It’s impossible to estimate the emotional toll that the pandemic has taken on the young and old alike. Depression and mental illness are spiking as the United States marks the first anniversary of the lockdowns and social isolation. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. The most recent declaration prior was H1N1 as a pandemic in 2009 when telehealth wasn’t a reality. Additionally, mask mandates and stay-at-home orders weren’t an issue. Your employees have likely been significantly affected. If they have fared well personally, they may have children who are suffering emotionally. Indeed, children may be coping with eLearning, absence from a school routine, and meaningful interactions with peers. They may be grieving the loss of a spouse, parent, or grandparent who died during the pandemic, and they missed the chance for a final good-bye because of the many hospital restrictions.
Many families have lost jobs or businesses, and your employee may be trying to get by on half their previous family income if a spouse lost their job. Truly, the costs are impossible to calculate.
Telehealth on the Rise
Telehealth had been on the rise the last several years, but 2020 put it into hyper-drive. That is a good thing for a struggling population, particularly when they are dealing with mental health issues or depression. However, people still associate a stigma with mental health issues. And that stigma can be more pronounced if an employee worries that it could compromise or endanger their job.
A digital benefits solution offers a way for employees to connect with the resources they need. Our Benefits Toolkit offers self-education topics and can provide a roadmap to connect with a provider. The Benefits Zone app and integrated portal makes a connection to resources and benefits easy and confidential. If someone is struggling to cope or navigate through difficulty — the simpler the process — the better.
Ensure Employees of Confidentiality
Communication around the telehealth resources you are offering your employees must address their fears. At the most basic level, employees may be fearful for their own or their family’s health. They may not only have questions or fears about the available vaccines, but anger at the lack of urgency they see around them as well. They need to know that help is available and that their personal business is private. Repeated communication will help accomplish this.
We Lighten the Load
As an HR or Benefits department, you have only so much time and expertise. Counseling and psychoanalysis are not what you are being paid to do. Further, dealing with these issues takes time away from critical operations issues and challenges your company is facing. We partner with you to provide a seamless experience for you and your employees. If communicated effectively to your employees, it assures them that we are a separate entity charged with connecting them with their employee benefits options. Mental health and relational struggles will eventually affect the way an individual is able to perform their job or advance in their career, so they must be addressed.
Morale, Productivity, & Wellbeing
More and more, employees expect and need mental health resources to cope with growing demands in their jobs and personal lives. Further, it has evolved into an important employee benefit, and 2020 increased that need exponentially. Working from home, pivoting to try to save the company, overseeing eLearning, and coping with interruptions and frustrations — the need for life balance and hope is profound. Telemedicine is with you and your employees in the trenches, providing what you cannot, and caring for your employees.
Connect Employees with the Resources They Need
Benefits Zone connects employees with your telehealth solution using an integrative and secure platform. Indeed, we’d love to show you how to address this critical demand, which in turn with reduce the demand on your staff. We invite you to schedule your demo today to find out how we can empower you to stand in the gap for your employees.
