Although the COVID-19 pandemic has justly been the focus of attention for the past year, that doesn’t mean that employees and their families have not been facing other serious health challenges. People are still being diagnosed with cancer, heart failure, sickle cell disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, mental health and substance use disorders, and other life-altering conditions every day.
Dealing with a serious health problem can be difficult under the best of circumstances. But if you have employees who are working remotely or employees dispersed across multiple locations, it can be even more difficult for an employer to know when employees are facing difficult health problems and connect them with the benefits and resources that can help them. And even when employees are in the office, many don’t feel comfortable sharing the fact that they or a family member are facing a serious health issue, especially in the case of mental health and substance use disorders.
