How these organizations are leading in making employee mental health a priority

Psychological evidence suggests employee mental health is a critical component for organizational functioning and success. As with any positive business outcome, promoting mental health among your workers often requires a significant investment of time and resources.

If you’re dedicated to equipping your employees and organization to thrive but you don’t know exactly where to begin your efforts, learn from these organizations, who have taken steps to prioritize employee mental health.

APA’s science-led, empathy-based culture has always informed its approach to employee mental health. To ensure employees can access psychological support necessary to thrive in their personal and work lives, APA provides a robust package of mental health benefits.

Employees can access mental health care for a low copay through APA’s insurance provider or through an additional mental health care insurer that enables employees to access any mental health professional for only a $20 copay (with the exception of employees enrolled in a high-deductible Health Savings Account plan, to which APA contributes).

In addition, APA’s employee assistance program provides employees and their household members with free, confidential, 24/7 support to help with personal or professional matters that may interfere with work or family responsibilities.

APA found new opportunities to build on its ongoing dedication to employees’ mental health and well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic, starting by ramping up internal communications that instilled a much-needed sense of belonging during the transition to remote work and continues to solicit employee feedback that informs organizational policies, programs, and procedures. For example, the daily staff e-blast, APA Today, is now shared in video and text format, staff share fun personal photos through questions of the week, staff are given a few extra days off per year for strengthening mental health (in addition to a generous PTO plan), and staff can share with each other socially through themed Microsoft Teams channels and Coffee Connections meetups.

Along with considering employees’ needs and interests, new initiatives also weave in the latest psychological science about what employees and organizations need to thrive. Additionally, APA uses a cross-departmental approach to implement changes, in which experts in the areas of human resources, psychological science, employee well-being, as well as C-suite leaders, work together to communicate about employee and organizational needs and implement initiatives.

APA conducts regular “pulse” polls to survey employees about the level of support they feel from their managers and the organization and what they need to feel more supported, from computer hardware to more flexible working hours. Employees also have an opportunity to hear updates from and share concerns directly with APA’s CEO in a biweekly, virtual chat.

To address the multiple layers of stressors employees are facing, APA initiated multiple staff conversations around racism and related current events, inviting experts to speak about the issues and how to take action. Employee resource groups were formed to support employees and provide them with a community.

APA also assembled a working group to use lessons learned during the pandemic and employee feedback to plan the future of the organization’s workplace. Most employees (75%) participated, sharing their perspectives about the future of work via focus groups, conversations with leadership, pulse polls, surveys, or other forums.

In response, APA is evolving its concept of the workplace rather than simply returning to prepandemic office norms: APA established a flexible work policy that allows employees to move outside the Washington, D.C. area to one of 40 approved states, maintaining their current salary and same level of employee benefits no matter where they move. In response to employees’ desires to improve their work-life harmony, APA also implemented a Meet with Purpose campaign that encourages science-based best practices for all internal meetings. Each meeting needs to have a designated agenda, start on the hour or half-hour, and last for 25 or 50 minutes to ensure employees have breaks between meetings to tend to personal or family needs. Employees are also encouraged to consider and communicate to the team about whether video is required for a meeting or if it can be audio-only, since back-to-back video meetings can have a negative impact on employee well-being.

Blackrock, an international investment management organization, also recognized the urgency of prioritizing employee well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic. As the organization pivoted to remote or socially distanced work, it conducted periodic employee surveys to gather feedback that would inform new policies and procedures.

For example, Blackrock extended its health care coverage to ensure employees working out-of-state or out of the country, along with their families, could access health care. To better support employees’ mental well-being, Blackrock onboarded a new employee assistance provider to help deliver a range of new mental health benefits, including care navigation, easy online appointment booking, virtual care delivery, and a high-quality network of providers integrated into its medical plans. The firm also offered a company-paid subscription to the Calm app and launched a peer network of Mental Health Ambassadors.

