EXCLUSIVE: There has been a small drop in organisations providing specific benefits and strategies to support employees’ mental health, from 67% in 2017 to 63% in 2018, according to research by Employee Benefits and Health Shield.
The Employee Benefits/Health Shield healthcare research 2018, which surveyed 162 respondents in July, did find, however, that this still shows an overall positive trend since 2012, when the proportion of employers with benefits to cater for employees’ mental health stood at 52%.
When asked why they lack mental health benefits, almost a third (29%) of respondents stated that they are in the process of designing strategy, while the same percentage said they plan to introduce support in the next 12 months, but do not know what form it will take. These figures have dropped substantially since last year, when they represented 35% and 41% of responses respectively.
Other than uncertainty as to what form the strategy should take, barriers to providing mental wellbeing support include cost (20%), up from 17% in 2017, lacking the necessary resources (34%), up from 28%, and feeling that employees would not take up such benefits through the workplace (15%), which has risen 12% in the past year.
Read the full Employee Benefits/Health Shield healthcare research 2018 report