New year, same stress: how to support employee wellness

Now more than ever, you should consider how to make the workplace safe and healthy to retain talent. Work-life balance and care for employees is critical.

In order to have a physically healthy workforce, most employers provide health insurance. But what about benefits for a healthy mind? Access to mental health benefits is just as important to ensure employees are getting their needs met. WorkLife Partnership offers benefits that help you show your employees that you care and value them. 

Chronic stress and the pandemic

If you can recognize when an employee is struggling with a mental health issue and actively promote benefits and local resources, it can make a world of difference for an employee facing a mental health crisis. Some employees in need of mental health support may not be aware of the benefits offered to them, as well as resources in their community that can help them.

By now, the stressors placed on employees due to COVID-19 are well documented. The COVID pandemic has impacted every facet of employee wellness: physical, financial, emotional, and social. Managers who can recognize early signs that someone may need greater support, can get the employee connected to help sooner, preventing more serious problems down the road. Studies have found that when depression is treated, companies reduce sick days, employee turnover, job-related accidents, and improve attendance and employee productivity. 

One of the more common signs that someone might be struggling with their mental health is a sudden change in behavior. If an employee has always been reliable and conscientious but is now making mistakes and becoming disengaged, it’s likely there is something affecting their ability to focus and making it hard to keep up at work.

Reaching out to a person who is struggling comes naturally to some, but for many, it feels invasive. However, you can acknowledge that you are noticing a change in your employee’s performance and check in on how they’re doing without asking for the private details of their situation. If the employee reveals some of what they’re going through, you can affirm their feelings and express empathy, while maintaining boundaries and not probe deeper. It’s crucial to remind your employees of the resources available to them in order to seek help. 

For sample phrases of how to approach this discussion, download WorkLife Partnership’s Complete Guide to Supporting Employee Mental Health. 

Workplace practices that should be things of the past

Many people are still struggling with the effects of the pandemic. Those who aren’t fully vaccinated may be hesitant to start working in a place where masks are not required. In order to help employees feel supported and retain their teams, WorkLife Partnership recommends prioritizing health and safety over customer preference.

Empowering employees to protect themselves by wearing masks or keeping more distance between themselves and a customer or co-worker than they might have pre-pandemic, will help them feel like their organization cares about them and wants them to be safe. 

Support for your employees

With lots of hiring competition and an uneasy workforce, this is a prime opportunity for you to amp up the benefits offered to employees. 

Consider adding a program like WorkLife Partnership to the suite of benefits you offer. In a time where businesses across the country are short-handed and face hiring challenges, 75 percent of employees WorkLife surveyed say they’re more likely to stay at their current employer because a Navigator is available. Businesses who work with WorkLife Partnership find that when they give their employees access to the kind of compassionate human support and invaluable resources that WorkLife provides, employees see their employer as caring and feel good about where they work. WorkLife helps employees solve exactly the kinds of challenges—with health coverage, childcare, transportation, housing, financial health, mental health, and much more—that can be barriers to being productive at work. 

If you’d like to learn more about how WorkLife can support you in helping your employees, don’t hesitate to contact us.