To support employees with family responsibilities, the organization expanded the number of company-paid back-up care days, implemented more flexible work-from-home schedules, and encouraged the use of the existing flexible time off policy that allows all employees—regardless of title or tenure—access to paid time off as needed. To encourage employee collaboration, Blackrock also created online forums for sharing ideas and resources to support parenting and childcare.

Building on psychological research about the importance of manager support, Blackrock launched a series of enablement sessions to train supervisors in keeping their teams informed and motivated. The firm also created an intranet resource hub to streamline internal communications, so employees can quickly access information they need to do their jobs well and ask for help as needed.

YMCA of the USA, (Y-USA), the national resource office for the nation’s YMCAs, pivoted to fully remote work in March 2020. Recognizing the increased need for social and emotional support, YMCA immediately began heavily promoting its employee assistance program (EAP) services through frequent newsletters, emphasizing free access to confidential services for employees’ entire families.

To learn more about additional unmet needs, Y-USA leaders also utilized pulse surveys in which employees rate various areas of well-being. Using this feedback, leaders made distinct efforts to implement changes. For example, when one survey found that many work-from-home employees needed additional office equipment to perform their jobs well, the organization provided it. Another survey made clear that employees weren’t ready to return to in-office work in 2021, so YMCA changed its plans and extended its flexible work policies.

In response to employee concerns about lack of camaraderie, Y-USA created weekly virtual Coffee Chats to connect employees with one another and Tech Tuesdays, an opportunity for employees to learn or refresh tech skills, ask tech questions, and learn about efficient hybrid work practices.

Biannual culture surveys conducted by a third party also guide Y-USA’s practices. To continue to ensure employee feedback is carefully implemented, Y recently formed a Culture Counsel of volunteer employees, who help review areas for improvement and discuss possible changes. After learning of employees’ continued desire for work flexibility, organization leaders extended the work-from-home practice, encouraging employees to visit the office as needed.

In addition, Y-USA convened a Mental Health Thought Leader Cohort, made up of local Y staff who curate and package “To Go” mental health kits, a grab and go resource for local Y leaders to implement with staff, such as “Dinner Table Resilience” which offers short videos, tools, and strategies for Y-USA staff and members to use at the dinner table with families to build resilience skills.

F5 Networks, a large technology company in the Seattle area, also uses employee surveys extensively to promote its “human-first, high-performance” culture. Along with regularly surveying existing employees, leaders also seek input from candidates who weren’t hired, employees who left the company, and individuals who left and came back.

After learning how growth opportunities led to employee retention, F5 developed a company-wide mentorship program, increased its budget to allow employees to pursue continued education in their field, and created quarterly learning days on which employees have no internal meetings but instead focus on learning.

In response to an increased need for time off—without the stress of returning to an inbox full of emails—F5 also launched company-wide quarterly wellness weekends allowing all employees an extra paid consecutive Friday and Monday off.

Ongoing survey data suggest positive business outcomes. F5 employees report feeling more refreshed and ready to tackle projects when they return to work after time off, for example. In general, F5 staffers report feeling supported by their managers and the organization as a whole.

On its U.S. medical plans, F5 also removed out-of-network restrictions for psychotherapy to ensure employees could connect with diverse therapists and therapists not accepting insurance. Rather than paying a large deductible and being partially reimbursed for services, employees on the Preferred Provider Organization plan pay a $15 copay for any therapist (plus any additional fees if the therapist charges more than what the benefits cover). Additionally, F5 increased its EAP therapy visit max from three to five annual sessions per employee.

The consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) offers a full suite of mental health and well-being resources for employees and their families. In addition to EY’s health care plan that includes mental health benefits, EY has an internal team of clinicians that conduct presentations and interactive sessions promoting mental health in the organization.

EY also works with a private vendor to offer up to 25 psychotherapy sessions for each employee and each person in their household per year. Because employees’ family lives can impact their well-being and work performance, the firm extended the mental health benefit to include all family members in the household including children, domestic partners, and relatives, regardless of their age or whether they’re on the employees’ health care plan. The network of clinicians represent a variety of backgrounds that can meet employees’ diverse needs. They use evidence-based psychotherapy practices to ensure the best outcomes.

