Building a more solid foundation for employee wellness

A recent popular publication brought home the demanding conditions at one investment banking firm that many consider a systemic sector issue carrying a high cost to human capital: a culture of long hours and “failed workplace guardrails.”

Of course, the 110-hour work weeks detailed in the article are hardly unique to finance and banking. The technology sector offers high-wage and high-pressure careers. Medical professionals work long, demanding shifts.

But employers — and certainly those in New Hampshire — should be aware of the costs of fostering such a culture, especially in an uncertain economy. Even a less extreme but still inflexible environment is going to cause people to burn out and exit, even as absenteeism, presenteeism, productivity and more are influenced.

Such conditions aggravate existing labor market challenges in New Hampshire. A May report said only 69 workers were available for every 100 jobs, even though the economy has slowed hiring overall. That’s aggravated when the state’s workforce is the nation’s oldest: 27% of workers are over 55, and retirements are mounting. Add in rising costs and lack of affordable housing and child care, and the pressure on recruitment intensifies more.

These days, recruiting sufficient workers is a priority. Even better is if employers can improve productivity while they’re at it. But for employees to be at their most productive, they have to be healthy. That requires a solid foundation for their physical, behavioral and mental health, and benefits are critical to building it.

Here’s what’s important for employers to know. Employers have access to a huge amount of data about their employees and their claims exposure. The challenge is to parse through it all — using analytics, ideally along with clinical informatics — to make sense of it. Not only can this guide benefits programs that truly meet individual employees’ specific needs and their family members’ but can also optimize health plans and better manage costs.

Here are some of the areas we look at to assess and strengthen the foundation of employee health and wellness, and in the process, enhance the business culture.

Start with employee mental health, a serious issue when burnout alone is at an all-time high, experienced by up to 66% of U.S. workers. Spikes in mental health visits related to stress and/or depression are important to look for. Similarly, upticks in antidepressant prescription claims in the drug plan are another red flag.

A decline in health screenings is another marker of mental health issues. Those having issues with their mental health often neglect their physical well-being, but screenings are an important opening to necessary dialogue with primary care providers. Likewise, an increase in emergency room visits can be an indicator of how depressed or stressed employees are neglecting their overall health.

Another indicator is claims related to chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension or gastrointestinal issues: Emotionally stressed people don’t necessarily manage their conditions appropriately, by not following their medication protocols, for example.

In addition to quantifying health trends, employers should consider employee sentiment surveys to get at the heart of what really affects the workforce and shapes the culture. This supplements quantifiable findings to explore what’s driving their performance and attitudes, what helps and what doesn’t, and how employees view their benefits and jobs.

The intelligence gleaned from a thorough analysis should inform the next step: assessing the current insurance contracts and coverage, and what adjustments can help employers and employees reduce stress and improve health outcomes.

Take Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). The traditional EAP covering minimal annual visits for mental health is the baseline for what most employers traditionally offer. But today’s environment makes it critical to expand the baseline.

Many EAPs are baked into the long-term disability contract. Employees don’t really understand them or how they work, much less how to access EAP benefits. That may call for either working with the insurer to expand the contract, or separately contract with a standalone EAP in order to expand the allowable annual visits to better address employee mental health issues.

The findings of these coverage assessments should also inform a solid employee communications program. In order for the workforce to access the benefits that can improve their lives, they need to know what the benefits are and how to access them: When is it appropriate to use the app on the phone to self-triage health issues? When is it best to just pick up the phone?

Organizations that foster untenable working conditions are bound to find the costs in human capital are high. Improved, well-thought-out and communicated benefits that respond to employee pain points provide a path to better health outcomes and improved overall employee satisfaction and performance.

Stacey Hyland is the employee benefit practice leader at global insurance brokerage firm HUB International in New England.