How AI can ensure every employees’ mental health needs are met

Mental health in the workplace is a sliding scale — some employees are in need of more, some employees need less and some fall in between. But one thing is consistent, and it’s that employers need to be prepared for it all.

Sixty percent of the population falls under the “missing middle,” which refers to a demographic of people who want more than mild mental wellness practices from their employers, but aren’t looking for medical help that requires a diagnosis, according to research conducted by AI-powered mental health platform, Wysa. And for employees looking to satiate the “missing middle” within their own organizations, artificial intelligence may be the key.

“Mental health tends to be either meditation or medicalization,” says Jo Aggarwal, CEO and co-founder of Wysa. “But a majority of [people] are struggling with things that need the kind of support that a therapist could provide without being diagnosable with a [mental] illness.”

Read more: 8 low-cost apps to help employees manage their mental health

COVID has had a lasting impact on the mental health of employees everywhere. The risk of PTSD has increased 55% for employees since the start of the pandemic, according to Total Brain’s Mental Health Index, and while 65% of employers believe they have the benefits and tools to support employee mental health, just 51% of employees agree, according to data by McKinsey.

“Wellness or pre-diagnosis programs tend to be about a product,” Aggarwal says. “[Companies will] give employees a product like a mindfulness session or a yoga class, but they're not feeling heard.”

AI solutions like Wysa take existing health and mental wellness strategies and add an anonymous chatbot employees can talk to directly. This allows employees to gauge the severity of their own stressors and decide for themselves whether they need more or less help, without the pressure of having to contact their EAP, according to Aggarwal.

Read more: Employees are struggling with pandemic PTSD

Those who cannot resolve their issue or alleviate their stress using the chatbot will be redirected to an EAP or a therapist, but those who can are able to bypass any unnecessary or complex steps that ultimately wouldn’t have helped their individual situation, Aggarwal says.

“These are people who feel like they can help themselves and who will not typically be seeking external help with their problems,” she says. “Maybe they’re dealing with relationship issues, loneliness, conflict — either at work or at home — or dealing with things that are affecting both their productivity and their general sense of well-being.”

Investing in an AI tool for mental health isn’t just a benefit for employees, either. Using the data the chatbot collects, companies are able to get insights as to how their organization is feeling as a whole, compared to other organizations. The app can also track team well-being without violating anybody's privacy, according to Aggarwal.

“Employers now have analytics about how the well-being of their organization is changing,” she says. “They'll have insights and be able to act on [them] so employees actually feel supported.”