By Terri Storey, CEO, iHealthOX
We are coming out of an astonishing two and half years marked by the global pandemic, racial injustices, acknowledgement of intergenerational traumas, economic uncertainties and mass labour shortages. The response by leading employers has been impressive, commendable and why we’re making strides to keep pace with the demand for better, modern employee mental health care.
Today, we celebrate World Mental Health Day guided by the theme of making mental health for everyone. This is more than an aspiration. It gives us inspiration to drive forward our strategies to make mental health care inclusive, accessible and effective. This is not only a necessary goal, but within reach with the right investments.
The facts are clear. To make this possible, the traditional approach to employee mental healthcare is not enough. For decades, it has excluded numerous employee populations with a one-size-fits-all approach that creates unnecessary barriers to accessing the most appropriate care and support.
We know we need to do better:
- According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1 in 2 Canadians will have or have had a mental illness by the time they turn 40.
- The World Health Organization reports that anxiety and depressive disorders rose by more than 25% in the first year of the pandemic.
- The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reported that Every week at least 500,000 Canadians miss work due to mental illness
I have hope that positive change will emerge from the pandemic experience. Employers have already made gains by starting to invest beyond the traditional EAPs – a meaningful step towards culture change. But the stakes have been raised. Now is the time to close the remaining gap by supporting all diverse employee populations with inclusive, responsive, personalized mental health benefits – a modern approach for modern life.
The modern workforce needs more than traditional mental health benefits
For decades, employers have depended on traditional mental health benefits that are one-size-fits-all and continue to fail to meet the needs of all employees.
Not only does the mental health experience exist on a spectrum where risk levels and clinical factors determine the appropriate level of care for each person, but employees have diverse identities and cultural backgrounds that factor into their mental healthcare needs. Additionally, employees who experience lack of representation, microaggressions, unconscious bias and other undue stress due to the lack of inclusion and belonging are at a higher mental health risk and may need targeted support and resources that are often not offered in a traditional solution.
Modern mental health benefits recognize and respond to the fact that each person is on their unique mental health journey. These solutions prioritize evidence-based mental health treatment, preventative well-being programs and personalized care that takes into consideration each person’s life stage, identity and context.
What happens when we don’t evolve our benefits
Healthcare benefits are part of the employee experience that impact recruitment and retention of top talent in an evolving labour market. They reflect an employers’ investment and commitment to its people and also provide organizations with the opportunity to support employees through difficult times with timely, connected care, treatment, tools and strategies.
When employers do not move beyond the traditional mental health care benefit, diverse workforces do not have effective care and support they need to effectively problem solve, innovate, foster positive work relationships and adapt and thrive through change.
The key elements to inclusive, modern employee mental health care
Personalized mental healthcare
Each person/employee is on their unique mental health journey and the traditional approach of one-size-fits all treatments, tools and strategies does not cut it. To achieve this, a modern benefit includes mental healthcare based on clinically-validated assessments that takes into consideration the person’s life stage, identity and preferences to determine the right level and type of care and support.
Preventative
The solution must go beyond the limitation of only providing interventions when a person is experiencing a mental health concern or illness. In addition to timely treatment intervention, modern mental health care is proactive by assessing and addressing mental well-being to give individuals the tools, resources and strategies to build resilience and cope with challenges and stress.
Accessibility
Employees have different preferences for accessing support and that’s why choice is important. Modern solutions offer different modes of delivery (e.g. virtual, in-person, self-guided, live sessions, group sessions).
Culturally centred care
This concept ensures that all aspects of culture —including individual, group, family, community, and organizational experience— are integrated into the delivery of our care. The solution must assess providers for cultural humility and offer training on culturally-centred care to help providers address issues like systemic racism.
Build mental wellbeing into the workplace
Partner with a mental healthcare solution that supports workplace training and education for leaders and employees. Ask employees for input about the type of mental health and well-being training they’d benefit from most to support a healthier, more inclusive work environment.
Measure and adjust
Continuously measure outcomes, and gather anonymous feedback from employees to determine if the mental healthcare solution is meeting their specific needs and make adjustments to better support your employees as they move along their own personal journeys to live well and thrive in their workplaces.
This year’s World Mental Health Day gives us the opportunity to reflect and determine how we as leaders can move forward the commitment to deliver modern mental health care that benefits and empowers our whole diverse and dynamic workforce.
Connect with our iHealthOX Team to learn how we partner with leading employers to transform their employees’ mental health care experience.
Sources:
*Understanding organizaitonal barriers to a more inclusive workplace https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/understanding-organizational-barriers-to-a-more-inclusive-workplace
https://www.camh.ca/-/media/files/workplace-mental-health/workplacementalhealth-a-review-and-recommendations-pdf.pdf
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