Mental health is an important part of overall wellbeing, and employers can play a key role in supporting their employees’ mental health through their health insurance coverage. Providing mental health resources through insurance coverage can have numerous benefits for employees, including improved mental health, increased productivity, reduced healthcare costs, improved overall health, and increased job satisfaction.
To effectively communicate mental health coverage to employees, employers should provide clear information, emphasize the importance of mental health, offer multiple channels of communication, provide guidance on how to access mental health services, address stigma, train managers and supervisors, and follow up with employees periodically.
Communicating Mental Health Coverage to Employees:
- Provide clear information: Make sure employees have access to clear and easy-to-understand information about their mental health coverage. This can include information about copays, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and the types of mental health services that are covered.
- Emphasize the importance of mental health: Communicate to employees that mental health is a key part of overall wellbeing, and that seeking help for mental health concerns is a sign of strength.
- Offer multiple channels of communication: Provide multiple channels for employees to access information and support related to mental health, such as phone, email, or an online portal.
- Provide guidance on how to access mental health services: Employees may be hesitant to seek mental health services if they don’t know how to access them. Make sure employees know how to find mental health providers that are covered by their insurance, and provide guidance on how to schedule appointments.
- Address stigma: Mental health stigma can prevent employees from seeking help when they need it. Make sure to communicate that mental health concerns are common and treatable, and that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
- Train managers and supervisors: Managers and supervisors can play an important role in supporting employee mental health. Provide training on how to recognize signs of mental health concerns and how to provide support to employees who may be struggling.
- Follow up with employees periodically: Checking in with employees periodically can help to reinforce the message that mental health is a priority, and can help to identify employees who may need additional support.
Employers can also use their mental health resources as a recruitment and retention tool by highlighting mental health benefits in job postings, offering mental health resources as part of a competitive benefits package, promoting mental health resources to employees regularly, providing mental health resources to new employees during onboarding, training managers on mental health awareness, and conducting surveys and focus groups to assess employee needs.
Using Mental Health Resources as a Recruitment and Retention Tool:
- Highlight mental health benefits in job postings: Include information about mental health benefits in job postings to signal to potential candidates that the company values employee wellbeing.
- Offer mental health resources as part of a comprehensive benefits package: Including mental health resources as part of a comprehensive benefits package can make a company more attractive to job candidates and help with retention of current employees.
- Promote mental health resources to employees regularly: Regularly promoting mental health resources to employees, such as via email or company intranet, can reinforce the company’s commitment to employee wellbeing and encourage employees to utilize the resources available.
- Provide mental health resources to new employees during onboarding: Providing new employees with information about mental health resources during the onboarding process can help them feel supported from the start and can promote a positive company culture.
- Train managers on mental health awareness: Training managers on mental health awareness and how to support employees who may be struggling can create a more supportive work environment and help with retention.
- Conduct surveys and focus groups to assess employee needs: Conducting surveys and focus groups can help employers understand the mental health needs of their employees and tailor their resources to meet those needs.
We hope this summary is helpful to employers who are looking to support their employees’ mental health through their health insurance coverage. Remember, supporting mental health not only benefits employees, but it can also lead to improved productivity, reduced healthcare costs, and a more positive workplace culture.
