Author: Jennifer Gendron - Global Chief Commercial Officer at Koa Health - Employee Mental Health and Wellbeing Solutions
Every year, WHO, the World Health Organization, chooses a theme for World Mental Health Day. Themes are selected to reflect the most pressing issues around mental health facing people worldwide. After a few years of one challenge after another—Covid-19, War in Europe, and now a cost-of-living crisis—making mental health a global priority for all (this year’s theme) is as crucial as it is close to home. At Koa Health, mental health for all is our mission. Together with our partners, our team is working towards a future where mental wellbeing and mental health care are accessible to people everywhere.
Mental health is critical to individual, business, and economic health. And the demand for mental health and wellbeing resources and services continues to rise[1] even as the number of providers falls[2].
So the question becomes, what exactly are we waiting for? This crisis in care must be addressed urgently for the good of all. So what can be done to enable private and public organizations, healthcare providers, insurers and their employees and members to build and maintain mental wellbeing?
1. Widen your range of care
Mental health is a range that encompasses everything from chronic mental health conditions to mental wellness. But when it comes to mental health, most of the care available focuses on the far ends of the mental health continuum, offering support that only covers small subsets of the population at either extreme. This creates a ‘missing middle’. Most of the time, most people fall into this category.This group, made up of people who are unlikely to seek out clinical care or qualify for it under existing treatment thresholds, need easy-to-access mental wellbeing support. They need guidance and resources to help them build resilience before they become high-risk for a mental health event. They’re most likely to benefit from self-guided, science-backed tools to help them learn positive behaviors and coping skills.
2. Prioritize self-guided solutions
Mental health professionals are already in short supply, and wait times are steadily rising: in the UK, wait times for NHS mental health services are currently more than 18 weeks[1]. But even if there were sufficient therapists and counselors for everyone to access 1:1 care, many who require mental wellbeing wouldn’t seek it out.Many of the people who would most benefit from guidance and support strongly prefer the convenience and relative privacy of self-guided resources such as mental wellbeing platforms and apps. Fortunately, research supports the effectiveness of this type of intervention (as long as it’s evidence-based)[2].
3. Gather feedback and iterate
While increasing benefits is a step in the right direction, many employers are missing the mark. Benefits offered directly correlate with how supported employees feel[3]. Yet more than 5 in 10 workers report that they don’t feel their mental health is supported at work[4]. So where are employers and the benefits they’ve invested in going wrong?Chances are there’s a gap in communication between what employers think employees want and what employees actually want. This is why gathering data on employees’ perceptions and opinions of benefits, policies and procedures around mental health is a key part of effectively supporting mental health and wellbeing in your workplace.
4. Get clear on the business case
While we may feel uncomfortable discussing it, mental health impacts every business. Understanding an issue’s impact and expense is crucial to ensuring it receives adequate attention and investment in today’s competitive market. This is mission-critical because, without proper attention and investment, people won’t have access to the help they need.Poor employee mental health and wellbeing came to light as serious business risks prior to the pandemic. But the inherent risk poor mental health presents to businesses has only grown stronger in the wake of Covid-19 as employees continue to struggle to adapt to changes in the way they work, live and socialize. In light of this, unsurprisingly, mental health ranks high on lists of must-have employee benefits[1], with nearly 8 out of 10 employers planning to expand their mental health and wellbeing offerings in 2021[2].
To make mental health for everyone, everywhere, a reality, mental health care will have to bridge existing gaps in care to span the entire mental health continuum. Business leaders have a unique opportunity to propel positive change forward, leveraging their influence and resources to make mental health a priority in their organizations.
