With greater awareness of workplace issues, employers are offering more mental health services Health

A community mental health organization has set up “peer discussion groups” via Zoom for staff to share their concerns with outside doctors.

Many employers across the state have added mental health services or promoted existing programs as their workers deal with increased stress and isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.

The changing world ushered in a stronger focus on mental well-being in the workplace.

“The reality is that COVID has had a profound impact on people’s mental health,” said Susan Stearns, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness – New Hampshire.

Stearns described the pandemic as a “massive societal shock event”.

“One of the things that isolation has really enhanced is that we are social creatures,” Stearns said. “A lot of social interaction happens in the workplace, right?”

The pandemic has changed how workers complete their tasks and interact with one another.

Nearly 1 in 5 American employees rated their mental health as fair or poor in a Gallup poll last summer — and they were absent from work more often.

“Over a 12-month period, it is projected that workers in fair or poor mental health estimate about 12 days of unplanned absence per year compared to 2.5 days for all other workers,” Gallup said.

Lost work costs the American economy an estimated $47.6 billion annually in lost productivity.

Four in 10 American workers report that their job has had a negative impact — either very negative (7%) or somewhat negative (33%) — on their mental health, Gallup said.

At Riverbend Community Mental Health in Concord, management has also hired chair masseurs several times for its 400-strong workforce to take breaks.

“It gave people the sense of taking half an hour out of their day to get us self-care,” said Jaime Corwin, vice president of human resources. “This has been so popular, we’ll try to do it twice a year.”

Workplace mental health issues are not limited to one generation.

Sandy Demarest has seen older workers experience feelings of anxiety, stress and fear during the pandemic.

“Because of the anxiety of returning to in-person work, many older workers would theoretically prefer working remotely,” said Demarest, a retired and mid-career coach at Demarest Directions in Milford.

“On the flip side, loneliness and isolation are at an all-time high for those later in life,” she said. “So with telecommuting, the benefit of connecting through work gets a new look and feel.”

She said some employers face challenges finding the right balance to make workers feel safe, healthy and engaged.

Some of the older workers have changed direction.

“Many of my clients have retired early and are putting a new focus on entrepreneurial options,” said Demarest. “While there may be risks, they believe there are also risks in staying at a company that does not deal with the above challenges. As people live longer and work longer, evaluation by both employer and employee is important to shape the best path forward. forward.”

Younger workers also suffer from loneliness.

Stay Work Play, an organization that works to attract and retain young New Hampshire residents, has data that even before the pandemic, 21% of young Granite Staters reported they “felt lonely, saying they had no friends or family close by.” said Will Stewart, Group CEO.

“This feeling of loneliness and isolation only seems to increase during the pandemic as working from home becomes more prevalent,” Stewart said.

However, younger populations seem more willing to seek professional help.

“We’re definitely hearing young workers talk more about mental health in recent years. There seems to be less stigma with millennials and Gen Z in particular than just discussing mental health challenges publicly, but also in seeking professional help through therapy,” Stewart said. .

“More and more employers are acknowledging the mental health needs of their employees, but most are still trying to figure out how best to support those needs,” Stewart said.

“I don’t see so many employers creating support systems within the workplace,” said Stewart, who hears about people having difficulties getting appointments for mental health services. “I think younger employees are more willing to discuss their challenges with peers in person or on social media, but this type of peer support decreases with age.”

Advocates encourage more people to get professional help.

“It puts a real strain on the system because we have more people seeking care,” NAMI’s Stearns said recently.

“The reality before COVID we had a mental health crisis on our hands and it only got worse,” Stearns said. “I say that because we had a workforce shortage before COVID. COVID has made it worse.”

Corwin admitted to the affair in Riverbend.

“There are definitely waiting lists all over the state for mental health services, but I think waiting time has a lot of variables, so I can’t say an average,” Corwin said.

Employers can offer relief to employees who may need a day off due to stress or anxiety.

“We’re seeing more and more employers where they are specifically saying that paid time off can be used as a ‘mental health day’,” Stearns said.

She said it would “help break down the stigma”.

Stearns said she is seeing more employers reaching out to her organization for training on how to respond to employees who “believe their employer has a role to play in resolving mental health issues.”

Fidelity, which employed more than 7,000 workers in New Hampshire as of October, has designated two “quiet rooms” for reflection in its Merrimack buildings, said spokesman Stephen Austin.

Some workers are also eligible to work with a wellness coach for free.

The financial services company has also added more walking trails and a bike-sharing program to its campus.

“Fidelity recognizes that the mental health landscape has evolved significantly over the past two years, and as such, we continue to monitor evolving offerings to ensure we provide the best support for our partners and loved ones,” Megan Bourque, head of Fidelity benefits, said in an email.

Workers’ mental health has been an important enough topic for the federal government to issue a report.

The US Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing said the pandemic has changed the nature of work and how workers relate to their jobs.

“The pandemic has also sparked a reckoning among many workers who no longer feel that sacrificing their health, their families and their communities for the sake of work is an acceptable trade-off,” the report said. “Organizations are also increasingly aware of another trade-off: When workers’ mental health suffers, so do workplace productivity, creativity, and retention.”

Stress can increase a person’s risk of developing diabetes and other chronic health conditions. Chronic stress has also been linked to an increased risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, obesity, cancer and autoimmune diseases, according to the report.

He suggested more employee autonomy over how work was done, increased access to paid time off, provision of a living wage and building a culture of gratitude and appreciation.

Hypertherm, which employs 1,100 in the Upper Valley and 1,900 globally, has seen the number of workers using its employee assistance program triple from 2019 to 2021. The program provides free, confidential mental health counseling over the phone to employees and their family members, as well as access to other resources for help with other issues .

“This may be due to an increased need for, or there may be greater awareness of, and therefore, more acceptance of access to support resources for issues such as depression, anxiety and substance use disorders,” said Jim Rowe, senior director of human resources. Centers of Excellence in Hypertherm.

“We see it as a positive fact that people are seeking treatment and services, and we are pleased that we have built strong partnerships with benefit partners and community organizations that provide these vital services,” Rowe said.

Psychotherapist Stacy Friedenthal knows about people who have suicidal thoughts.

Twice she tried to take her own life nearly three decades ago when she was in her twenties.

“My brain was in a really bad way,” Friedenthal said during a video interview from Colorado, where she lives. “I really thought my parents would be relieved of the burden.”

Today, Friedenthal is nationally known for her expertise in helping people struggling with their mental health who have suicidal thoughts.

“I think it gave me an insight and empathy into suicidal experiences that (otherwise) I wouldn’t have had,” Friedenthal said.

She is the author of a new book released this month: Loving Someone With Suicidal Thoughts: What Family, Friends, and Partners Can Say and Do.

“One of his main messages is to be able to listen without trying to immediately talk someone out of their feelings or immediately cheer them up or change their mind,” Friedenthal said.

“We know that people who have suicidal thoughts are more likely to confide in friends and family than to go to a mental health professional,” Friedenthal said.

“Some people will disagree with me on this,” she said, “but I think you shouldn’t call the police unless you absolutely need to.”

“I think this can cause more harm. It can prevent the person from trusting others to move on, so I would recommend unless the person is about to take action to end their life or do something like, say, overdose on pills, what It wasn’t really in the immediate danger, I think having a conversation is what counts.”

Friedenthal, the mother of an adult son, said she worries about today’s youth.

“Their life is much more difficult than when I was young and I still feel suicidal.”

“Warning: A One-Year Mental Health Awareness Journey” is financially supported in part by Dartmouth Health.