On the occasion of Mental Health Awareness Month, which will take place in May 2024, we look at workplace mental health wellness programmes.

A healthy workforce is a noble goal and a win-win-win scenario for employees, employers, and insurers. Employee wellbeing programmes are frequently used to attract and retain talent, reduce healthcare costs and absences, increase productivity, and foster a positive work environment. As demand grows and employers increase their investment in wellness products and services, the industry continues to experience record growth.¹ This Mental Health Awareness Month, Gen Re looks at the impact of employee wellness programmes on mental health and proposes key ingredients for successful programmes.

A (brief) history of employee wellness programmes²

Employee wellness has its roots in workplace health and safety. Over the past 200 years, many improvements were made in the physical work environment to prevent occupational illnesses and injuries. As recognition of workers’ right to a safe workplace increased, employers started to see the advantages of having a healthy and rested workforce.

A shift from health and safety to wellness

Since the late 1990s, employers realised that wellness is affected by much more than just physical fitness and began to tackle mental and emotional health as well. At first, available services and their uptake was limited and stigma around mental ill-health remained a barrier. In 2020, the COVID‑19 pandemic disrupted the wellness industry, and mental health support went from a “nice-to-have” to a true business imperative.

In 2024 the stakes are being raised, thanks to increasing awareness of the workplace factors that can contribute to poor mental health, as well as heightened urgency around its intersections with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).⁴

Employee mental health services have become a billion-dollar industry, offering a diverse array of services, including digital wellness solutions, mindfulness seminars, massage classes, resilience workshops, coaching sessions, and sleep apps. The goal is to promote wellbeing and support employees’ mental health.

Some programmes have shown success. A 2022 study tracked U.S. workers using a platform that connected employees with mental health services such as therapy and medication management. It found that 69.3% of participants showed improvement in their mood, and participants also missed fewer days of work and reported higher productivity.⁵

However, improving employee mental health is not as simple as it may seem. A cross-sectional study analysed survey data from 46,336 workers across 233 organisations in the UK and compared various individual-level wellbeing interventions. These included resilience training, coaching, mindfulness, relaxation classes, courses in time management or financial health, and wellbeing apps. The study found no difference in wellbeing indicators in the test group who engaged with the programmes compared to those who did not participate in any interventions.⁶

The study acknowledges that it did not examine the long-term impact of the interventions, but one takeaway message was clear: all the interventions were at an individual level and did not provide additional or appropriate resources in response to job demands. This emphasises the importance of broader approaches that address working conditions alongside individual-level interventions, e.g. core organisational cultural practices such as working hours, schedules, workload, renumeration, and performance reviews.

This two-fold approach was supported by 2021 research by Harvard Business Review⁷ which found that 84% of survey respondents reported at least one workplace factor that negatively impacted their mental health. Researchers found that “the most common factor was emotionally draining (e.g. stressful, overwhelming, boring, or monotonous) work, which had worsened since the COVID‑19 pandemic. This was closely followed by work-life balance. The other workplace factors that most notably worsened since the pandemic were poor communication practices and a low sense of connection to or support from one’s colleagues or manager, perhaps unsurprising in a predominantly remote workforce.”⁸

Jamil Zaki, Associate Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, believes that empathy is key. His research found that employees who believe their organisations and managers are empathic, report less burnout and greater mental health, and call in sick due to stress-related illness less often.⁹

Hallmarks of Effective Corporate Wellness Programmes

Considering the mixed success of employee wellness programmes so far, what key principles should employers and insurers consider when implementing services?

1. Think holistically
   Wellbeing extends beyond physical health. It encompasses four pillars: mental, financial, physical, and social. Having said that, one area should not be neglected in favour of another. For example, musculoskeletal injuries and accidents remain a significant cause of claim in both manual and sedentary occupations; a reminder that we should not only focus on mental health. A successful programme encompasses all areas of health and wellbeing and might include health, fitness, nutrition, sleep, mindfulness and resilience, financial skills, and more.
2. Address workplace conditions and culture
   While individual-level mental health interventions are commonplace, they may not significantly enhance employee wellbeing. Organisations should explore comprehensive strategies that account for both individual and workplace factors. It is important to align policy and practice to address toxic workplace behaviours, promote inclusivity and flexibility, allow opportunities for growth, foster a sense of cohesion and connectedness, and support healthy communication, relationships and interactions with co workers.
3. Let data drive your design
   Evidence-based approaches are crucial. Employers who leverage data analytics to identify modifiable drivers of health and wellbeing are better placed to understand employee needs. This helps design targeted interventions that yield measurable outcomes.
4. Customise
   There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, organisations should tailor programmes to address their specific organisational needs, culture, and structure.

Conclusion

Employee wellness programmes have come a long way from their roots in workplace safety to encompass a holistic approach to wellness that includes mental, emotional, and social dimensions. Some programmes have shown success in improving employee mental health, but others have not yielded significant results. To ensure success, employers and insurers should think holistically about the factors influencing wellbeing and encourage empathy as the foundation to all interventions.