20.3% have new mental wellbeing benefits due to cost-of-living crisis

mental wellbeingEmployee Benefits poll: One-fifth (20.3%) of organisations have introduced new mental wellbeing benefits for staff struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, according to an online survey among Employee Benefits readers.

Conversely, 31.3% responded that the cost-of-living crisis has not impacted the amount of mental wellbeing benefits they have implemented, and 48.4% said that they have ample existing provisions already.

Earlier this month, restaurant chain Nando’s launched a mental health support service for its 18,000 UK employees in order to improve wellbeing and raise awareness of related issues.

The service was introduced to coincide with Time to Talk Day (2 February), with Nando’s employees having access to a package of mental health workplace support that includes wellness recovery action plans, expert guidance on workplace adjustments, mental health training, and support clinics and webinars for restaurant managers and central teams, so they can direct anyone experiencing mental health problems to relevant assistance.

Time to Talk Day also saw the publication of research from a collection of mental health organisations, which found that 27% of employees find the workplace to be the best space in which to discuss mental health concerns.

Back in January, consumer PR agency JBH launched a workplace wellbeing campaign to coincide with Blue Monday (16 January) and to protect its employees’ mental health. Throughout 2023, it will put in place transparent salary banding, adopt a 4.5 day working week, identify client accounts that were causing stress and worry and remove them, and adapt its financial support package with a cost of living payment, among other initiatives.

In the same month, research from GoodShape highlighted the importance of mental wellbeing support at work, as one in three members of staff will continue working even when suffering with mental health concerns.