There are a number of components of employee wellness — but, too often, one in particular doesn’t get as much focus as it should.
“Employee emotional health has a huge impact on productivity and effectiveness of the company,” says Ofer Leidner, co-founder and president of Happify and a
That’s why Leidner helped create Happify, which aims to disrupt the mental health space by providing a digital platform that helps employees understand the source of their feelings. Then, it teaches them how to turn negative feelings into positive ones.
“The challenges of providing emotional health solutions have been access and engagement,” Leidner says. “For many employees, emotional health tools are inaccessible because they either can’t take time off from their jobs, have to travel far for help or want to maintain their privacy. Using technology to achieve scale is one of the most effective ways to achieve integrated support that improves outcomes for employees.”
The company recently launched Happify Health, which offers evidence-based emotional health solutions for employers, health plans and enterprise organizations. Based on decades of scientific research on interventions that foster well-being and resilience in individuals, Happify Health provides more than 60 programs created by leading experts through its online platform. Topic areas include resilience and mindfulness, as well as conditions ranging from depression and anxiety to chronic pain and insomnia.
Leidner says it’s vital that employers target mental wellness issues — especially in the form of technology.
“Technology has the ability to provide care in a way they can access when convenient for them,” he says. “From an employer perspective, we’ve seen anywhere from 25-50% of employees exhibit elevated levels of stress, depression and anxiety that have gone undiagnosed.”
