By Kathleen Greer and Bryan Kohl
Empathy is something organizations have been talking about for decades. As a result, some can truly characterize their culture as one grounded in empathy, while others, perhaps not as much. Suffice it to say, the pandemic has forced organizations to reflect on their workforces — to better understand their employees’ myriad of needs, expectations and overall wellbeing. As we continue to move through this pandemic,
No debating these are incredibly challenging times. Leaders and managers alike have been forced to confront, not only within themselves, but across their teams and organizations, heightened levels of
1. Assess your own mental health. As a leader, look inward for any hang-ups you might have such as outdated attitudes about mental health. Ask yourself how you’re doing and what sorts of things you’re doing to stay healthy. Recognize that everyone deals with stress in their own unique way and may need vastly different types of care to get back on track.
2. Don’t just show concern, BE concerned. Show employees that you are concerned about them and want to know how you can help. A statement of this type should be made at the beginning of every briefing and in every written communication. Make sure that managers are well trained in how to manage virtually and are aware of behaviors associated with anxiety, depression, and burnout. Don’t underestimate what a quick 5-minute check-in call can do to engender trust across your team.
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3. Crush your biases. Be honest with yourself about any biases you have about mental health and substance use issues. It is likely that more than half of your employees are experiencing distress due to the pandemic and other personal issues. “Normalize” mental health issues by acknowledging them in every communication. De-stigmatizing exercises can be incredibly helpful, along with videos of individuals discussing how they’re addressing their behavioral health challenges.
4. Provide the best. Be the best. Acknowledge that there are barriers to accessing mental health care and work to streamline that access for your employees. Provide easy access to mental health screenings and virtual and in-person counseling. Audit your benefits to make sure you have the best possible resources in place to assist people in need. More importantly, make sure that people know how to access those resources. Make sure that mental health is not discussed in a stigmatizing way.
5. Try out your own benefits to make sure they work. Many organizations are being approached by mental health point solutions that will simply connect people with an algorithm. Solutions that use algorithms to assist employees find services can be helpful, but empathy and personal touch are more important now than ever. Make sure managers are trained to recognize behavioral health problems.
6. Maximize your investment with your EAP. Have a critical conversation with your EAP about how they are delivering service and connecting with your workforce. Are there services offered through the EAP that aren’t well promoted? Could you work with the EAP to make those services more visible? Would a (Wellbeing) Employee Resource Group (ERG) help to clarify what services employees need?
7. Your EAP can serve as a hub for all-things behavioral health. If you are considering a new point solution, expect your EAP to partner with that provider. Your EAP should be referring to your other behavioral health benefits and services.
8. As you re-imagine EAP, make sure there is still a personal touch. Not all EAPs are created equal. Top-tier EAPs will provide immediate phone counseling with experienced clinicians to vet referrals before they are made and follow up to see how things are going. Don’t settle for less if you want employees to feel supported and return to full functioning and productivity.
9. Don’t make BH solely a HR issue. Review the EAP data as seriously as you would your financial data. There are insights in every EAP report, and much more to learn if you ask for it. Your EAP knows of barriers to service that may be difficult for you to see. EAP data can inform you of culture issues that will never come up on a culture survey.
10. Don’t settle for mediocrity during these critical times. If your mental health benefits have barriers, remove them. If your EAP isn’t delivering what you need, figure out why and consider a change. Unless your EAP has direct access to your employee census, EAP visibility is on you!
Behavioral health has never been as important as it is right now. How organizations address their employees’ behavioral health — a function of empathy — is no less important than how organizations address their financial health. Workforces are experiencing unprecedented challenges. We know that. There is no better time than now to engage the workforce via some of the actions defined above.
