Mental health has long been a stigmatized subject in the workplace, with little more than an EAP to support employees in times of need. The good news: employers and HR professionals are increasingly providing mental health resources, recognizing how it significantly impacts organizational efficiency and success. The bad news: the uptick in utilization comes with increased costs to the organization. 

Mental health benefits are here to stay. And not just for those with high-acuity needs, but for all employees at any moment. While mental health support is heading in the right direction, it’s unsustainable to support employees with a one-size-fits-all solution that primarily funnels people to therapy. Mental health covers a broad spectrum, from everyday stress to serious mental health disorders, and it ebbs and flows over the course of people’s lives. Employees are looking to their organization to offer everyday mental health resources and better access to one-on-one support. 

When evaluating mental health or EAP benefits, organizations should consider investing in a comprehensive mental health solution that can provide employees with the right level of care across the spectrum of needs. Read below for six reasons why a full spectrum of mental health support is key to meeting the needs of more employees across the globe more sustainably.

6 reasons to offer a full spectrum of mental health support

1. Reduced healthcare costs

Rising healthcare costs is one of the top reasons employers seek out a scalable solution to mental healthcare. According to a recent study among people with employer-provided insurance, there has been a staggering 53 percent increase in spending on mental health services from the pre-pandemic period to the post-pandemic period.

Individuals with mental health conditions have significantly higher annual healthcare costs than those without. A 2020 Milliman report found that individuals with a mental health condition spend 2.8-6.2x more on healthcare annually than those without. This effect is particularly large for those with multiple chronic conditions. If left untreated, the effects of mental health can compound. For example, diabetes who have depressive symptoms have a 46% increased risk for all-cause mortality compared with diabetics without depression. 

Reducing overall healthcare costs starts with prioritizing resources for earlier intervention that  prevent the escalation of mental health issues, especially for those with chronic conditions. This reduces the need for costly treatments down the road and lowers out-of-pocket expenses for employees. 

2. Right care at the right time matters 

Supporting mental health long-term requires a fundamental shift –to support every employee and to offer care with greater efficiency and at scale. A study from McKinsey showed that not everyone will need the same level of care. In a given population of 100 employees, 1 will need intensive treatment, 24 will need therapy, and 75 will need well-being support. Solutions that still funnel all 100 people into therapy are inefficient and untenable. 

A multi-disciplinary mental health solution with personalized recommendations enables members to access the most appropriate support for their needs. This not only helps members connect to the right care at the right time, but helps employers make low-cost, everyday well-being support like mindfulness and coaching available to the majority of employees, while using spend for clinical care more efficiently. Modern EAP solutions, like Headspace, are taking it one step further by offering utilization-based or single fee session-based pricing models to help with cost predictability.

3. Improved employee well-being

Stress is at an all time high, with over 65% of workers experiencing burnout and overwhelm. When your workforce doesn’t have the tools to manage their stress, anxiety, burnout, or sleep, they can’t perform to their full potential. To truly solve the mental health epidemic that’s impacting employees, we need to reach people early in their journey with ways to care for their well-being. 

Regular engagement with mindfulness exercises and mental health coaching can lead to significant improvements in emotional resilience, reducing the incidence of burnout and enhancing overall life satisfaction. Employer-sponsored access to apps that are easy to use day-or-night, evidence-backed, and enjoyable make it easier for employees to engage in their own well-being and improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and more.  

4. Increased productivity and focus

Employees grappling with unmanaged mental health issues often face a sharp decline in productivity. According to the American Psychiatric Association, employees with depression experience a 35% reduction in productivity. Additionally, workers with fair or poor mental health are estimated to have nearly 12 days of unplanned absences annually, compared with 2.5 days for all other workers. This loss results in costs for companies — the cost of a missed workday is conservatively estimated to be $340 per day for full-time workers.

