Employees spend a significant amount of time at work. When they struggle with personal or professional challenges, their performance, engagement and overall wellbeing can suffer, directly impacting an organization’s success. Organizations that provide counseling services can create a more resilient, productive and healthy workplace.

The business case for employee counseling

When employees have access to mental health support, organizations typically experience:

• Reduced absenteeism and presenteeism.
• Improved workplace productivity.
• Enhanced employee retention.
• Stronger team dynamics.
• Lower healthcare costs.
• Increased employee engagement.
• Better workplace morale.

Counseling can transform lives

Counseling services, such as those provided by Magellan Healthcare, offer employees practical support, education and guidance on various issues. Common challenges include work-related stress and burnout, anxiety and depression, team conflicts, relationship issues, work-life balance struggles, family and parenting difficulties, grief and loss, substance use concerns and sleep problems impacting productivity.

Flexible solutions for today’s workplace

Counseling helps individuals understand challenging issues, learn more about themselves, learn more about how to develop and maintain healthy relationships, develop better coping skills and work toward meaningful solutions. It is essential to offer a variety of convenient formats. Magellan Healthcare’s counseling services are available in-person (i.e., in the client’s local area) or through virtual therapy (provided by BetterHelp) and can be accessed in the following formats:

• Live video sessions – times are scheduled with therapists, and include voice and video.
• Text messaging – therapists provide feedback, insights and guidance based on client messages submitted.
• Live chat – provides the convenience and privacy of messaging but in a “live” interaction that allows instant response and feedback from counselors.
• Live phone sessions – times are scheduled between members and counselors to talk about issues needing attention.

This flexibility ensures that employees can access support without disrupting their work schedules or compromising their privacy.

The path forward

Investing in employee mental health through counseling services demonstrates a commitment to workforce wellbeing. At Magellan Healthcare, we support employees and their household members by providing access to counseling that helps maintain mental health, manage work-related challenges and perform at their best.

Learn more about Magellan Employer Solutions.

Supporting Mental Health Through Federal EAP

Mental health challenges affect millions of people and veterans are particularly vulnerable due to the unique stresses they endure during their service. From combat exposure to the strains of reintegrating into civilian life, veterans often face complex emotional and psychological hurdles. Many return from active duty with experiences that can manifest as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues.

EAP Support for Veterans

It is essential to provide veterans with the support they need to maintain mental well-being, especially within the workplace. Since Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) are a mandated benefit for federal employees, promoting EAP access is an ideal starting point. This can be especially beneficial for those transitioning back to civilian life. It is often a complex and emotional process where balancing work responsibilities, family obligations, and personal health can feel overwhelming.

EAP offerings are tailored to meet the diverse needs of veterans, who comprise nearly 30% of the federal workforce. Not only do veterans receive services, but so do their household members, ensuring that the support extends beyond the individual to their family—a vital aspect for those balancing family life with work.

For veterans, EAP services can include:

1. Non-Medical Counseling: Veterans struggling with PTSD, depression, anxiety, or stress can access short-term counseling with licensed professionals. These confidential sessions provide a safe space for veterans to discuss their concerns without fear of judgment or repercussions. For long-term mental health needs, EAP is available to facilitate referrals and connections to behavioral health resources through their medical carrier, community resources, and services designed for veterans.
2. Work-Life Balance Resources: Veterans who manage the pressures of work and family can turn to EAP services for support in finding childcare, elder care, or even home repair services. These resources help reduce the stress of juggling multiple responsibilities, allowing veterans to focus on their work while ensuring their personal lives are in order.
3. Crisis Support: In times of acute stress or crisis, veterans can call on their EAP to access immediate support. Whether it’s managing a family emergency or dealing with a mental health crisis, help is just a phone call away.

The Importance of Early Intervention

Early intervention is key to managing mental health challenges. For veterans, reaching out to an EAP resource at the first sign of emotional distress can make all the difference in preventing long-term issues. EAPs are designed to be accessible and flexible, offering support before problems escalate. Employers should promote their EAP services, especially with veterans, to help them access a wide range of resources, empowering them to take control of their mental health in a way that fits into their work and life schedules, mitigating issues before they impact work performance.

Conclusion

Veterans bring valuable skills and experience to the federal workforce and need attention and care for their unique mental health challenges. By encouraging veterans to utilize federal EAP services, veterans have access to a range of supportive services and resources that can help them maintain their well-being. Federal EAPs are not just a lifeline—they are a pathway to lasting wellness for veterans and their families that may also improve overall business outcomes.

According to Gallup®, 70% of the population is struggling or suffering, and 70% of employees are not engaging at work. Investing in wellbeing at work is critical to the success of your employees and organization.

The impact of wellbeing extends far beyond how employees feel — it affects the number of sick days they take, their job performance, burnout levels, retention rates and the organization’s bottom line.

We will dive into these issues in this blog post, and you can learn by listening to the webinar recording: “eMbrace the link between employee engagement and wellbeing.”  Click here to access the recording.

