This spring, edHEALTH President and CEO Tracy Hassett had the honor of being interviewed by Risk & Insurance magazine by Emma Brenner.

The May/June 2023 feature highlights "how higher education institutions can turn to captives as an effective and affordable solution to serve their insurance needs." You can read the full article here.

Challenge length: Runs from Monday, June 5 through Monday, July 3, 2022

2) Individuals participate by creating an account, connecting devices, and logging activity in a new easy-to-use platform, IncentFit, which is provided in partnership with Point32Health. As this is a new platform for 2023, we encourage our schools to promote and educate employers about the new app/web platform. Please widely distribute our flyer and point out the switch to IncentFit this year.

Where to find program details: Member-owner schools should have received the Walking Challenge flyer via email on May 23. If you don’t have it yet, so you can promote this program on campus, you will find it in the edHEALTH Portal. 

Our annual member-owner meeting at The Connors Center in Dover, MA takes place on June 21.

Please complete your preference survey by Monday, June 5, as it includes sign-up for a lunchtime educational session with limited enrollment. If you did not receive your survey, please email Lisa Barnstein.

Prioritizing Mental Health Access (Benefits Pro)

High Anxiety for Generation Z in the Workplace (McKinsey & Company)

As Mental Health Crisis Grows, Leave Requests are on the Rise (Human Resource Executive)

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In support of this, and knowing organizations nationwide are looking for guidance related to the well-being of their employees, edHEALTH hosted its spring Thought Leadership Series on this critical topic. On May 11^th, we welcomed Jill Borrelli, LICSW and Vice President of Behavioral Health at Point32Health, to share tips for supporting behavioral health in the workplace. (Point32Health brings together New England’s highly respected Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan.)

Jill’s session helped to educate attendees by providing a high-level overview of behavioral health, startling statistics with insights into the educational space, and practical steps that employers and employees can take to support a healthier environment. While this update is no substitute for the full session, we proudly share some of Jill’s insights into behavioral health and her practical tips for any workplace

Behavioral health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, affecting how we think, feel, and act. Behavioral health is important at every stage of life. Jill noted that we must recognize that poor mental health and mental illness differ. One can have poor mental health without a diagnosis, and a diagnosed individual can still have periods of physical, mental, and social well-being.

The prevalence of people coping with mental health conditions in the United States is too significant. For example, a few of the 2022 Behavioral Health Trends indicate:

Every industry has its own specific challenges. Some issues frequently seen among students, faculty, and staff alike on college or university campuses include stress, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and sleep disorders.

These examples also demonstrate how as a country, or even the world, similar behavioral health challenges are shared across all industries, ages, and genders.

Employees are increasingly stressed and burned out, signaling a need for better work design. Jill noted that most organizations recognize there is a crisis happening among us. There is good news. More people are discussing behavioral health at work, propelling a culture shift.

For starters, language matters! How often do we say we’re “crazy busy” at work? Simple recognition of how we use words like “crazy” and “normal” and finding other ways to express these feelings may seem small. But they are important changes to make in the workplace and life. Everyday language can have subtle but influential meaning on how we view people’s mental health and how we can support people in need reaching out for care.

Similarly, we should all consider taking care of one’s mental well-being the same as the flu or stomach bug. One of Jill’s favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis is so meaningful and valuable to the behavioral health discussion:

During Jill’s presentation, she indicated that organizations could foster a supportive and inclusive professional environment by working together to de-stigmatize behavioral health and normalize discussions about overall well-being. Specifically, she offered these tips:

If initiating all these steps is too much, start small and focus on a few to start.

Fortunately, there are resources available to people across the country. Three free ones include:

Many organizations, including educational institutions, also have excellent resources available to employees through their Employee Assistance Program (EAP). It’s helpful for schools to remind their faculty, staff, and students about the many resources available nationally and as part of their benefits package.

Jill noted that it’s human nature for us to want to fix things for our friends and family. Sometimes, it’s most helpful to “listen and validate” someone’s thoughts or feelings.

Feeling heard is often what people need most. Resist the urge to fix or give advice. Perhaps explore options together. Always remember, too, that we can’t push someone to do something unless they want to do it.