Why Your Mental Health Benefits Are Failing Your Employees

While we thought 2020 was a tough year, 2021 has its own fair share of challenges. Even though there’s a light at the end of a tunnel, the mental health impact of the pandemic (especially on workers) cannot be understated. A recent American Psychological Association survey supports this notion, finding that rising stress could give way to a national mental health crisis. 

HR professionals have recognized that mental health was a critical issue in recent years, but this past year left many scrambling to introduce new platforms, apps, training programs, and other resources. 

A McKinsey study found that 9 out of 10 employers noted that COVID-19 affected their workforce’s behavioral health, and 32% said they made significant investments to combat these issues.

While leadership and HR hope these offerings will make an impact, in this brand new workplace ecosystem, there are no guarantees. What’s more, this past year and a half has been, in essence, a worldwide mental healthcare experiment. 

At this unique moment in time, where mental health resources are both needed and front-of-mind for everyone, we ran a survey of 100 HR leaders and 300 employees. 

We wanted to find out: are employees taking advantage of the mental health investments their employers have offered? Are organizations making a real difference when it comes to mental wellness-related benefits? And if not, what’s blocking real improvement? 

So let’s dive into the data and help your organization focus on mental health—the right way.