Organizations should care about wellbeing

Contrary to what many believe, wellbeing is not just about being happy or physically fit. Wellbeing encompasses all aspects of our lives:  how our lives are going, feeling good about our thoughts life experiences and what is important to us.

Poor wellbeing affects employees and organizations:

• 75% of medical costs accrued are due to largely preventable conditions.
• $20 million of additional lost opportunity for every 10,000 workers due to struggling or suffering employees.
• $322 billion of turnover and lost productivity costs globally due to employee burnout.

 In contrast, employees with high wellbeing are more resilient during widespread or personal tough times, less likely to have unplanned days out of the office and more engaged than those with low wellbeing.

Traditional EAPs are not enough

Traditional Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) fall short because they average about 5% engagement and focus mainly on distressed employees. Low utilization and a reactive model leave a large gap to fill to meet the wellbeing needs of all employees. Organizations need a proactive program that benefits all employees.

Learn more in the webinar recording.

Building a thriving culture of wellbeing

Leaders that bring engagement and wellbeing together create a high-performance environment where the two inform and build on one another. Magellan Healthcare and Gallup® collaborated to create eMbrace, a fully integrated, evidence-based solution delivering improved employee wellbeing and engagement across six key areas of their lives: Emotional, Career, Social, Financial, Physical and Community.

Through eMbrace, employees and organizations can measure their wellbeing and discover where they are suffering, struggling, and thriving. Employees receive a personalized plan that guides them to services and resources to help them improve their total wellbeing and lead thriving lives.

Resources:

• https://www.gallup.com/workplace/215924/well-being.aspx
• https://www.gallup.com/workplace/320297/invest-employees-wellbeing-afford-not.aspx
• https://www.gallup.com/workplace/358082/struggling-suffering-employees-twice-likely-leave.aspx

Humans are social beings, and the social distancing that is necessary to flatten the coronavirus curve is hard on everyone. The forced change in social behavior and the resulting isolation can affect people’s mental health in many ways. Whether you are home alone, with a sick family member or with kids out of school, isolation can increase stress and anxiety.

Depending on your situation, isolation can impact you in different ways. From loneliness to feeling cramped, dealing with these feelings on top of worrying about the COVID-19 outbreak can be overwhelming.

General tips
• Keep in touch with your social support groups virtually through social media, FaceTime, Skype, online games and other digital platforms.
• If the weather is nice, go outside and get some fresh air. Maintain a 6-foot distance from others.
• Stay busy. Read, play games or work on a project.
• Decrease the time you spend watching or listening to upsetting media coverage.
• Draw on skills that you have used during difficult times in the past to manage your emotions. That may include deep breathing, meditation, positive self-talk, etc.
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Stay hydrated, eat nutritious meals, exercise and get enough sleep.
• Avoid using tobacco, alcohol or other drugs to cope with your emotions.
• Access information that can help you cope with stress, worry and confusion during the pandemic. Visit Magellan Healthcare’s COVID-19 response website for information and links to self-assessments, videos and other resources.
• Get the facts about your risk and how to take precautions. Use trusted national and international resources including the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and State Departments of Health.

For people living with children
• Remember that during times of stress, it is common for children to seek more attachment and be more demanding on parents.
• Be honest when discussing COVID-19, but do so in an age-appropriate way. If your children have concerns, help them ease their anxiety.
• Make sure you model good behavior. Children will observe adults for cues on how to manage their own emotions during difficult times.
• Help children find positive ways to express their fears about the situation. Every child has their own way to express emotions. Sometimes engaging in a creative activity such as drawing can help this process.
• Maintain a safe and supportive environment and practice familiar routines in daily life as much as possible, especially if children are confined to home.
• Provide children with engaging activities

For caretakers of older adults
• Provide practical and emotional support by sharing simple facts about what is going on.
• Give clear information about how to reduce risk of infection in words older people with/without cognitive impairment can understand. Repeat the information whenever necessary.
• Engage their family and other support networks in providing information and helping them practice prevention measures (handwashing, proper sneezing and coughing techniques, etc.).
• Be aware that older adults in isolation and/or those with cognitive decline/dementia may become more anxious, angry, stressed, agitated or withdrawn during this time.
• Encourage older adults with experience and special skills to help others by providing virtual peer support, reading to children over the phone, and the like.

To learn more about what Magellan Healthcare is doing to support clients during the  COVID-19 pandemic, visit  MagellanHealthcare.com/COVID-19.

To learn more about Magellan Health’s corporate response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to view Magellan’s available resources click here: https://www.magellanhealth.com/news/covid-19/

Adapted from Miller, H. (2020, March 10). WHO gives advice on handling mental health toll from the coronavirus. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/10/who-gives-advice-on-handling-mental-health-toll-caused-by-coronavirus.html. March 13, 2020.

