Are HR investing in the right areas of wellbeing?

Around nine in 10 employers are worried about the increases in numbers of their staff reporting mental health issues, says a new survey from Willis Towers Watson of 213 UK companies.

In response, 75% plan to improve benefits provision in the short and medium term; 78% with a particular focus on stress management and mental health services over the next six months. 64% intend to make sure current wellbeing offerings were highlighted.

The data picked out the most common health benefits being offered: mental health support (68%), GP consultations (68%) and physiotherapy/musculoskeletal support (45%). But for the future, employers are looking to also include specific services around menopause (37%), male health (30%), female health (29%), gender transition (28%), fertility treatment (23%).

What’s wellness?

The question is whether HR plans are in line with what employees are really looking for, and what’s going to help them best cope with the new normal.

In another survey, this time by Canada Life among 592 employees currently working from home, 87% said they wanted access to mental health support. 54% wanted to see the introduction of mental wellness days; the same proportion was keen for help in addressing ‘always on’ presenteeism while working from home.

Work by IDC and Unisys suggests employers’ plans are out of sync with employee needs. In research carried out among 1,100 people across 15 countries they found 66% of firms planned to operate with a new model, and that 64% wanted to create a better working environment. For employers that meant safety first, but also increased productivity. For employees however, their priorities were having a work location and schedule conducive to family life (66%); being empowered and given more independence (51%). Employers were more interested in the problems with WFH and the need for better technology. Only 7% of staff surveyed were concerned about the lack of management oversight.

Getting into tune

“We’re in a stage where both sides of the world of work, employers and their people, are looking for change. We’re all looking to re-build in positive ways that bring a greater sense of resilience and psychological safety,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“The broad agreement might be there, but there are going to be differences in emphasis and detail that could lead to less effective or wasted wellbeing investment. The value of EAP services are their breadth and depth. For employees they offer an independent outlet for talking about any kind of issue, at any level. And for organisations as a whole, the kind of solid platform necessary for securing engagement and performance.”

Welcome to our new EAPA UK board members

EAPA UK is delighted to welcome four new members to its board. 

Catherine Betley, is to act as our new Secretary. The Managing Director of Professional Help Ltd, Catherine is also the Founder and Managing Director of GriefChat, the world’s first bereavement webchat service. In 2019 she undertook the International EAP certificate at the University of Maryland under the direction of Dr Dale Massi, one of the pioneers of the US EAP field. As part of her work with EAPA UK, she would like to: “support smaller EAP providers, uphold standards in service delivery and encourage innovation”.

Harry Key, Head of Global Specialist Services at CiC, has a background in the design and delivery of wellbeing programmes for staff working in hostile environments, such as those working with global NGO, government and media operations. He’s looking forward to sharing best practice and learning among peers. “I am interested in supporting the EAP industry in adapting to the ever changing needs of the staff and organisations we support, particularly as we navigate through these uncertain times,” said Harry, who is also Executive Board Director of the EAEF (Employee Assistance European Forum).

Samantha Duncan brings to the board her long experience as a Clinical Psychologist with the Department of Health where she acted as both an internal coordinator and provider of services before setting up a private practice, taking referrals from external EAP service providers. “In 2016 I relocated to the Channel Islands where I continue to assist employees as a Clinical Psychologist delivering services to external agencies privately,” says Samantha. “I would like to support the growth of EAPs – an under-utilised yet vital service to employees and employers alike – while also looking to redefine the role for mental health professionals in this area.”

As central operations manager for BUPA, Nicola Bowden manages the EAP as well as BUPA’s resilience service, mental health direct access team and the critical incident team. That includes responsibility for EAP service development for customers, its innovation and growth. Nicola sees being part of the EAPA board as a chance to build her connections across the industry and benchmark operations. “We want to make sure we are delivering the best service we can. It’s also a critical time for employee wellbeing and a great opportunity for the EAP industry to demonstrate how it is supporting employers to better manage employee mental health.”

“We are delighted to welcome Catherine, Harry, Samantha and Nicola to the EAPA UK board and look forward to working together to support and represent the EAP industry in the UK,” said EAPA UK chair, Eugene Farrell.

Lonely and unappreciated? Facing up to the fall-out from WFH

WFH: A new survey of more than 1,000 UK employees (by Ezra) has found that 20% believed they were working harder remotely but were also less appreciated.

The shift to remote working arrangements has been necessary but led to a range of unintended consequences, particularly over time. The realities of spending so much time away from colleagues have sunk in. There have been more regular reports of staff feeling disconnected from their peers and their employer overall, whether furloughed or WFH, or even as a result of the shift to hybrid working.

The need for togetherness

Workplace commentators have pointed to how the pandemic year has exposed the value of face-to-face interactions, both at a social level and for management. More people are having to work harder, take on more responsibilities and deal with uncertainty and change. In normal times all of those challenges would have been accompanied by more support and interaction with HR and managers.

