Improving Employee Well-Being With Mental Health Check-Ins

Mental health concerns like stress, anxiety, and burnout can negatively impact employee health along with your organization’s day-to-day operations. According to a recent Gallup^® study, workers with fair or poor mental health accounted for increased absences and turnover — undermining productivity, impacting employee well-being, and increasing costs for businesses.

Employers who encourage their employees to check in on their mental wellness and prioritize enhanced employee offerings can see numerous benefits. These benefits include improved employee well-being, increased employee satisfaction, reduced absenteeism, and increased engagement.

Encourage Mental Health Check-ins

When used in tandem with physical checkups, mental health check-ins give employees a clearer picture of their emotional health and their overall well-being.

In many ways, mental health check-ins are similar to visits with a primary care doctor. They diagnose problems, help employees address them, and are designed to:

• Determine if a person would benefit from counseling or seeing a specialist. 
• Discover and suggest appropriate support for related physical issues that may have an impact on their mental state.
• Give people ways to learn about holistic wellness and stress management, including exercise or yoga, medication, counseling, and educational sessions.

Employees can easily connect with a behavioral health professional through their Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or engage in digital assessments through their EAP or medical benefits. Offered both in person and virtually through innovative telehealth tools, sessions with a mental health professional give your employees a way to take control of their whole health.

How To Shift Company Culture

Encouraging mental health check-ins with your employees may be a shift in your company’s culture, and, at first, present certain challenges.

A majority of employees, at all levels within your organization, struggle with mental health concerns, but almost 43% of employees don’t discuss it for fear of being perceived in a negative light. Employees often need time off work for mental health reasons, but don’t feel comfortable requesting it. A supportive company culture is essential to shifting this paradigm.

Employers can reduce the stigma associated with mental health concerns — and reduce the hesitancy around addressing them — by engaging in open and honest conversations. When employees feel confident they won’t face consequences for talking about mental health issues or taking care of their emotional well-being, it’s more likely they will embrace the idea of regular mental health screenings. This shift can even be lifesaving.

Putting Support Into Action

Employers play an important role in connecting employees with empathetic solutions and proactive support to deliver care in simpler, more effective, and more affordable ways. Acting as mental health touchpoints for employees, solutions and support can include: 

• Free on-site or online counseling sessions for employees and family members.
• Educational courses on mental health, which can help reduce stigma.
• Easily accessible virtual care options, like Anthem’s Sydney^SM Health app, which are covered under health plans or an EAP.
• Access to mental health check-ins and screenings as part of preventive care benefits.
• Wellness program incentives, including behavioral health screenings.

Employers can also work with experienced health partners like Anthem to offer employees easy-to-use tools combining data, advanced analytics, and personalized advocacy solutions for proactive, whole-person support.

Prioritizing employee health through enhanced behavioral health offerings and encouraging employees to check in on their mental health are significant steps toward improving overall employee well-being. By providing comprehensive benefits encompassing all aspects of wellness, the stage is set for a win-win scenario. Employees experience better overall health and improved care experiences, which in turn yield positive returns for employers.

Sydney Health is offered through an arrangement with Carelon Digital Platforms, a separate company offering mobile application services on behalf of your health plan.