During National Depression Awareness Month, we wanted to take some time to discuss the very normal stress and mental health challenges working families experience as we are increasingly connected to our jobs. As our connectivity to work has grown – between email, texting, chats, phone calls, video conferencing calls, and a myriad of social networking sites – so has the challenge to separate work from our personal lives. Employees are spending an increasing amount of time both at work and thinking about work. Habits such as checking email during a family dinner or ruminating about that email that you’d forgotten to write in bed at night are common experiences for many. Add on top of that a child who’s acting out and a parent who needs a little extra care both physically and financially, and you have a recipe for stress that affects your own health and mindset, as well as potentially relationships with family, friends or colleagues.

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) have been adopted by many employers to reduce the impact of mental health disorders, workplace stress and other work/life issues on workplace productivity. Despite the ubiquity of this employee benefit, which is offered by 97 percent of large employers, utilization hovers around five percent industry-wide. A primary barrier is the stigma of utilizing EAP programs, which were historically grown from occupational substance abuse programs.

While great strides have been made in reducing stigma, a great opportunity lies in changing the premise that stands in the way of employees tapping into services that might help them move forward and find their best self. What if we were to fundamentally remove the premise that there are people with “issues” and people without? The reality is that every employee is faced with their own brand of “juggle,” and stress and anxiety continue to be on the rise as working families live increasingly busy lives.

As Magellan transforms the EAP benefit for modern day workers and their families, we’re driven to provide resources and tools to help people address their mental health challenges before they severely impact their lives and productivity. The pivot lies in helping employees take care of their mental health as a practice of self-improvement and in helping employers position EAP services in their culture of well-being.

There are three essential components to powering this shift in the transformed EAP:

• Clinically-validated online programs and mobile apps that help employees track and change habits and mindsets
• When employees experience a bump in the road, convenient access to a coach or therapist that can fit into their harried day
• Content that inspires, motivates and helps employees feel validated in the normalcy of their stress and feel connected to others tackling similar experiences

Imagine a world where employees give each other a high five for taking some “me” time, leveraging a convenient method of choice, just as they do for someone sticking to their gym routine or running their first 5k. We certainly do!

The full extent of this remarkably negative 2016 Presidential campaign might surprise you. Studies show that the campaign may have had a profound effect on the mental wellbeing of many people. This goes beyond the usual split of people who feel excited or disappointed following the outcome of any election. Across the country, healthcare providers are reporting an increase in patient stress.

It should be noted, this is not simply a result of the conclusion of the campaign. In October, the American Psychological Association reported that 52 percent of American adults identified the 2016 election as a very or somewhat significant source of stress. Worryingly, that announcement was based on a survey conducted in August when the final, and most contentious, part of the campaign was just getting started.

According to the APA survey:

• Across party lines, those registered as Democrats (55 percent) and Republicans (59 percent) are statistically equally likely to say the election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress.
• Nearly 4 in 10 adults (38 percent) say that political and cultural discussions on social media cause them stress.
• Men and women are equally likely (51 percent vs. 52 percent, respectively) to say the 2016 U.S. presidential election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress.
• Millennials and “matures” are the most likely to say the election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress (56 percent vs. 59 percent, respectively) — significantly more than Generation Xers (45 percent) but not boomers (50 percent).

In fact, the APA found that people were so stressed that it saw the need to release coping tips relating to the election.

Interestingly, given the result of the election, researchers have found that stress is not just limited to liberals. In an article for Wired, Maimuna Majumder a computational epidemiology research fellow for HealthMap at Boston Children’s Hospital explained that “some findings are consistent across red, blue, and swing states. Among them is the fact that increased searches explicitly for “presidential election” seem to be associated with searches for depression and anxiety, which suggests that the 2016 presidential election cycle may have been a source of emotional distress for Americans, irrespective of political leaning.”

Where is this election stress having an impact?

Day-to-day, one of the most noticeable places where this stress is felt is in the workplace. A noticeable change in this election, compared to those in the past, is a willingness to discuss it at work. In the APA survey, nearly half (47 percent) of all respondents said people are more likely to discuss politics in the workplace this election season than in the past. With these types of discussions happening in the workplace, employers are rightfully concerned about what all of this is doing to their workforce.

In short, a high level of employee stress does not lead to an engaged, productive workforce. In fact, the result is very much the opposite. According to a study by Fairleigh Dickerson University, “Workplace stress costs U.S. employers an estimated $200 billion per year in absenteeism, lower productivity, staff turnover, workers’ compensation, medical insurance and other stress-related expenses.” Other estimates, put the number at more than $500 billion. Studies have shown that businesses with a high-stress or high-pressure environment spend as much as 50 percent more than average on healthcare. There is also a strong link between high employee stress and low employee engagement.

Supporting Employees through External Stressors

Whether it is an election or a traumatic event or emergency, there are always going to be external events that are impossible to control. It is however, feasible to provide an environment and toolkit for employees to allow them to better manage their stress levels and emotional well-being.

Employers should lean on their Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to provide resources for employees who are feeling stressed by the election (and the rest of the news cycle). This can range from simple advice about how to manage stress to more holistic therapy options. An EAP can also provide guidance and training for management-level employees for creating a cohesive and inclusive workplace.