“Mixing at coffee docks and on the office floor gives an opportunity for personal thanks and praise and encouragement,” says Dr John Moriarty, lecturer at the Queen’s University Belfast, School of Social Science, Education and Social Work. “Even when management does remember to thank their staff, I imagine this could feel impersonal to someone receiving this thanks on a video call with hundreds of colleagues.”

Instead, there are warnings of a rise in presenteeism – more recognition and rewards for employees who are simply spending more time at their keyboard, being visible digitally, rather than those who are genuinely being productive. And as a result, HR and managers need to make sure there isn’t a return to a culture where long hours are all that matter, and look to find new ways of appreciating commitment and contribution.

Who will be the best employers for remote and hybrid workers?

“Many of us have enjoyed the flexibility of remote working, and many want those benefits to continue. But that was only the first stage of change, the sense of novelty, of new opportunities for exercise and hobbies and more time with family and friends,” said EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“This next phase is going to be far more difficult. Even those people who most benefited the changes involved will be questioning the longer term impact, what’s happened to their relationships with colleagues, what it means for their career. Are they getting the same level of attention, do people really see the extra effort involved?

“Employers need to make sure they have a good remote work culture as much as a good workplace culture. That means awareness of the new challenges and the support to match, including professional mental wellbeing and EAP services. Because increasingly that’s what new recruits are going to be looking for and demanding as the new normal.”

What does the year’s stress hangover mean for HR?

Levels of absence from stress have risen by 113% since March 2019, according to a study of data from absence management platform e-days, relating to 1,500 employees. The average number of people taking leave because of stress is up by 74%.

At the same time, the recovery time for staff dealing the stress-related issues has grown longer. e-days research has also shown that 58% of employees ‘feel exhausted’.

Money or health?

The study provides more supporting evidence for how staff attitudes to benefits have changed. Wellbeing has shot to the top of the list of priorities. Asked whether they would prefer extra money or time for themselves, 62% of employees said they would take an additional day off each year.

The Stress Management Society, in its analysis, has concluded that the pandemic has led to three main strands of stress that HR need to be aware of: a sense of disconnection with work, uncertainty and loss of control. It has advised that all staff need to be able to openly discuss stress and its effects on them, talk about their coping mechanisms, and be allowed to take time out when needed.

Road back to normal

“While the UK continues to make strong progress along the road back to normality, workplaces have to be aware of the aftershocks from prolonged periods of heightened anxieties and uncertainty,” says EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“The risks are clear: exhaustion and burnout for people who have needed to battle through increased workloads and constant change, bottling up stress in ways that lead to threats to mental wellbeing. More people looking to make major changes to their way of life. More people wanting to change jobs, change their routines. Evidence from Aviva this month has suggested that three in five UK staff intend to make change to their career in some way.

“EAPs will help people through this period of psychological fallout from the pandemic, when we’re struggling with the big questions about what we want from our jobs and lives more generally. EAPs help people open up and make sure they’re addressing issues with stress – but with the range of advice available, they can also ensure employees aren’t making knee-jerk decisions about their future.”

Stress hangover mean for HR

Can we talk about death?

Almost a quarter of UK employees experienced a bereavement in the period from September 2019 to  September last year (7.9 million staff). A survey of 1,000 people by the Sue Ryder charity has shown that a third of those people didn’t receive any kind of communication about the bereavement from HR or their manager.

Death continues to be a topic that employers – and people in general – find too difficult to talk about. Rather than say the wrong thing, we prefer to say nothing at all. But in the case of relationships with employees, that can lead to damaging effects on levels of trust and confidence. In a separate study by Hospice UK, 56% of employees said they would consider leaving their employer if they didn’t provide ‘proper’ bereavement support.

Bereavement policy

A range of approaches have been suggested for HR as the basis of a policy that can outlined to staff so they know what to expect in terms of leave and work patterns.

A policy might also include help with the grieving process by encouraging staff to have conversations about their feelings, giving space and time to share their experience with colleagues; being flexible to temporary adjustments in work routines, moving them from dealing with difficult customers, being able to start later or leave early or generally take on lighter duties.

Companies will often offer three to five days of compassionate leave as a standard part of an employment contract – but there is an argument for longer periods of paid bereavement leave.

Support or intrusion?

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “When an employee is grieving they have every right to be selfish. They get to choose whether they want to talk or if they want to be left alone. They should never feel obliged to conform to rules of behaviour around dealing with death – to want to open up, to be grateful for people’s expressions of sympathy – it’s just too personal and hard a thing for anyone else to have any say on what’s right and what’s wrong.

