Mental health maintenance: Daily doses of wellness help employees stay balanced

Mental health and wellness benefits can make a significant and positive impact on a workforce. When utilized, they can help workers restore and maintain balance, avoid a crisis and care for themselves as well as their loved ones. And yet, these benefits are still not enough.  

Almost three quarters of Gen Z and millennial employees have utilized the mental health benefits offered by their employer, according to a recent Securian Financial survey. However, far fewer Gen X-ers and baby boomers, who together make up over half of the workforce in the U.S., take advantage of these options. Going to a therapist isn't for everyone, and neither is having an HR trail for some healthcare needs. For those who do seek professional care, a wait time of at least six weeks can often be expected for an in-person appointment. 

Employers can make sure their entire population is getting some kind of support by communicating and promoting smaller, ongoing wellness efforts within the workplace. What this looks like can depend on industry and employee demographics, but employers should start small by letting their people know that mental health is top of mind. 

One way to begin is by bringing in vendors from already-offered benefits to speak about various wellness topics, or utilizing the digital tools that exist on most health and wellness platforms to help educate and engage employees. Employees can receive helpful information in short form, rather than being taken away from work for extended periods, or left to seek information out on their own time.

"This is an opportunity to leverage employee assistance plans, health plans, or other third-party vendors that carriers may work with, as well as brokers you have access to," says John Crable, SVP at insurance and employee benefits brokerage and consultancy firm Corporate Synergies. "They have a tremendous amount of online tutorials through their wellness initiatives." 

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To avoid oversaturation of an already-sensitive subject, Crable suggests that employers be intentional with their timing of health and wellness activities. At Corporate Synergies, for example, HR puts together short "lunch and learns," one of which featured a specialist who spoke to the team just before the start of their busy season, reminding them of ways to care for themselves so they did not get burned out when the workload increased. 

"Someone came in and presented on mindfulness and ways to de-stress while you're in the office," Crable says. "He talked about the importance of getting proper rest and eating a healthier diet for energy, but about ways to destress when you're sitting at your desk, such as with breathing exercises. We followed up three or four weeks later with a snippet of the video about the breathing exercises that someone could watch quickly, but also be reminded of a strategy to reduce immediate stress."

For times when employees are in the office or close together, employers can break away from digital tools and find ways to make being in-person a perk. Corporate Synergies formed a Cares Committee, a group of volunteers within the office who coordinate various events, such as volunteer opportunities, at which employees can gather. In addition to strengthening workplace culture, volunteer activities — something many companies designate PTO days for anyway — are a way to help increase teamwork, promote relationship-building, and establish a presence in the community. 

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The Cares Committee also sets up ways for employees to take small, restorative breaks during in-office workdays. A recent example of this was, after gaining feedback from officemates, bringing in a chair masseuse for 10-minute massages. The offering sold out , and is something the committee plans to do again, Crable says. Small gestures like this can have a large impact on employee morale, and it comes together by simply asking people what they think would be helpful, he says.

Crable notes the benefit of training all levels of management, especially the "boots-on-the-ground" leaders, to feel comfortable communicating with their teams and recommending good resources when they see someone in need of help. 

In addition, employee resource groups and interest-based chat groups can be set up to encourage support of one another. Crable notes one such chat group for new parents as an example, in which people can connect on all that comes with welcoming a new baby to a family. In addition to this being an option for both in-person and digital employees, those on parental leave can take part before coming back to work, ensuring a support network upon return.

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As employers start to get a feel for the importance of mental health and how to engage their employees, they can think about more ways to give their workers the right kind of assistance, Crable says. The good news is that many of these may already exist within benefit offerings that companies provide. 

"There's so much that goes into mental wellness, which could include de-stressors, but also taking advantage of resources — online tutorials and more about retirement, college savings, etc.," he says. "Remind [employees] that there are a lot of different things that point to stress, look for education and for ways to help people by directing them to the right place."