EY recognizes the role of psychological concepts like resilience in staving off stress and burnout. EY allows employees to access mental health coaching sessions to prevent issues that could interfere with well-being and work performance and increase overall well-being in their daily lives. Data suggest employees working with a mental health coach or therapist saw an 85% improvement or recovery from the initial reason they sought care.

For people who would rather use digital tools, EY offers a positive psychology-informed app that educates employees about coping with stress and promoting resilience through articles and activities. Similarly, a digital sleep resource provides personalized guidance for improving sleep. On average, people using this digital tool are getting an average of four more hours of sleep per week.

An internal initiative called We Care educates employees on important topics such as recognizing signs of mental health concern and addiction and best practices for offering support. Employees share their own mental health stories to destigmatize the topic. To encourage time away from work, EY also reimburses employees for vacations and travel; the company also reimburses for physical wellness-related activities, such as gym memberships, fitness equipment, and even mattresses.

The National League of Cities (NLC), the nonprofit advocate for municipal governments, is committed to supporting and nurturing a work culture that prioritizes the mental and physical health of its employees. It has done so through several targeted approaches. Like many organizations, NLC moved its entire 130-person Washington, D.C.-based staff to virtual work at the start of the pandemic. Employees were encouraged to maximize and leverage flexible schedules. As the pandemic evolved, NLC developed a hybrid model in which staff could continue to work remotely and also use the NLC offices for collaboration and other onsite work.

The organization’s health insurance plan covers mental health services on par with its coverage of physical health. NLC subsidizes coverage for employees and family members, including access to licensed mental health providers who offer services via telehealth. NLC also offers an EAP, which it promotes regularly (and even more frequently during the pandemic) to employees.

At the start and during the height of the pandemic, NLC gathered employee input. NLC surveyed employees in 2020 and 2021 to learn about their telework experience and hear their return-to-office concerns and suggestions. More than 90% of the staff participated. To determine the cultural norms for hybrid work, NLC used a dispersed decision-making method that employed focus groups to gather ideas from every employee in the organization. One resulting cultural norm the company has established, is that employees are highly encouraged to use their paid time off from work to unplug and refresh.

The American Public Health Association (APHA), a Washington, D.C.-based organization for public health professionals, champions the health of all people and all communities.

When Covid-19 struck, APHA’s staff worked harder than ever to develop essential Covid-19 resources for members. At the same time, employees were experiencing the loss of loved ones, isolation, racial inequity, financial burden, family job loss, and the need to provide around-the-clock family support. These strains caused a real need for mental health services and support.

How does APHA support its staff? APHA’s EAP, a free service for staff, offers three immediate counseling sessions with a licensed mental health professional. Staff can access EAP professionals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The EAP can also provide legal assistance, online will preparation, financial tools and resources, help addressing substance misuse and other addictions, as well as resources for dependent and elder care.

APHA’s mental health services through their insurer, CareFirst, are tailored for short-term and long-term mental health matters. Employees and covered family members seeing in-network professionals have no copayments and many of the providers offer telehealth visits from 7 a.m.–11 p.m. Eastern time, 7 days a week. The average therapy appointment is about 45 minutes. Psychiatrists are also available to help with mental health conditions requiring medication management.

Staff are encouraged to voice their needs. APHA instituted several internal services and activities to improve how management listened and responded to employee needs. “Courageous Conversation,” started after the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, are discussions with peers in an honest and safe environment about experiences that relate to race. During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Half-day Fridays gave staff a mental health break from the stress of having inseparable work and home space. A mindfulness video APHA shared with staff reminded them to be present in the moment, take a breath, and tackle one thing at a time. While working from home, No Meeting Tuesday Afternoons ensured staff had a block of time to focus on one task at a time as they navigated the stresses of the pandemic and increased virtual meetings. Optional forums and surveys allowed staff to communicate their mental health needs and challenges. Complimentary Stretch Class—a free monthly service—gives staff a 45-minute break to relieve stress and tension.