Putting Workplace Therapy In Place Isn’t Enough If You Ignore These Signs That It Isn’t Working

Employers are currently doing more than ever to prioritize the ongoing mental health of even remote teams. This growing focus has seen as many as 40% of employers expanding mental health benefits of late to include proactive focuses like virtual and in-person therapy. 

Unfortunately, in many cases, even these extensive efforts are failing to have a true impact because they’re implemented without thought or follow-up. As countless companies perfect far more efficient focuses for mental health and employee wellbeing, higher turnover is especially becoming inevitable for managers who fail to spot the following signs that therapy as it stands isn’t working. 

The ongoing prevalence of problems

Therapists should work with employees on both a one-to-one and group basis to understand struggles like workplace burnout, addiction, and mental illness. They should also direct said employees towards viable treatments accordingly, including further courses of therapy, medications, time off, and even alcohol or substance use treatment where necessary. If these recommendations aren’t happening, or if you continue to notice the warning signs of problems like these, including erratic behavior, poor productivity, or generally low morale, then it’s a sign that current processes need reassessing. In particular in this instance, it’s worth reassessing programs like these with the help of therapists who always have the experience and connections necessary to actually help.

A lack of uptake

You also need to sit up and take note if you’ve implemented therapy efforts that your employees aren’t currently using. After all, therapy provides notable benefits for everyone, meaning that, if your counselor is going to waste right now, it’s more likely that something’s preventing employees from feeling able to seek help than that they don’t want to do so. In this instance, considering things like the accessibility of your therapy offerings (how often is this available, are there virtual options for long-distance employees, etc.?) and also problems like potential privacy breaches (where in your office does therapy happen?) can see you implementing far more approachable, accessible therapy moving forward. And, that’s guaranteed to increase uptake and make your efforts here way more worthwhile. 

High staff turnovers

As mentioned, the more effort that other companies put into mental health and wellness focuses like therapy, the more likely employees are to jump ship if your efforts aren’t meeting muster. In fact, for millennials especially, as many as 82% expect dedicated mental health efforts, including mental health days. With all of this in mind, ongoing high staff turnovers could be another sign that your efforts at therapy need a little rejiggling or additional incentive. In this instance, things like employee surveys can be a great help in highlighting not only why therapy hasn’t improved things so far, but also how you can supplement this benefit to truly start tapping into what your employees need. 

Therapy is a fantastic benefit for any workplace, and it’s about time that we saw this becoming a standard addition for any business. Simply ask yourself, are your current efforts enough to truly serve the needs of your evolving workforce?