Youth mental health: What employers need to know

In any “normal” year, about 1 in 5 people experience a mental health problem or illness, according to the World Economic Forum. But these are not “normal” times. The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with life’s other daily stressors like work, family, health and more, have kicked the mental health crisis in the U.S. into high gear.

Fortunately, many employers are recognizing that supporting mental health is a critically important part of their responsibilities to their employees. Businesses — and their employees — seem to have finally warmed up to the idea that mental health care is an essential part of people’s lives. Companies have implemented mental health days, resiliency training and stress management, flexible work hours and more to help promote mental wellness. However, one important segment — the children of employees — have been largely neglected in these advancements. And, by ignoring them, employers are underestimating the impact this has on employees’ productivity, retention and morale.

The data bear this out. Further, a recent survey by Cigna Corporation and Evernorth finds that nearly 80% of parents report that their children struggle with mental health and nearly one-fifth say their child’s needs negatively impacted their job performance. Additionally, 55% of parents claim they did not have enough support from their employer and 1 in 7 say they were forced to leave or stay out of the workforce to manage their teenager’s mental health needs.

This is not a new theme for parents who have been working tirelessly to not only support their own mental health needs but also those of their families. What this data does reinforce is the critical need for businesses to step up and acknowledge the self-interested need they have to support not only their employees but their families through expanded benefits.

Some employers are doing just that and have started to realize the significant impact extending traditional mental health benefits to cover dependents can have on their employees and their companies. Unfortunately, they are the exception not the rule. There are still too few companies offering mental health benefits for dependents, signaling the tremendous amount of work that needs to be done to fulfill the seriously unmet need of youth mental health.

Given all these challenges, there is no better time for organizations to recognize their power in advancing the conversation around youth mental health. However, simply supporting organizations that address these challenges by donating or being a “good corporate citizen” is no longer enough. Companies need to do that, and more. Fortunately, there is ample evidence that supports the business case for investing in youth mental health.

How employers can address the unmet need of youth mental health

Organizations must open their eyes to the benefits they can reap from investing in youth mental health services. Such benefits should be adopted as human resource tools to increase employee satisfaction, productivity, retention and to attract potential new candidates.

There are numerous ways benefits managers can help support youth mental health needs. While it’s important to evaluate each avenue carefully and consider what makes the most sense for each organization, the first step every business should take is to commit to a corporate culture that supports employees and their families through sound mental health guidance and resources.

This is especially critical for smaller businesses that may not have the means or capability to make a significant investment all at once. For those businesses, implementing incremental changes that encourage, promote and protect mental wellness can go a long way to making a huge difference.

Read more: 5 reasons why mental health should be a top priority for employers

The most effective programs, however, will dramatically increase access to mental health providers and resources so employees and their dependents can have access to specialized care they need.

To test the waters, here are some straightforward recommendations to begin working toward these goals:

• Employee surveys: To determine how expansive your program needs to be, collect feedback through surveys to measure employee sentiment around their mental health as well as their children’s mental health.

• Establish employee resource groups: These groups can help employees connect and discuss the challenges they’ve experienced when it comes to youth mental health, while sharing key information and learnings.

• Open enrollment: Benefits managers may consider offering new benefits that support the mental health needs of dependents as companies prepare to launch open enrollment this fall.

Right now, employers can play a significant role in addressing the severely unmet need of youth mental health. Today’s investment in youth mental health will allow organizations to reap the benefits of a productive and stable workforce today and into the future.

Dan Pontius, President and Co-Founder, Choose Mental Health.