When employees are equipped to take care of their mental health, they are more likely to be engaged and productive at work. This goes far beyond providing resources in a time of crisis. By having on-demand access to mindfulness and focus tools and mental health coaches, employees can better support themselves in maintaining focus, managing their workload effectively, improving communication skills, and performing at their best. Improved focus, enhanced productivity, and lower burnout rates, in turn, contribute to better business outcomes. 

5. Enhanced employee retention and attraction

According to Gallup data, the primary reasons employees left their companies between 2022 and 2023 were “engagement and culture” (41%), followed by "wellbeing and work-life balance" (28%). Creating an organizational culture of wellbeing is high on the list for employees across industries as the shift to remote work, lean teams, and an increasingly younger workforce demand more of employers.  

Benefits that care for the team members on and off the clock are one way to significantly improve job satisfaction and loyalty among employees. A supportive work environment that prioritizes mental health helps employees feel valued and respected, leading to higher retention rates. Additionally, companies known for their commitment to mental health are more attractive to top-tier talent, making it easier to recruit skilled professionals.

6. Positive culture improvements

Ultimately, investing in employee mental health has a ripple effect on the entire organization. It creates an opportunity for leaders to destigmatize mental health issues, drive positive change throughout the organization, and create a positive workplace culture that leads to better outcomes. By providing an end-to-end mental healthcare offering, employers are demonstrating that they are committed to meeting the diverse needs of their employee population and improving the health of the individuals and teams that make up their organization. In addition, there is now an abundance of resources and tools specifically focused on workplace mental health, and both employers and employees can benefit from leadership trainings and skill-building workshops.

The role of Headspace in comprehensive mental health solutions

At Headspace, we understand the critical role that mental health plays in both individual well-being and organizational success. Our comprehensive range of services, from meditations and mindfulness exercises to coaching, clinical care, work-life services, and organizational support, are designed to meet the diverse needs of your employees throughout their mental health journey.

By incorporating Headspace into your employee benefits, you can provide your team with the tools they need to manage stress, build resilience, and thrive both personally and professionally. The benefits are clear: lower healthcare costs, improved mental health outcomes, higher productivity, and a workplace culture that attracts and retains top talent.

Headspace has been proven to deliver real impact for employees and organizations: 

• In a cost of care analysis for a large pharmaceutical company, Headspace’s team-based care model saved $53 PMPM vs. benchmark (15% savings) for meaningfully engaged members.
• Headspace delivered consistently lower spend from members with Cancer, Maternity, Musculoskeletal, and Metabolic Health conditions compared to the benchmark for a large pharmaceutical company.
• 85% of members engaged in Headspace’s coaching and clinical services experienced improvement in depression symptoms after 6-16 weeks.
• 83% of members engaged in Headspace’s coaching and clinical services experienced improvement in anxiety symptoms after 6-16 weeks.
• 30 days of Headspace mindfulness training improved immune cell gene regulation.
• Members engaging in care with a coach and/or clinician on average experienced an increase of 3 healthy and productive days after 30 days, as measured by the CDC Healthy Days assessment, a validated health-reality quality of life (HRQoL) measure. 

Reach out to Headspace to learn more about our comprehensive mental health solutions and our Value Advantage™ offerings including:

• Performance Guarantees: Headspace guarantees you will receive value from your investment by putting dollars at risk on metrics like engagement, therapeutic outcomes, and time to care. 
• Business Case Model Toolkit: Headspace offers a toolkit for benefits leaders to make an internal case for the Headspace solution. The toolkit includes a detailed overview of Headspace's outcomes such as improvement in depression symptoms as well as a prospective ROI model developed by our third party actuarial partners which gives clients an understanding of where they can expect cost savings.
• Retrospective Cost Impact Analysis: Headspace can conduct a claims impact analysis in partnership with our third party actuarial firm and the client to evaluate the program's impact on healthcare claims spend. This service is available after clients have at least one year with the program and meet eligibility requirements.

Headspace is proven to support a more resilient and mental healthy workplace, leading to real healthcare cost reductions. Learn more here.

‍