It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and the Canadian Mental Health Association reports that 40% of Canadians say their mental health has worsened since the start of the pandemic. Employers have a unique role to play in helping their employees stay mentally strong and helping them access support when they need it.
A group benefit plan is one of the single most important tools that an organization can use to help employees. Many group plans have specific components that employees can access to help stabilize and improve their mental health, including:
· Allocations for registered psychologists and social workers. There is perhaps no better tool to help employees (and their families) deal with mental health challenges than trained professionals.
· Virtual Stress Management: Your group plan may have access to virtual mental health support (for a very low monthly fee). These systems can be accessed an unlimited number of times from the comfort of home for life coaching and counseling. Virtual care is unparalleled in terms of ease of access and affordability, which means that they are unparalleled as the first line of protection against becoming overwhelmed.
· Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are completely confidential support services to help employers and employees with family and social relationships, personal problems, dependency issues, workplace-related issues, legal and financial advice, wellness, and crises.
· Last, but certainly not least, a group benefit plan is a safety net for employees, providing them with peace of mind that their basic healthcare needs (and those of their family) will be met. Mental health suffers when physical needs are unmet. Being able to afford items such as dental and prescriptions go a long way towards relieving stress.
· Health Spending and Wellness Spending Accounts: These tools provide access to flexible funds that can be utilized to meet the individual needs of each employee. They can provide tools and resources that can be accessed for preventative health measures, such as fitness, holistic health and other wellness items.