“That’s what makes the role of HR and managers in bereavement so challenging. And why a formal bereavement policy can’t be prescriptive, it needs to stay a loose guide. People, of course, don’t want to feel like their situation is being ignored, they need to know there is empathy and sympathy for what’s happened. But sometimes arms around the shoulder and constant invitations to talk can be intrusive.

“The great benefit of an EAP service is that it’s always there for staff – anonymised, professional help on dealing with any aspect of dealing with the fall-out from bereavement – so that HR don’t need to push support onto people, leaving them to make their own choices during the hardest of times.”

Is a ‘Chief Empathy Officer’ there to help employees or just the business?

Microsoft and LEGO have both claimed to be putting empathy at the heart of their senior leadership approach. Not only does an emphasis on empathy lead to happier employees, they say, but it also means better performance, higher levels of customer satisfaction and a stronger brand.

Josh Bersin, HR and management guru in the US, has coined the term ‘Chief Empathy Officer’ to emphasise the growing importance of a caring attitude to building a sense of belonging in the workforce, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the need for engagement and resilience. Employers need to prove that they are a shoulder to lean on, he has concluded. As the most visible people, business leaders need to take on that role: people first, economics second.

Empathy in action

During 2020 there were a number of instances when CEOs were shown to be demonstrating their credentials as Chief Empathy Officers. For example, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, and his call for CEOs to follow in his footsteps of making a “no layoff pledge” for 90 days, to give more security to employees and build more confidence. When redundancies were needed, CEOs like Mark Hoplamazian at Hyatt Hotels have been pointed to as models of leaders doing their very best to minimise the anxiety: decisions were made quickly to reduce any waiting period, and wide-ranging support provided for everyone affected.

According to Dr. Elizabeth Yuko, the Professor of Ethics at Fordham University, a culture of empathy generally at work leads to greater productivity. When people feel more comfortable and secure, knowing that their issues are being understood, the workplace is transformed, because “there is a people issue behind nearly every problem in a company,” said Bersin.

EAPs keep it real

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “Empathy is a valuable quality for everyone in the workplace – something simple and fundamental, staying human, caring about other people and how they’re feeling.

“Making empathy a focus for business leadership and decision-making, however, is something more difficult and complex. Staff want empathy from their manager, they want it from HR; and when they have particular challenges they know they’re going to experience empathy from professionals delivering services on behalf of an EAP. But the CEO and other senior leaders have to make the hard business decisions that are essential for resilience and security. They have to get the balance right between economics and people.

“It’s important that the principle of empathy isn’t de-valued though mis-use. No-one wants to get to a situation where employers use the idea to boost their employer branding, for good PR, when behind the scenes exactly the same hard decisions are being made.

“In reality, the support for staff and their sense of psychological security comes from conversations with their peers, their line manager, knowing that they have the option of contacting an EAP and getting professional advice and guidance. In the difficult months ahead, as workplaces try to return to something close to normal ways of working, all employees need to know that the caring and the everyday support they receive is real, not window-dressing.”

Could an EAP have spared the Royal family another scandal?

Meghan Markle’s TV interview with Oprah Winfrey has led to huge global interest and outrage over claims of racism.

Her account of problems with settling into a high-pressure role within the Royal Family, what she called ‘the firm’, included how a lack of sympathy and support in dealing with tabloid media scrutiny had led to suicidal thoughts.

Turning to HR

After Meghan Markle was told by advisors at Buckingham Palace there was nothing they could do to help with her issues, she turned directly to the head of HR, “begging for help, saying very specifically, ‘I am concerned for my mental welfare’”.

They were sympathetic but told her there was “nothing we can do to protect you, because you’re not a paid employee of the institution”.

Markle had wanted to look for formal medical help but was not allowed to do so without the go-ahead and clearance through Buckingham Palace.

EAP outlet

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “In some ways the problems faced by Meghan Markle are an extreme version of the issues faced by many people when they take on a high-profile role with a new organisation, who find themselves faced with a barrage of pressures, stress and difficult relationships. It can be traumatic for anyone.

“Becoming part of an institution constantly scrutinised by the global media, where every statement and activity is being watched, where media are actively looking for scandal and gossip, is something else.

“Whatever the realities of the situation, the clashes of personalities involved, everyone has a right to have support to help with their mental health concerns. The repercussions are too serious not to.

“An EAP is so important as an outlet that’s impartial and independent. Very often under EAP arrangement its both staff and their direct family who can get access to professional advice, talk through issues and ensure people know there is a constructive way forward, making sure no one has to feel desperation – or a need to lash out at their organisation.”

Is talking about money problems now harder than mental health?

A new CIPD poll among 420 employers in the UK has shown how 49% did not have a policy on financial wellbeing – and that figure was higher (64%) among sectors where staff are traditionally on low pay: retail, hospitality and leisure, catering and cleaning.

