BenefitsPro: 5 ways to support employee mental health

In a few short months, it will have been two years since the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed everything about our daily lives from shopping to schooling to socializing and working. Seemingly overnight, many employees went from working full-time in offices to working exclusively from home, and these individuals are now waiting for their companies to make and share important decisions about whether they will return to the office full-time, on a part-time basis or not at all.

The overwhelming challenges of working through the ongoing pandemic has elevated the importance and visibility of employee mental health. Pre-pandemic, the social stigmas associated with mental health issues meant the topic was generally viewed as a taboo subject with a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude. Since the start of the pandemic; however, sentiment around mental health has improved significantly in terms of how companies think about it. This has led to somewhat of a revolution, with employers proactively addressing and increasingly prioritizing employee mental health support, benefits and coverage.