As employers look in the rearview mirror of this year, many of the challenges employees have been dealing with will follow them right into 2022.
While nearly 90% of employers
Providing mental health benefits and fostering open conversations with employees is one of the most important and critical conversations employers can have going into 2022, says Joe Grasso, senior director of workforce mental health at Lyra. But employers need to
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“The evolution around talking about mental health and providing benefits around mental health has been happening at breakneck speed,” Grasso says. “Employers are trying to keep pace with employee needs, but employee needs are really escalating at a rate that makes it hard to keep up. Even as employers are making these great strides, employee needs are moving even faster.”
Eighty-four percent of employees say that it’s important to them that their company offers mental health benefits and support in 2022, and 59% would stay at a job for the robust mental health benefits, Lyra found. Fortunately, employers recognize the need, and 92% anticipate keeping these offerings a top priority for the next three-plus years.
But helping employees manage their stress will go beyond simply offering access to these programs. A cultural shift to more
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On the whole, employers have accepted that flexible work can still be beneficial to the bottom line, while providing a critical outlet for people to acquire a healthier work-life balance, Grasso says.
“I think you'll see by the end of next year that employers have innovated a lot more around changing management practices and workplace policies to be more employee friendly,” he says. “To offer more flexibility, and not just in things like mental health days, but flexibility around hours and how and where people get their work done and the design of the work experience to be more mental health friendly.”
Supporting employees means supporting families, too: a quarter of benefit leaders acknowledge the mental health strain caused by families, and employers are expected to boost benefits like child care offerings, along with access to mental health support
“I think what employers are realizing now is even if we offer best in class mental health benefits, and days off to the employees themselves, the employees exist within their family structures,” Grasso says. “When employers partner with a vendor, they need to make sure it is offering coverage for children and spouses and dependents that's more robust, providers who can specifically treat children and treat couples and treat families.”
Lyra Health is tackling many of these issues both now and into 2022. Lyra Concierge provides support for parents who are seeking mental health care for their children. The platform provides parents with a Lyra care navigator who will find and evaluate programs to fit their needs.
Additionally, Lyra is launching a program that utilizes dialectical behavior therapy, which is used to treat more severe mental health issues as a way to address increased suicidality and self-harm risks. Finally, Lyra Renew will tackle substance use disorder treatment, to provide a treatment option for those struggling with addictions and drug and alcohol abuse.
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While the new year is sure to be filled with challenges and stressors, combating the stigma around mental health and having options for every employee at any stage of their mental health journey is the best thing an employer can do, Grasso says.
“A lot of people don't realize that just because I'm not dealing with a crisis or a severe condition, it doesn't mean that I couldn't benefit from some mental health support,” he says. “Recognizing that mental health is on a spectrum and that we're all affected and can identify at some point means providing mental health services for anyone along that spectrum.”
