06 Aug 2024
by Dawn Lewis

Mental wellbeing benefits expand to focus on emerging issues

As employers expand the areas of focus for mental health, so have their mental wellbeing benefits

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Mental wellbeing is now firmly embedded in employers’ wellbeing strategies, but there is an ongoing need for this support to continue to develop and expand.

Key areas such as stress, burnout and overcoming mental ill-health stigma are still fundamental to employers’ strategies, however more specific mental health conditions are now being targeted.

REBA’s Employee Wellbeing Research 2024, published together with AXA Health, found that the percentage of employers addressing addiction will nearly double in the next two years. 30% of employer respondents currently focus on this, while a further 28% plan to. 

A similar picture is seen with clinically diagnosed psychological or psychiatric conditions, with 30% currently addressing this and a further 31% planning to.

These shifts are reflected in the benefits employers are planning to offer. A quarter of organisations currently offer addiction support, while a further 24% plan to introduce it in the next two years. 

Introducing benefits to support employees’ personal resilience was also high on the agenda, with resilience or mental health workshops being introduced in 26% of respondent organisations. While the research also revealed plans to introduce coaching to help employees better manage their own mental wellbeing in the next two years were in place at 25% of organisations.

Mental health still tops employers’ wellbeing priorities

The CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work 2023 research found that mental health remained the most common focus for organisations’ wellbeing activity, with more than half of respondents reporting that their activity is focused on this area ‘to a large extent’.

Its research also found that mental ill-health was the third most common cause of short-term illness at 39% of employers, and the top cause of long-term sickness absence in 63% of organisations. This is particularly relevant given the prevalence of poor mental health among younger generations.

Progress in supporting mental ill-health has come a long way in recent years and employers are continuing to make inroads in this area. 

According to REBA’s Employee Wellbeing Research 2024, most employers are working to remove the stigma of mental ill-health at work as part of their organisational strategy. More than three quarters (77%) currently address mental ill-health stigma and a further 17% are planning to in the next two years.

To support this, employers are also concentrating on educating employees to better support colleagues with mental health conditions and helping them build resilience to better manage their own mental wellbeing.