How Employee Benefits Could Plug The Mental Health Support Gap

Most organisations realise that employee mental health should be at the top of their agendas. But many firms have yet to act on their policy commitments. It’s an area where offering the right employee benefits can really make a difference.

[Related reading: Are Your Health And Wellbeing Benefits Flexible Enough?]

Only A Third Of Organisations Publish Official Mental Health Targets

The CCLA recently launched its Corporate Mental Health Benchmark - UK 100. The aim of this inaugural benchmark is to evaluate and rate the UK’s top 100 companies in terms of how they manage and address workplace mental health.

In addition to highlighting where companies are on the scale, the aim of the benchmark is to encourage employers to establish conditions that allow workers to thrive. It’s also designed to emphasise the economic link between thriving workers and healthy, long-term businesses.

The good news is that most companies now recognise that employee mental health is a serious business concern. Indeed, 76% said they have developed more than one initiative designed to promote awareness of mental health in the workplace. Moreover, 91% provide employees with access to mental health services. 

However, many still have a lot of work to do when it comes to formalising their mental health management and reporting. For example, despite 93 of the 100 organisations polled recognising that workplace mental health is a critical business issue, just 34% publish official objectives and targets related to it. This indicates that many have yet to action their policy commitments.

Corporate Mental Health Benchmark Expert Panel co-chair and CCLA chief operating officer Elizabeth Sheldon says: “It is only in thinking and acting systemically that we can hope to meet the major sustainability challenges of our time. We consider corporate mental health to be one such challenge; healthy companies require healthy workers.

Majority Of Employees Seeking Support In The Form Of Pay And Benefits

As the cost of living crisis continues, nearly three-quarters (73%) of SMEs say they have experienced increased demand regarding pay and benefits, new research from WorkLife by OpenMoney shows.

According to WorkLife’s Small Business Monitor, for which 759 senior financial and HR decision-makers in the UK were polled in March, 30% of SMEs have been approached by staff concerned about whether their salary will fit with rising living costs.

However, of the companies surveyed, 28% indicated that they were facing recruitment challenges due to the cost of rewarding employees in line with their expectations (36%) and meeting salary demands (34%). In fact, 17% said greater demand and expectations surrounding pay and benefits was one of their biggest challenges right now.

Steve Bee, director of WorkLife by OpenMoney, said that it is no surprise that employee pay and benefits is getting so much attention at the moment, given the current environment. He added that because employees are requesting such a wide range of benefits and support, “deciding where any spend will have the most meaningful impact may feel daunting, particularly for those firms under financial pressure.”

[Related reading: Premier Choice Partners With Worklife by OpenMoney]

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With employee mental health such a hugely important topic right now, organisations need to ensure they are doing everything they can to support their workforce. This should include offering flexible employee benefits that genuinely meet their workers’ needs.