The mental health benefits are there, but do employees really think their employers encourage them to seek care and utilize them? Unfortunately, this is another area of dispute.
85% of HR folks believe they advocate for their team members to seek mental health care. But only 67% of employees agree.
HR: As an organization, we encourage employees to seek mental health care.
Employees: My employer encourages employees to seek mental health care.
1 in 3
employees don’t believe their organization encourages them to seek care
This data leads us to ask: If HR wants employees to get care, to be happy, healthy, and productive, why aren’t their teams getting the message? Where’s the roadblock?
Dr. Keita Franklin, Ph.D., Chief Clinical Officer at Psych Hub, offers some sound advice. “All too often employee wellness is seen as just another human resources internal communication or benefits effort.”
Edward Jones CHRO Kristin Johnson, elaborates further saying, “Our people have many needs and we need to address them all if we expect them to give their best. This includes their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.”
To support employee wellness, we need to do more than email employees during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Drive employee engagement with their benefits at critical moments, any time of year.
More mixed messages
On top of unclear encouragement for seeking care, there’s dispute on whether HR teams are actively increasing access to care in relation to needs.
76% of HR professionals think they’re taking action to increase access to mental health care based on an increase in need, but only 60% of employees agree.
HR: As an organization, we are taking action to increase access to mental health care for employees based on an expected increase in need.
Employees: My employer is taking action to increase access to mental health care for employees.
In fact, HR says they’re taking action by better educating employees about how to use resources. But as our data from the employee survey shows, it’s clear this message is getting lost.
HR: How is your organization taking action to increase access to mental health care for employees?
Education is also a double-edged sword because you run the risk of information overload. Chris Renz, Partner and Co-Founder at Nua Group, LLC, sums it up perfectly: “The available information can be overwhelming, even for those with the interest and patience to reach through it. No surprise that the reaction to comprehensive benefit materials is ‘TL;DR.’”
52% of employees say choosing their benefits is stressful, and they want a personalized approach to benefits choice and usage
Drive employee engagement with their benefits at critical moments, any time of year.
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