At the same time, it was employers in the lower paid sectors who were most likely to admit that their staff finances had been badly affected by the Covid-19 situation. Only 46% said they had looked at exactly how the pandemic might have impacted their people financially, and the problems that might have resulted.  Only 12% said the turmoil of 2020 had led them to introduce a financial wellbeing policy.

Money in mind

In response, the CIPD has questioned whether HR has prioritised mental health – the symptoms of problems – over a likely cause, the practical nuts and bolts of finances.

“For too long [financial wellbeing] has been considered the poor relation to wellbeing but we know the two are intrinsically linked and should have parity,” said Charles Cotton, senior performance and reward adviser at the CIPD.

“While we fully acknowledge how tough it is for businesses right now, with many just focusing on surviving, we think there’s a strong case for employers to be doing more to support their people’s financial wellbeing. It may well be that even light-touch steps, such as signposting to independent money and debt advice, can start to make a difference.” 

Even a taboo?

“Money worries aren’t just something for people who have been made redundant or without work. Figures from debt charity StepChange showed that almost half the people coming to them during the first lockdown were in jobs,” said EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“There can be a sense of shame and awkwardness when it comes to talking about money problems. We live in a culture where our finances, our ability to be carefree consumers with the latest smartphone, expensive cars and holidays, is used as a very visible measure of personal ‘success’.

“So while it’s become more acceptable to be open about stress, anxiety and depression, in some ways it can be harder to admit that our finances are a problem. EAPs are a critical source of support for employees with any money-related issues or queries, and it will be increasingly important that the financial advice services are promoted to employees in the coming months.”

How Reckitt Benckiser made wellbeing a prime mover for transformation.

Health, hygiene and home product manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser (RB) put employee wellbeing at the centre of its thinking to deliver a major global change programme to drive sustainable growth.

Keeping production facilities open and supplies still running, making sure staff jobs were protected, was a severe challenge for the business through 2020. Health, safety and wellbeing was made paramount across the global operations. The EAP service was extended to be available to all 37,000 employees wherever they worked.

Other resources provided included leader-led wellbeing podcasts, training and tips on working from home and how to maintain hygiene standards through the pandemic. Staff were given an extra two days’ holiday and extraordinary work was rewarded with special hampers. The Sir James Reckitt Award was introduced to recognise and celebrate employee work: the first award going to the team at an RB factory near Wuhan who kept disinfection production running through the first frightening weeks of lockdown in China.

Wellbeing benefits

RB has seen an uplift in engagement among staff, with an increased number of people taking part in the organisation’s survey, in those who recommended RB as a place to work and sense of pride of being an RB employee. Despite the pandemic operating and trading conditions, the net revenue increased by more than 8%; net income improved from a loss of £3.68 billion in 2019 to a gain of £1.19 billion in 2020.

In 2021, RB launched its £3.5 million global wellbeing programme to ensure that wellbeings stays at the heart of the company’s employee experience.This includes an online wellbeing hub and ongoing digital conversation platform.

Model-making

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “Awareness of the importance of employee wellbeing to employer brand and workplace culture has been growing at pace over the past five years or more.

“But Covid-19 has brought about a step change. Not only in terms of wellbeing support as an attractive benefit but in the essential value of physical and psychological wellbeing to organisational performance, as the foundation to resilience for the future. The approach being taken by RB will provide useful lessons to many other employers.”

Why a blanket approach to supporting LGBT+ employees isn’t working

More than four in 10 LGBT+ employees have experienced workplace conflict in the past year. This compares with a figure of 29% for heterosexual employees also taking part in the CIPD’s UK Working Lives survey.

In general, LGBT+ workers were found to have experienced higher levels of conflict, lower levels of feelings of psychological safety and lower job satisfaction. Perhaps worse of all for HR, around 50% said the conflicts that had occurred still remained unresolved.

Not listening

“It’s particularly concerning to see how many LGBT+ workers have experienced conflict and that more often than not, these conflicts are not resolved,” said Melanie Green, research adviser for the CIPD.

“Employers must treat people as individuals rather than assuming that any general measures to address LGBT+ as a homogenous group will sufficiently meet a spectrum of diverse needs. If we are to truly celebrate and support individuality we must start with the individual.”

Talking to individuals

EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell said: “Generally-speaking there’s a positive culture of awareness and understanding of LGBT+ lifestyles compared with past decades. And yet, as the CIPD data shows, something seems to be going wrong.

“When employees feel they have to suppress aspects of their personality, of who they are, how they think, it’s never healthy for them – or their relationships with other people in the workplace and sense of identity and purpose.

“Covid-19 has led to a great deal of blanket activity and investment into supporting employee health and wellbeing. But how much of it has allowed for targeting to individual groups and their specific needs, their particular experiences? This is the great strength of EAP services. It’s about the one-to-ones, about talking through knots of issues at a personal level, the chance to open up and help people find resolutions and ways forward.”