How Employers Can Help Remove Barriers to Mental Healthcare

It’s no secret that the pandemic has taken its toll on mental health. 根据世界卫生组织, the prevalence of mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety has grown by over 25 percent since 2020. 纪念精神健康宣传月, 莉莉Wyttenbach, 12bet官方全球健康主管, discusses how employers can step up to address these new challenges in mental healthcare.

为什么心理健康很重要?

Mental health is a critical part of a person’s total well-being. We have to look after it proactively, just like we do our physical health. There’s a misconception that mental health is only a concern for those who have a disorder or are going through a crisis. 但即使是日常的压力也会导致倦怠. If we ignore your emotional well-being, it can have a long-term impact on our physical health, too.

关于心理健康，大流行教会了你什么?

大流行期间, 我看到很多人把别人放在第一位:父母, 护理人员, 急救人员, 尤其是在大通银行, where we had so many employees on the front lines continuing to serve clients every day. 经常, they were so worried about taking care of others that they began to overlook their own 精神健康. 每个人经历压力和倦怠的方式都不一样, and it can be hardest to recognize the signs in ourselves. Even so, it’s important for us to learn to identify and manage our own stress. It puts us in a better position to offer care and support to others, 我们的关系也会因此更加牢固.

What role can employers play in supporting employees’ mental health?

It starts with providing access to professional mental health support. 最重要的是, employers need to foster a culture where people aren’t afraid to talk about mental health and are encouraged to seek help. 这意味着减少耻辱, 消除对精神疾病的误解, and educating employees on the resources available so that they can direct those in need to professional support. When employees feel socially and professionally supported, they can bring their whole selves to work and contribute more fully to their roles. Teams are stronger when employees are thriving and feel like they belong.

What kind of mental health support does 12bet官方 offer employees, 以及自大流行以来它发生了什么变化?

We take a holistic approach to supporting our employees’ total well-being, 包括身体健康, 精神健康, 财政健康. 在过去的几年里, we’ve heard from employees that affordability and access continue to be challenging, 特别是在大流行之后.

为了让事情更简单, we eliminated deductible requirements for office visits with an in-network mental health professional across all of our medical plans in the U.S. We also just launched a new partnership with Spring Health, 一家精神保健公司, 提供U.S. 拥有个性化心理健康计划的员工, free coaching sessions to build mental strength and conditioning, and free therapy sessions that can be scheduled within a few days. The goal is to ensure that our employees always have access to the right resources at the right time.

虽然这种伙伴关系是新的, we’ve always strived to promote dialogue around mental health in the workplace through workshops and education sessions—and those efforts are year-round, 不只是针对某一个月或某件事. We launched a global campaign called “This is Me” to create a safe space for employees to share their personal journeys with mental health. 除了, all of our employees globally have access to sessions with counselors and therapists through our Employee Assistance Program, including onsite counselors at our larger office locations. 我们也为员工提供进入均衡的机会, 提供课程的移动应用程序, exercises and meditations to teach people to better manage stress.  

What are some barriers to breaking the stigma around mental health?

作为一家全球性公司，我们的员工遍布世界各地. The stigma surrounding mental health is more prevalent in some regions than others, 它有不同的形式. 这是什么样子的诚实, 或者做真实的自己, might be different for employees depending on where they live or their cultural background, 我们必须时刻保持警惕. That’s why it’s essential to have leaders from diverse walks of life—whether they’re managers, mentors or colleagues—who can set an example by being open to listening and open to sharing. All it takes is one person who is willing to start the conversation.