Employee benefits that boosted mental health this year

6 companies that launched innovative mental health benefits this year

December 14, 2020 10:53 AM

Mental health has been in the spotlight throughout 2020, as employees struggle to balance work and home responsibilities during a tumultuous year.

Forty-two percent of Americans reported symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder in November alone, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Employers are taking note: 72% said they plan to introduce more mental health support, according to PwC’s November Workplace Pulse Survey. But just 31% of employees say their company has successfully addressed employee mental health, the survey found.

To keep mental health top of mind, it’s critical employers continue to offer support and benefit programs that meet the needs of their employees. As companies look toward 2021, these six organizations can provide a blueprint for implementing mental health support into the new year.

Lyra Health adds Calm app to ease COVID-19 mental health strain

With stress, anxiety and burnout on the rise, employers are seeking new ways to support workers struggling with poor mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.

Lyra Health, a mental benefits provider, is adding the Calm app to their benefit offerings to help manage the added stress. Over 1.5 million employees will have access to the popular resiliency training app, as the new partnership expands mental health support to employees who may be resistant to more traditional modes of therapy.

“The urgency has never been greater than it is now to provide holistic mental health services,” says Joe Grasso, clinical director of partnerships at Lyra Health. “It's a way to support people who maybe aren't ready to engage in therapy but want to dip their toe into some kind of wellness support.”

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Lyra Health adds Calm app to ease COVID-19 mental health strain

Crossover Health and Tridiuum use data to improve employee mental health

Crossover Health recently teamed up with Tridiuum, a provider of digital behavioral health solutions, on a new program to measure and study employee mental health and equip employers with data and solutions to provide their employees with the help they need.

"With therapy, a lot of work happens outside the session, and that's where tools like Tridiuum are invaluable in helping to proactively identify issues, track along with how members are doing, alert us to the need to adjust treatment plans, as well as urgent needs, like suicide alerts," Boroff says. “All of these things help our team be better therapists and lead to better outcomes for our members."

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Helping employees cope with COVID-19 and seasonal depression

LinkedIn offers courses to help workers get their spark back

LinkedIn and Glint — the professional network’s employee engagement platform — found that burnout is up by 33% compared to last year, with survey respondents reporting high levels of stress, anxiety, fatigue and feelings of overwhelm.

To help employees excel even during times of stress, LinkedIn Learning created six new courses on topics like meditation, enhancing resilience, and dealing with grief and loss.

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6 LinkedIn courses to deal with pandemic-related stress

Starbucks combats mental health stigma with free therapy

Starbucks is expanding its mental health benefits to employees, adding to efforts it began last year to fight the stigma associated with mental health.

Recently, the coffee giant initiated a training program called Starbucks Mental Health Fundamentals, which was inspired by the National Council for Behavioral Health’s Mental Health First Aid program. The Starbucks training includes four, 30-minute modules on effective listening, providing encouragement and reassurance, providing resources and information, and the importance of self-care.

“When we started looking into things, we found that the mental health delivery system in our country is just not where it needs to be. It's not serving us as a people,” says Ron Crawford, vice president of global benefits at Starbucks.

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Starbucks expands mental health benefits with first aid program

Citigroup, Bank of America and other banks are pushing telemedicine options and well-being programs

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, employees are increasingly seeking out mental health and wellness programs to deal with the effects of stress, burnout and prolonged isolation.

In response, Citigroup, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bancorp and other banking companies are pushing telemedicine options, rolling out yoga and guided meditation courses, and augmenting or adapting existing wellness programs to meet the need. To combat isolation, banks have also gotten creative about fostering a sense of community from afar. Yoga, guided meditation and Zoom “happy hours” are common.

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Virtual therapy, yoga, pet parties: Banks' answers to worker stress

Happify Health offers benefit for remote access to mental health services

Happify Health, a mental health benefits provider, has designed a new program for employees and health plan members to remotely access mental health resources to meet the recent surge in demand.

Happify Connect is a part of the organization’s selfcare platform and allows employees to connect with mental health care that is more conducive to the current work-from-home environment. The program directs employees to mental health resources, including self-guided tools within the Happify platform, higher-touch care through integrated partners such as online therapy and a mental health provider directory.

“We’ve always been about destigmatized delivery of support for [employees] in their lives,” says Patrick Burke, Happify Health's head of healthcare. “As individuals mental health is so dynamic that we need different things at different times in our lives.”

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Happify Health designs benefit for remote access to mental health services