: 41% of employees report experiencing burnout from work, and 45% regularly feel emotionally drained by the end of the workday. But it doesn't have to be that way. Mental health support is proven to help employees overcome and prevent mental health issues, helping workforces lead happy, healthy, and productive lives. In fact, simply having appropriate work is associated with positive mental health.
Cultivating a stigma-free workplace is a meaningful step toward prevention of mental health issues. Characteristics of a stigma-free workplace can include:
- supportive, open communication
- access to resources including wellness programming and mental health benefits
- flexibility to allow workers to take needed time off
- proactive awareness of workers who may be struggling
- leadership training on the signs of mental health issues
Mental Health Intervention
Fortunately, there are many effective mental health interventions and prevention strategies. These include education (like trainings on resilience and coping mechanisms), counseling, medication, and more. Wellness programming that includes content about mental health is another common, and impactful, strategy. It's also one of the most common approaches to prevention. In fact, nine in ten organizations globally offer some type of employee wellness program, and employees value it.
Access to Mental Health Resources
A whopping 90% of U.S. employers now provide some mental health coverage, and nearly one-third offer full coverage to employees. And importantly, employees are more likely than ever to use their employer-sponsored mental health care benefits. Other resources like EAPs, workplace resources, and guidance to local resources are also beneficial.
Whatever your approach, mental health support and wellness programming at work go a long way to foster a healthy, happy, and productive workforce. For information on how CoreHealth can help, click HERE.
About CoreHealth Technologies
CoreHealth by Carebook is a total well-being company trusted by global companies to power their health and wellness programs. Our wellness portals help maximize health, engagement, and productivity for over 3.5 million employees worldwide. We believe people are the driving force of organizations and supporting them to make behavior changes to improve employee health is in everyone’s best interest. With the most flexibility, customizations, and integrations of any software in its class, CoreHealth’s all-in-one wellness platform helps achieve great wellness outcomes.
From simple to sophisticated, it's up to you. For more information, visit the CoreHealth website.
