24 Nov 2020

Ways to ensure you’re making best use of the mental health tools in your insurance package

Supporting employees’ mental health and wellbeing is a must, especially as Covid-19 is likely to have long-lasting consequences for many people. But, with employees not always comfortable seeking help, employers must ensure they take a proactive approach.

A good starting point is your insurance package. To promote mental health and wellbeing and ensure that employees can access support whenever they need it, many insurers include a package of benefits with their products such as employee assistance programmes (EAP) and health apps. These extras can be used in a number of different ways. Health apps, for example, can play a key role in supporting wellbeing. By helping employees learn more about their mental wellbeing and the links with other areas of their health, they’ll develop greater resilience.

These benefits can also support employees who are struggling with their mental health. An EAP can help an employee address a difficult situation such as a relationship breakdown. This can help prevent it from escalating into a mental health issue such as anxiety and depression. Similarly, an EAP can also arrange counselling for an employee who is experiencing mental ill-health, helping them understand the issue and giving them the tools to deal with it.

Insurers are there to support employees when they may be off long-term due to a mental or physical health issue. However, early intervention services on group income protection can kick in before a claim begins, providing an employee with the treatment they need to support their recovery and potentially preventing long-term health issues.

While these extras can help an employer build a comprehensive approach to support employees’ mental health and wellbeing, the following steps will ensure it gets used as effectively as possible:

1. Audit your mental health tools

It’s sensible to look at exactly what you’ve got – there may be some gaps but there could also be duplication across some of the tools. As this can lead to confusion, determine which ones you’d like to promote to employees.

2. Understand your workforce

You should also use any data you have to determine the types of issues you’re dealing with in the workforce. For example, are there employees off with long-term mental health issues, or is stress an issue with your workforce? Remember though, this insight is only as good as your data and, if employees don’t feel confident asking for help, many mental health issues will be hidden.

3. Source any additional support

Having undertaken these two exercises, it may reveal that you need additional mental health support. Before going out to the market, it’s worth speaking to your insurers and benefits consultants to help you source this.

4. Communicate your mental health support

Telling employees about the benefits on offer – and reminding them regularly – is key to ensuring they use them. Make communications as varied as possible, to highlight the range of support that’s available and reach as many employees as possible. Case studies can work particularly well and your insurer should also be able to help with marketing and promotional material.

5. Track use

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the management information you get from these services. This will enable you to finetune both the provision and the communication of mental health benefits in the workplace.

This article is provided by Legal & General.