Mental health

Employees place a premium on benefits that help them care for themselves and others, the latest Benefits & Beyond study from Prudential Financial found.

However, although workers across all generations believe employers have a responsibility to support their mental health needs, less than half of employers offer employee assistance programs or other mental health resources. Additionally, while many employees face the dual challenge of caring for others as well as themselves, only a quarter of employers offer resources for employees who are caregivers.

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The study highlights the opportunities for employers to offer comprehensive behavioral health benefits to support employees at work and uncover their leave needs, and the potential impact of offering -- or not offering -- leave. The research also underscores the need for employers to stay on top of leave policies to remain compliant while attracting and retaining workers. Employees are more likely to stay with their employer if they have access to paid leave.

Another key finding is that employers who create a positive experience for those covering the workload of employees on leave, such as providing access to mental health resources, additional training and time off, have nearly double the morale, productivity and satisfaction.

“Employees have increasingly higher expectations for their workplace benefits,” the study report said. “We’ve found employees have become comfortable asking for health resources through their employer, including those supporting mental health. And many will need to take a leave of absence to care for themselves or others during their careers.”

Providing mental health resources, caregiving benefits and opportunities to take a leave of absence when needed can support employees both while they are still able to work as well as during a leave. Caring for leave needs can positively affect both employees and employers by:

  • Allowing employees to be at their physical and mental best;
  • Creating positive employee sentiment about the company’s benefits; and
  • Fostering employee loyalty, including among those not taking the leave.
“Today’s employees want to be more supported when they need to care for themselves or others,” said Michael Estep, president of Prudential Group Insurance. “A holistic approach to workplace benefits that includes support for employee mental health, caregiving duties and the opportunity to take a leave of absence when needed can lead to increased employee loyalty and a more positive perception of their employer.”

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Alan Goforth

Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.