It’s well established that the U.S. is facing a mental health crisis. And a recent report from Aflac, showing a gap between employers’ perceptions of their mental well-being offerings and what employees actually need to battle burnout, illustrates just how little organizations understand the worker mental health crisis. Add to that other stressors like higher inflation squeezing workers’ paychecks, and it’s little surprise why employee mental well-being is declining.

CHRO Daily spoke with Aflac chief human resources officer Matthew Owenby about Aflac’s findings and what the insurance company is doing to improve the mental health of its 12,800-strong workforce.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Fortune: More than a third (37%) of employees say they have delayed mental health treatment because they don’t know if their health insurance plan covers it. How can employers ensure employees are aware of and use these benefits?

Matthew Owenby: Employers just don’t do the greatest job of communicating. They tend to [share] package benefits information in the last quarter of the year, when generally annual enrollment picks up, rather than monthly, maybe even bimonthly, or at a lunch-and-learn, or in a web article or blog. 

Employers need a much more targeted, focused, and modern communication program. I’m older, so you won’t necessarily communicate with me via Facebook or Instagram. Employers have to use the tools their employees normally would use to get information and communications. We’ve got to keep information in front of employees, especially when it’s new.

How does financial instability affect employee mental health? And what do employees need that employers are not providing?

Your financial wellness directly impacts your engagement and satisfaction with your employer. It also creates what we refer to as background stress and anxiety. You have this weight on your shoulders. If employers cannot provide benefits or compensation to address it, they can provide information workshops on the tools [and] capabilities people need to better manage their financial lives. 

At Aflac, we have regular lunch-and-learns, where we teach people about financial wellness, financial knowledge, how to budget and stick to it, how to reduce your debt, and things you can do proactively to support your financial well-being. It has a huge impact. The reason why people are working, mostly, is because they need financial security. So if that isn’t a part of the program you’re offering as an employer, it’s a really big opportunity to step up.

Benefits costs are also rising for employers, and part of that increase can be attributed to a greater need for mental health care. How can employers address this need for mental health support while keeping costs manageable?

They can invest in mental health resources before it becomes a crisis and expensive to insure. Providing resources and getting to people before it becomes a broader issue is far more financially meaningful to the corporation and the employee than allowing an unchecked situation. It’s like a cancer diagnosis; you would rather detect it early. The math around early detection versus late detection is materially different. It’s no different from a mental issue.

How are you addressing mental health before it becomes a crisis at Aflac? 

We have on-site health care as well as mental health counselors. We offer paid family leave, hybrid work, and paid medical leave. But to us, those are table stakes, frankly. If you don’t happen to work here in Columbus, Ga., we have resources that employees can connect to virtually, just as if they were here. 

How often do you communicate these benefits to employees?

At least twice a month. And we ramp it up at different times of the year. For example, you’re going to get more communications around flu season.

How do you measure the success of benefits offered to your employees?

We measure it primarily by asking: Do we have a happy and engaged workforce? Are they productive? Do they continue to work here over time? Are our engagement scores high, and where do we want them to be? Are we taking care of people? The fortunate thing is we have such a communication of transparency, relationship, and trust that if someone working here has what we would call a countercultural experience, they’ll come to find me. They’ll walk right through my door, unabated, and let me know about it.

Paige McGlauflin
paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paidion

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