Building a Strong Mental Health Foundation in Your Workforce

Experiencing mental health challenges affects every part of your life, including work. A recent Workplace Mental Health Survey conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Ipsos reports the following: 

• More than half (52%) of employees report feeling burned out in the past year because of their job.
• 37% report feeling so overwhelmed it made it hard to perform their job duties. 
• 33% say their productivity suffers because of their mental health.

Employers who invest in mental health benefits experience higher engagement and productivity levels, in addition to supporting their employees’ health and happiness. Learn how to build a strong mental health foundation at your organization.

Mental Health and Company Culture

The NAMI and Ipsos poll found employees who are less comfortable talking about their mental health at work are more likely to report feeling burnout and their mental health suffering because of work.

Building a positive culture around mental health awareness in which employees feel safe and comfortable discussing mental health concerns starts from the top-down. Yet seven in 10 senior-level employees say they have not received workplace training about how to talk to their team about mental health, according to NAMI.

Encourage and equip executives and team leaders to speak openly about mental health. Consider offering Mental Health First Aid training, a National Council for Mental Wellbeing Program designed to increase employee productivity, morale, and retention by cultivating supportive team cultures.

Offer Mental Health Benefits

To truly address mental health needs in your population, you need a robust, multi-resource strategy. Go beyond an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to offer robust workplace mental health solutions. Ideas include:

• Onsite meditation room 
• Subscriptions to mental health apps
• Dedicated mental health days
• Peer support networks
• Access to licensed behavioral health specialists 

Marathon Health’s mental health care solution, LiveBetter™, available virtually or in a health center, gives employees access to licensed mental health providers. Results include:

• 45% health care savings for engaged patients using both mental health and primary care services
• 29% of patients significantly reducing severe depression symptoms
• 34% of patients significantly reducing severe anxiety symptoms

If an employer offers behavioral health through an existing benefit with their primary care health center, the level of familiarity and trust makes it more likely patients will engage in an area where there’s often stigma.

Communicate Offerings 

A robust mental health program is only valuable when employees know about and understand how to access these resources. Strategic, consistent communication is essential to maximize utilization and demonstrate your organization's commitment to mental wellbeing.

Use an omnichannel approach to communicate all your company’s employee mental health benefit offerings. Utilize emails, direct mail, workshops, breakroom posters and word-of-mouth campaigns to spread awareness. 

By taking this approach, St. Johns County School District has reduced stigma in seeking care, empowering employees to lower their risk scores on the GAD-7 Anxiety Scale and PHQ-9 Depression Scale.

“The district does a great job of encouraging employees to engage in behavioral services by advertising in areas such as staff breakrooms, sending emails about behavioral health webinars and speaking about mental health with de-stigmatized language,” says Kristen Orlando, LMHC, Behavioral Health Specialist for the school district. “This open and accepting mind regarding mental health spreads awareness and motivation for employees to utilize the service.”