Trends in employee mental health & wellbeing

TRENDSINEMPlOYEE MENTAl hEAlTh & wEllbEING

By andrea hansen, B.comm, cfP, gBa, President and Benefits Advisor at Sutton Benefits & Pension

mental health “moments” happen, with many of us fluctuating between optimal and poor mental health every day. The pandemic has forced employers to pay greater attention to the mental health challenges many workers face.

Before the pandemic, mental health needs often went unmet, and businesses were not equipped to deal with increases in depression, anxiety, and substance abuse among employees. Traditional health and wellness benefits have been evolving rapidly, using technology and innovation to migrate from sick care to self-care, to change perspectives on aging, to evolve personalized care and payment models, and most importantly, to improve access and integration of physical, mental, and virtual care.

You depend on your employees to deliver your products and services and to drive your business’s overall success. Creating a healthy, safe workplace that protects both the physical and mental health of employees is essential to achieving business objectives and shareholder returns. Clearly, investing in a mentally healthy workforce is required.

Mental illness, including addiction, is becoming a leading cause of disability worldwide – it prevents nearly 500,000 employed Canadians from attending work each week. A recent CTV report indicated that Saskatchewan surpassed 460 substance-related deaths in 2021 – a very troubling statistic. Substance use disorders represent 33 per cent of mental health concerns, and more than 90 per cent of people with substance use problems do not get help.

The cost of disability leave for mental illness is about double the cost of leave for physical illness. Suicide is the leading cause of death in the workplace for construction and related industries. In fact, in the construction industry, the rate of death by suicide is five times the rate of death in workplace accidents.

Workplace mental health programs are necessary, but if they are disconnected from the support your employees need, you may be missing the mark. Here are three trends that are helping employers support employee mental health and wellbeing.

1. offering proactive, targeted solutions in your employee family assistance program (efaps)

Many EFAPs have already expanded the scope of mental health offerings to include telemedicine and virtual pharmacies. Now, some online platforms are providing targeted solutions, such as those for substance use management, sleep, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Employees can even choose a therapist from profiles, based on their needs. This benefit can connect employees with behavioural coaches, therapists, and physicians who work as a team to deliver personalized care, right to the employee’s smartphone.

Regardless of the solution, EFAPs have shifted from a reactive generalized approach to a needs-based approach designed to address employees’ mental, physical, social, and financial health needs. In 2021, 42 per cent of employers redesigned their EFAPs.

2. separating paramedical practitioners often bundled under traditional benefits plans

There is a growing trend to separate psychologists, social workers, and counsellors from the paramedical practitioner bundle under a traditional benefits plan. Employers are recognizing that a typical maximum of $500/year is not enough to support employees and family members who need psychological care: according to the Psychological Society of Saskatchewan, in 2022 the recommended fee for registered psychologists is $200 per hour. Having a separate maximum of $1,000 to $2,000+ for those practitioners provides additional support for ongoing care of mental health disorders.

3. bringing in a preventive assistance platform (pre-ap)

Pre-APs are an emerging category in the workplace wellbeing space, led by Canadian technology company headversity. These proactive programs are relevant for every employee, as opposed to reactively serving employees expe-