Why Mental Health Support is Important in the Workplace

For the past few months, Canadians everywhere have been struggling with their mental health, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic. With an overall Mental Health Index rated extremely low, it’s clear that more needs to be done to help improve mental health across the board. The Mental Health Index report for the month of June done by Morneau Shepell shows that significant improvements can actually be made within the workplace with mental health support and awareness. In this blog, we’ll talk about just how important employer support is when it comes to employee’s mental health, and ways you can support your employees during difficult times.

Mental Health and Employer Support

The Mental Health Index Report for the month of June found an extremely strong connection between scores on the Mental Health Index and the individual’s view of how their employer has been supporting the mental health of employees. Employees that reported that their employers supported their mental health needs well or somewhat well, ranked significantly higher on the Mental Health Index (-1%) compared to employees that reported their employer did not support them (-26.3%). The lower the Mental Health Index, the poorer the overall mental health.

Making sure employees have comprehensive mental health support is valuable to employers as well because it will play a significant role in improving their employees’ mental health and therefore making them more engaged in the workplace. Employees that are more engaged are more productive and more likely to work hard. It’s good to try and aim for a Mental Health Index that is positive. But how can employers achieve this? Here are some of the many ways employers can support their employee’s mental health: 

• Provide employee assistance programs 
• Provide a comprehensive employee benefits package that includes coverage for counseling/therapy, care support, and trauma support
• Offer virtual healthcare services for convenient, all-day support 
• Be open about mental health in work culture and continuously check in on employees about any resources they may need

Final Thoughts

At Simply Benefits, we have always been huge mental health advocates. That’s why we are proud to partner with HumanaCare to provide employees with the best assistance possible. HumanaCare is an Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) that offers short-term therapy and counseling services, financial and stress services, and a wide variety of other mental health services. Simply Benefits members will have access to all of these services to ensure that employees are well cared for and supported during difficult times. 

Simply Benefits is also partnered with Wello, a virtual healthcare provider that connects employees with virtual health care. Virtual healthcare is a service that significantly improves employees well being and helps to reduce anxieties about health-related issues. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Simply Benefits, reach out to our support team at support@simplybenefits.ca. 

Disclaimer: Please note that the information provided, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. If you are a Simply Benefits plan member, you can look up more information on your specific plan coverage under the “Plan Coverage” section on your account, or speak to your administrator for more information.

References

The June Mental Health Index Report by Morneau Shepell provided great insight into these issues of mental health in the workplace. Read the full report here: https://www.morneaushepell.com/permafiles/92827/mental-health-index-report-canada-june-2020.pdf