If an employee needs to know what mental health and illness resources are available to work, what would it take for them to get that information? Could they find all the information in one place? While there are many different ways benefits programs support mental health, finding out what they all are can involve a complex search. And while employees search, they may not necessarily know what type of help they need. This is a problem companies can address.
Mental health is on a continuum. Whether healthy or ill, or anywhere in between, everyone has a state of mental health 100% of the time. A company may offer services to help keep employees well and to help them recover when they are unwell.
Providing a resource available that shows employees how to identify their current state on the continuum is part of the solution. If this tool also showed what corresponding resources a company offers it would provide employees with a go-to resource to help them understand what type of help is available and to find the right fit for their present mental health state. This resource would also provide supervisors and other employees with a guide to identify when other employees needed help and the type of help that is available. Coupling the resource with the message that use of available services is both encouraged and confidential will help reduce employees concerns about seeking help.
The Mental Health Continuum
The good news is that it is not necessary to invent this continuum. One was created by the United States Marine Corps’ Department of Psychiatry and further developed by the Canadian Forces Primary Leadership Curriculum. The Mental Health Continuum provides a way for individuals to recognize the signs of mental health and illness without a knowledge of psychiatric diagnoses, through common behaviors everyone is familiar with.
The Mental Health Continuum. Source: United States Marine Corps Department of Psychiatry and the Canadian Forces Primary Leadership Curriculum. Graphic design by Puget Sound Energy
Tying Specific Wellness and Mental Health Services to Current Health Phase
For employees who are mentally healthy or reacting to something occurring in their lives, a company may offer a wellness program, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), or both, promoting health through diet, exercise, mindfulness, resilience, coaching support and/or counseling. For employees who are injured or ill, as indicated on the continuum, time off such as Family Medical Leave, reasonable accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and behavioral health plan offerings such as therapy and psychiatric services are important benefits for them to be informed of. Employees considering suicide need to know about resources such as the Crisis Text Line or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and how to access psychological and/or psychiatric care. Too often, employees don’t learn about mental health resources until they are in crisis. By encouraging the use of wellness and mental health services to stay healthy and to work through life’s challenges, employees are empowered to use upstream support and services before a time of crisis develops or worsens. Deteriorating mental health can negatively impact relationships, job performance, physical health, and for some, can lead to death by suicide. Early intervention can, in many cases, stop the deterioration and help the employee return to a state of good health.
Strategies for Sharing Information about a Company’s Mental Health Services
All of these offerings as well as others a company may offer can be listed along with the continuum to provide a comprehensive tool that is useful to all employees. The continuum tool can be offered to employees in a variety of ways, including:
- employee and supervisory training;
- new employee benefits orientation;
- shared on the company’s intranet;
- employee health fairs, if offered;
- during open enrollment for benefits;
- through articles written for employees in response to difficult events such as celebrity or employee suicides; and posters in employee breakrooms and jobsite trailers and bulletin boards and in company health and safety videos.
Over time, maintaining awareness of the information for employees will require additional communications so that the messaging and resources are not forgotten.
Conclusion
Everyone has bad days and sometimes a bad week. When the bad times stretch into multiple weeks, the continuum can help individuals identify the severity and provide a catalyst for receiving help. Often it takes someone else noticing, expressing their concern and suggesting resources, to help an employee realize it is time to get help. Not all employees will recognize they need help, even when it is suggested to them. But for those who do get help, performance issues, workgroup impacts, extended leaves and other more serious impacts can potentially be averted. Those who need and want help can easily find it if a company makes that possible—the sooner, the better.
