Focus on employee mental health accelerates to stave off psychological effects of the pandemic

Just over a quarter of organisations (26%) say they have a mature mental wellbeing strategy in place that is integrated into their company’s culture, putting it ahead of corporate physical, social or financial wellbeing strategies.

The Employee Wellbeing Research 2021 report, published by REBA together with AXA Health, reveals that the raft of mental health services employers offer is extensive. More than 77% provide off-site, in-person mental health support for employees, such as access to mental health nurses or counsellors, and 64% provide virtual mental health support through online services.

This focus on mental health is only set to heighten as psychological risk has risen further up the corporate agenda during the pandemic.

For example, more than a quarter of employers (28%) say they plan to introduce a dedicated mental wellbeing app this year or later in the future, and 26% say similar for resilience or mental health workshops.

Mental health services will “likely be ramped up this year to help staff deal with the ongoing mental health effects of Covid caused by intensified workloads and routines, and feelings of fear, trauma and isolation,” says the report.

In addition to the focus on mental health, the report also finds that physical wellbeing strategies are not far behind in terms of maturity, however. Just under a quarter (23%) of employers say these are well-developed and tied into company culture.

Only 18% of organisations rate their social wellbeing strategies as mature and for financial wellbeing that number drops to 13%.

Download a copy of the 72-page Employee Wellbeing Research 2021 (free to REBA Professional Members and all those working for REBA Associate Members).

The author is Rima Evans, freelance contributor.