Organizations can use EAPs and wellness initiatives to keep workers healthy and productive
Managing mental health in the workplace doesn’t have to be complicated. Wellness programs, employer-sponsored initiatives that include programs to support physical and mental well-being, can increase employee’s resilience and make it more likely they’ll bounce back from stressful situations.
While an employee can be encouraged and supported to take part in these programs, there is a significant proportion of employees who don’t look after themselves, says Bill Wilkerson, executive director of the Toronto-based Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health.
To prevent and manage serious mental health problems, an organization needs a good employee assistance program (EAP), he says.
“Wellness programs in workplaces are not a replacement, but they can be a supplementary value to EAPs,” says Wilkerson.
To make the best use of an EAP, employers have to look for ways to help employees use the program. This can be done as part of the performance management process. Managers can be on the lookout for sudden, or gradual but noticeable, changes in an employee’s attitude, his punctuality or ability to meet deadlines, says Wilkerson.
“The manager can then help an employee to reach out for help before the problem gets complicated or disabling,” he says.
One of Canada’s largest financial institutions communicates with managers to ensure they’re aware of services available to employees. Toronto-based RBC Financial Group, with 45,000 employees, sends a regular electronic bulletin to managers about the wellness programs. It also has an HR advisory services group, which helps managers approach employees who might be experiencing difficulties.
“It’s always difficult to approach an employee whom you may think (is) suffering,” says Norma Tombari, RBC’s senior manager of diversity and workforce solutions.
Beyond the EAP, which provides online, phone and in-person support to employees, RBC offers a multi-faceted approach to helping employees manage the demands of work and life to prevent serious mental health issues. Some of the programs include flexible work arrangements and a new wellness centre on the employee intranet.
“We all live very fast-paced, stressed lives and providing support to employees to help them deal with their multiple commitments helps alleviate some of the stress,” says Tombari.
The online wellness centre provides risk assessment tools to help employees look at various issues such as obesity, stress management and work-life balance. One recent campaign launched on the site was an initiative to get employees walking to improve their physical and mental health, says Tombari. The initiative was very well received.
“We had thousands of employees participate,” she says, adding that the EAP is also popular with 15 to 20 per cent of workers making use of the service. According to the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s average EAP utilization rate is about seven per cent.
In an effort to make sure all employees know what RBC has to offer, each month the company’s EAP sends an e-mail to employees that highlights a particular work-life balance issue.
The different milestones in an employee’s career and life also present an opportunity to communicate the various services available, says Tombari.
Most companies will review the benefits package when an employee is hired, but it’s equally important to review it when employees renew their benefits and when they reach certain milestones, such as becoming a parent, she says.
In fact, being pregnant and becoming a parent are two of the most stressful events in a worker’s life, says Wilkerson.
“In the very stressful world that we live in, employers can really serve their interests and those of their employees by reminding and informing women who are raising a family and who are pregnant that they are especially vulnerable to chronic job stress and it can have implications for their child,” he says.
Educating workers so they can recognize the signs of mental distress in themselves and others can help workers manage their own mental health as well as their children’s.
“When employers help parents understand the facts of life around mental health, depression, alcohol abuse, they are helping their workers as parents be vigilant about their kids and there’s nothing more important to any parent than that,” says Wilkerson.
Mental distress among children and teens is quite common and anything the organization can do to help employees protect their children’s mental health will help alleviate stress parents feel at work, he says.
But managers shouldn’t forget that those same wellness services, including the EAP, are there for them too, cautions Wilkerson.
“More senior managers are often in need of this kind of assistance. I think sometimes the assumption is that EAPs are available for employees, but not for the bosses. Managers should be given particular attention,” he says.
While an employee can be encouraged and supported to take part in these programs, there is a significant proportion of employees who don’t look after themselves, says Bill Wilkerson, executive director of the Toronto-based Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health.
To prevent and manage serious mental health problems, an organization needs a good employee assistance program (EAP), he says.
“Wellness programs in workplaces are not a replacement, but they can be a supplementary value to EAPs,” says Wilkerson.
To make the best use of an EAP, employers have to look for ways to help employees use the program. This can be done as part of the performance management process. Managers can be on the lookout for sudden, or gradual but noticeable, changes in an employee’s attitude, his punctuality or ability to meet deadlines, says Wilkerson.
“The manager can then help an employee to reach out for help before the problem gets complicated or disabling,” he says.
One of Canada’s largest financial institutions communicates with managers to ensure they’re aware of services available to employees. Toronto-based RBC Financial Group, with 45,000 employees, sends a regular electronic bulletin to managers about the wellness programs. It also has an HR advisory services group, which helps managers approach employees who might be experiencing difficulties.
“It’s always difficult to approach an employee whom you may think (is) suffering,” says Norma Tombari, RBC’s senior manager of diversity and workforce solutions.
Beyond the EAP, which provides online, phone and in-person support to employees, RBC offers a multi-faceted approach to helping employees manage the demands of work and life to prevent serious mental health issues. Some of the programs include flexible work arrangements and a new wellness centre on the employee intranet.
“We all live very fast-paced, stressed lives and providing support to employees to help them deal with their multiple commitments helps alleviate some of the stress,” says Tombari.
The online wellness centre provides risk assessment tools to help employees look at various issues such as obesity, stress management and work-life balance. One recent campaign launched on the site was an initiative to get employees walking to improve their physical and mental health, says Tombari. The initiative was very well received.
“We had thousands of employees participate,” she says, adding that the EAP is also popular with 15 to 20 per cent of workers making use of the service. According to the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s average EAP utilization rate is about seven per cent.
In an effort to make sure all employees know what RBC has to offer, each month the company’s EAP sends an e-mail to employees that highlights a particular work-life balance issue.
The different milestones in an employee’s career and life also present an opportunity to communicate the various services available, says Tombari.
Most companies will review the benefits package when an employee is hired, but it’s equally important to review it when employees renew their benefits and when they reach certain milestones, such as becoming a parent, she says.
In fact, being pregnant and becoming a parent are two of the most stressful events in a worker’s life, says Wilkerson.
“In the very stressful world that we live in, employers can really serve their interests and those of their employees by reminding and informing women who are raising a family and who are pregnant that they are especially vulnerable to chronic job stress and it can have implications for their child,” he says.
Educating workers so they can recognize the signs of mental distress in themselves and others can help workers manage their own mental health as well as their children’s.
“When employers help parents understand the facts of life around mental health, depression, alcohol abuse, they are helping their workers as parents be vigilant about their kids and there’s nothing more important to any parent than that,” says Wilkerson.
Mental distress among children and teens is quite common and anything the organization can do to help employees protect their children’s mental health will help alleviate stress parents feel at work, he says.
But managers shouldn’t forget that those same wellness services, including the EAP, are there for them too, cautions Wilkerson.
“More senior managers are often in need of this kind of assistance. I think sometimes the assumption is that EAPs are available for employees, but not for the bosses. Managers should be given particular attention,” he says.
