Employee health and wellness is a huge topic amongst employers, employees, health insurance companies and wellness program brokers. But what about employee mental health and wellness? By 2030 the world will lose 12 billion work days to depression and anxiety disorders. That’s a huge number. So what can we do to mitigate this type of employee absenteeism? Normalize discussions about mental health and make treatment options available and affordable to employees who need assistance.
Mental health and wellness programming has seen a 20% increase in user requests year over year, according to TriNet. This means that as employees are getting diagnosed with problems we didn’t used to talk about, they want their employers to support their needs, as they would for high blood pressure or diabetes. Providing employee mental health and wellness programs boosts employee morale and self-esteem the same way a weight loss program could or a rec sports team might.
The best, easiest and simplest way to incorporate employee mental health and wellness programs outside of health insurance benefits is to build relationships. Sounds simple right? It is, but if you think about how anxiety and depression work, creating a safe, supportive, friendly environment helps employees cope with the tough days, and keeps them from taking as many sick days to cope alone, outside of work.
Implementing regular team bonding and team building activities, whether it’s a team lunch or a group kickball game, or a special activity like a paint night, gets your team doing stuff together after work. This also encourages people to talk to each other, learn about each other and helps to build a supportive community environment that mental health sufferers thrive in.
It doesn’t have to be complicated, but employees’ mental health and wellness should be just as important as physical health and wellness.