Take the Moment for Mental Health
This year’s Mental Health Awareness Month theme is Take the Moment. This is a great time to remind employees about how they can use their benefits to improve their mental and emotional well-being. A communications campaign that highlights your benefits, programs, and resources about mental and emotional well-being and engages leadership in the delivery of that messaging can encourage your people to use those offerings. Take, for example, a mental health awareness campaign that a multiemployer group promoted. This group increased awareness about the type of help and resources members could access through their program with quarterly home mailings, direct emails, and business manager outreach. Because of these efforts, their employees’ utilization of their member assistance program more than doubled.
Two Important Audiences
The stress caused by the aftereffects of the pandemic, ongoing inflation, global conflict, international turmoil, and just everyday life has hit people managers especially hard. Not only have they faced their own personal challenges, they’re also on the front lines supporting employees. Consider providing dedicated communications to managers to help them recognize mental health challenges in themselves and others—and to point them to relevant resources. For example, you could provide talking points for managers about where to go for help and how to use the benefits. If a manager has a team member who needs help, they’ll be able to connect the person with the right resources.
Also, don’t forget about family members. In the example mentioned above, the multiemployer group saw member assistance program utilization rates from family members alone climb as high as 60%. For your organization, consider sending mailings such as postcards or newsletters to your employees’ homes instead of handing them out at work. This is an effective way to reach everyone, not just employees. Family and home life is an important component of your employees’ overall well-being.
Creating a Culture of Support
Use these tips to help your organization come together for Mental Health Awareness Month.
- Stay positive and don’t be afraid to talk about mental health. A recent Harvard Business Review article notes that “Workers and leaders alike need the strategies to create psychological safety and sustainable work cultures.” The month of May provides the perfect starting point for special promotions and announcements that feature your organization’s mental health resources.
- Break down barriers to resources. If employees don’t know where to go when they need mental health care, it can “lead to further complications for employees and increased costs for employers. For example, employees with unresolved depression experience a 35% reduction in productivity, contributing to an annual economic loss of $210.5 billion,” according to data from Modern Health.
- Make it accessible. The information and resources must be easy for employees and their families to access. If you don’t already offer self-care resources that can be used easily and anonymously, consider doing so. Additionally, the MetLife Employee Benefit Trends Study notes that employees are looking for more help, especially around their financial and mental well-being. So make sure you’re not making it a treasure hunt for employees to find these benefits.
- Fight the stigma. Not everyone is going to be comfortable with the discussion about mental health. Culture change begins top down and bottom up. Be open to feedback, and show your team that you understand. Help them focus on how to best help themselves by promoting the available benefits and programs.