Stephanie Wainwright
Special to Florida Construction News
Vince Hafeli, president of a Florida paving company, has become one of the construction industry’s leading speakers and consultants on the need to improve mental health supports – after nearly committing suicide himself in 2007.
He and other industry leaders like Brian Murray, chief executive of Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies, U.S., Inc., understand that leading by example and sharing their own pain goes a long way toward destigmatizing the mental health issue that’s been an industry epidemic. Telling his employees about his severe depression led one to contact Murray directly asking for help.
The issue has been well-documented, with 89% of construction workers likely to experience moderate to severe mental health issues, and the industry having one of the highest suicide rates of any industry group. Firms have responded with beefed up support. One trend is through the kind of leadership and awareness building that Hafeli and Murray exemplify. But an American Psychiatric Association (APA) Foundation survey also found more resources offered like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) (63%), “toolbox talks” (54%), and email updates on mental health matters (33%) can bring more awareness around the importance of mental health and encourage employees to seek help
But is it helping?
It’s worth asking: Are such efforts working? In fact, surveys of broader employer/employee populations suggest a worrisome disconnect between employer’s supports and employees’ continuing mental state.
Workers are still struggling, according to a Deloitte/Workplace Intelligence survey that finds one-third are always or often irritable, lonely or depressed, and they don’t believe their managers care. Meanwhile, 94% of large employers strengthened their programs last year, and 74% of employers generally intend to increase their commitment. Still, only half of workers have seen it, only 40% think it’s being done well, and 55% don’t understand their benefits anyway.
And in construction specifically, employers themselves admit that some of their most common supports probably have the least value as they are now structured – and vice versa. That APA survey, for example, found that only 48% of employers, and 39% of their leaders, considered EAPs helpful to their workers. What ranked most important were supervisor and employee training (69% and 66%), each only provided by 25%.
Benefits and support programs are often structured in a way that adds to the problem. EAPs are fine, but often, they only offer a few therapy sessions – not necessarily sufficient to address the employees’ needs. Employers that offer a health plan must cover mental health, but those benefits can be limited. Just accessing help can be a challenge, from obtaining referrals, retrieving payment accounts, meeting deductibles to even finding an available mental health professional.
Fixing the disconnect
Company leaders need to examine their mental health benefits plan to find ways to layer elements in order to plug the gaps. They need to understand what employees need. They must enlist an experienced insurance partner with innovative solutions. That’s the way to design a comprehensive mental well-being strategy that will provide the resources workers truly need.
Here is a five-step approach to spearheading meaningful changes:
- Analyze the data. Review claims history, including healthcare and disability claims, costs and duration of leave and prescription drug use. If mental well-being has been largely ignored, it will be reflected in rising claims costs in those areas.
- Use data to identify the gaps. Analytics can help answer such questions as: Can employees access counseling without paying a high deductible? Can they find providers willing to take their insurance? Are enough sessions provided through the EAP/EFAP — and are employees even aware of the benefit? Are workers in different demographics disproportionately using — or finding it difficult to access — the benefits?
- Up your communication. An organization-wide mental health awareness campaign can help destigmatize mental health issues and make employees aware of available resources. Mandatory mental health training for managers and optional mental health support training for all interested employees will help leaders identify any who may be struggling.
- Consider adding more robust mental health supports. This might include providing more mental wellness care under the company health plan, adding a meaningful number of therapy visits to an EAP/EFAP, offering digital options, or carving out mental health and contracting with a third-party vendor that offers enhanced support.
- Make sure leadership supports the strategy. Leadership should be committed and accountable for creating the psychologically safe workplace employees need. Obtaining executive support and ensuring they act as mental wellness role models will be paramount for a successful program.
