May This Month Add Value to Your Wellbeing Benefits

Entering May means Mental Health Awareness week is fast approaching, happening between 12th - 18th of this month. It’s often a time for organisations to reflect inward on their own policies and strategies for managing mental wellbeing. For HR and People Managers, it signals an opportunity to refresh employee knowledge on the support available, and why it’s important to make the most of those benefits.

Contrary to popular opinion, HR and People Managers aren’t hauled up in the boardroom all day hiring and firing people in true Lord Sugar fashion. They build a culture in the workplace, and one that ensures you’re protected and supported at all times. To create this sort of environment relies on inclusive employee wellbeing benefits. This month, we’re unpacking the perks of EAP’s (Employee Assistance Programmes) and how they can help to revolutionise the mental wellbeing support for your team.

What the Stats Say: A whopping, yet hardly surprising, 76% of employees claim that having mental health support in the workplace is vital to their overall wellbeing. This is a testament to the tools available today, with 68% of UK employers now offering EAP’s. A study by the trusty team at Deloitte found that for every £1 an organisation invests in mental health interventions, such as counselling, they see an average £5 return in decreased absences, presenteeism, and staff retention. They also found that providing access to counselling increased both loyalty and engagement at work by 70% for employees.

If you’re noticing slumps in the productivity of your workforce, and a general sense of detachment, we can almost guarantee it’s not because of your poorly filtered complimentary coffee. Employees facing difficulties with their mental health can often use the workplace as a distraction, forcing them to disengage with their emotions. To create a workplace that flourishes, ensuring a happy, healthy workforce is paramount.

EAP’s, The Unsung Hero

What actually is an Employee Assistance Programme? We hear you cry. EAP’s are designed to act as an advanced toolkit to support mental wellbeing in your organisation, offering services like professional counselling, community support networks, specialist advice, and your own personal wellbeing management platform. They can be tailored to the specific needs of your organisation, and the services you feel your team will benefit the most from.

As instrumental and dedicated as HR and People Managers are, there comes a time when specialist mental health support needs to step in. Introducing a benefit that allows your employees to access this service at their own discretion, protecting their privacy and wellbeing, creates a workplace that demonstrates a clear commitment to supporting its workforce.

The ROI of Showing Up

So many job descriptions and company bio’s are filled with fluff about “competitive benefits”, but in reality, free-pizza-Fridays and a branded water bottle won’t provide any help to employees suffering with poor mental health. Taking the time to understand the signs of struggling employees, and the tools that can help to turn their wellbeing around, is what truly makes a competitive benefit, and an environment people are proud to work in.

EAP’s are incredibly accessible tools, some will provide a helpline number that employees can phone without having to divulge any information to colleagues, gaining instant professional support. The aim of them is to act quickly and efficiently to provide mental health aid to those reaching out, an invaluable asset to any organisation.

Once implemented, shout about it from the rooftops. Regretfully, the mental health taboo is still prevalent in many workplaces, creating a culture that breaks down stereotypes and promotes EAP’s for everyone's usage should be on the weekly agenda. Use Mental Health Awareness Week to campaign for the benefits available, encouraging employees to engage with what’s on offer. Positive wellbeing isn’t achieved, it’s maintained. And it can only be maintained by actively taking steps to prioritise a healthy mind and a healthy life.

Mark Your Calendars As well as Mental Health Awareness week, May hosts various wellbeing awareness days you should be aware of to promote an inclusive workplace. The entire month of May is dedicated to Skin Cancer Awareness, be sure to push out communications encouraging skin exams and educating employees on the signs and symptoms. Women's Health Week also takes place between 11th - 18th May, this is a great opportunity to discuss topics like gynae health and menopause support as well as promoting early cancer detection.

While the route cause of health issues is out of your control, Pegasus Health will help you to find the right wellbeing toolkit for you to tackle both the physical and mental health challenges that continue to disrupt workforce wellbeing.

This month, take a closer look at the wellbeing needs of your employees and ask yourself, is your organisation fulfilling them?