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how are you
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really
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statistically speaking it's likely
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you're not well according to a recent
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all voices survey 53
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of hr leaders are burned out in human
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resource executive magazine recently
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found that 86 percent of hr pros
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reported an increase in stress over the
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past year in the wake of covid and the
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great resignation hr is burning out
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because their people are burning out so
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naturally wellness has been on
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everyone's mind lately in fact it's
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become such an issue that sherm launched
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a workforce mental health ally
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certificate program just last year
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clearly hr needs to take wellness
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seriously but the path forward
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is not so clear
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so in this episode of hr party of one
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we'll cover workplace wellness programs
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including limitations you need to
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consider before implementing strategies
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by the end you'll have a better
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understanding of what employers can and
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sometimes cannot do to keep their
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employees well
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we'll discuss
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what's wrong with wellness
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types of wellness programs and
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incentives
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and what can employers do about wellness
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let's go
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what's wrong with wellness
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before we discuss what's wrong with
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workplace wellness we need to define it
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and that's actually part of the problem
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what exactly does wellness mean in the
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office
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for some time employers have implemented
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workplace initiatives designed to
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improve and promote health and fitness
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but for the most part traditional
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wellness programs only address physical
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health especially since a healthier
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workforce could save the insurer and
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employer significant cost over time
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the last two years however have
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highlighted how important mental health
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is to productivity retention and even
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physical health
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so increasingly the definition of
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wellness has come to include mental
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health
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how we define wellness matters because
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it's important what solutions we should
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consider and what we can reasonably
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expect those solutions to accomplish
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after all wellness programs are quite
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common according to a 2021 kaiser family
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foundation survey of organizations that
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offer health benefits
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58 of employers with fewer than 200
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workers and 83 percent of employers with
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200 or more workers offer at least one
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type of wellness program such as smoking
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cessation weight loss programs and
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behavioral or lifestyle coaching in
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addition the study found that 38
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of smaller organizations and 58 percent
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of larger ones expanded online
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telehealth services for mental health
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concerns
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such as emotional or financial distress
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relationship issues or other stressful
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situations
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similarly in january 2022 sherm found
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that 78
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of organizations either currently offer
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mental health resources or plan to offer
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them in the next year
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in other words the vast majority of
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employers are aware of a wellness
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problem and appear to be doing something
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about it however research has not found
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wellness programs to be particularly
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effective in changing behavior or
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cutting costs at least on the scale
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employers would expect
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last year for example the washington
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post released the findings of its
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rigorous randomized study of the
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long-term effects of physical wellness
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programs in the workplace ultimately the
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conclusion was underwhelming
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after nearly three years we didn't see
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any substantial effects on employment
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outcomes such as fewer sick days health
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care spending or objective health
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measures we did find some improvements
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in self-reported health behaviors but
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we saw no effects on blood pressure
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diabetes or obesity
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a 2020 study by the university of
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illinois found a similar lack of
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measurable outcomes
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one of the study's authors concluded
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many employers use workplace wellness
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programs in an attempt to improve
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employee health and reduce medical costs
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but randomized evaluations of their
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efficacy are rare
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our randomized evaluation found no
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significant effect of the program on
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employee health measures or medical use
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the problem immeasurability is even more
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pronounced with mental health wellness
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initiatives
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that's not to say mental health benefits
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aren't working
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but too few organizations are measuring
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the particular outcomes well enough to
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tell with statistical certainty
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for example
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sherm notes that 48
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of employers are using employee
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engagement surveys to measure the
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efficacy of their mental health
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offerings
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along with 47 percent measuring
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employees utilization of mental health
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resources and 43 measuring productivity
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and attendance
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but these are proxies at best and cannot
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reliably measure the outcome of
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participating in particular programs
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increases in engagement and productivity
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could be attributed to many factors and
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assessing mental health resources only
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indicates the need for them not
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necessarily the effectiveness and
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improving mental wellness
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the washington post researchers sum up
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what's wrong with wellness this way
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partly because there's such a huge array
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of wellness programs in use across a
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wide range of workplace settings
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no one study can speak definitively to
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whether such programs work
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does this mean that wellness programs
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are a waste of money it depends on what
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you want to get out of them employees
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seem to value the benefit had heightened
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awareness of the importance of healthy
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behaviors and we're trying to implement
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them
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if employers are seeking to add benefits
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that workers value or attract workers
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who value those benefits the programs
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may be worth it
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in other words wellness programs can
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still be valuable as a recruitment and
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retention strategy even if the intended
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effects of such programs are hard to
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measure
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types of wellness programs and
6:23
incentives
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we've talked about workplace wellness
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more broadly but now we'll cover
6:28
wellness programs and incentives more
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specifically since so many diseases and
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other health risks are exacerbated by
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unhealthy behaviors
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most physical wellness programs take the
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form of educating and encouraging
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employees to build and maintain healthy
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lifelong habits such as smoking
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cessation weight loss and nutrition
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programs still
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other programs may take a more targeted
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approach with immediate health benefits
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such as getting an annual physical or
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flu shot wellness incentives are the
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specific ways a wellness program gets
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employees to meet its goals
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most incentives take the form of
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wellness credits or rewards for
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achieving health-related milestones for
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example
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wellness credits could include
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reimbursement for gym memberships
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discounted health insurance premiums for
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receiving a flu shot
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gift cards or cash for getting an annual
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physical or prizes for winning a step
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count challenge
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a healthier workforce is a happier one
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so physical health programs can
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indirectly influence outcomes and mental
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health as well
7:36
to address employees mental health most
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employers 73
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according to sherm
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offer mental health coverage as part of
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their group health plan additionally
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most employers again 73
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offer employee assistance programs or
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eaps which provide employees with access
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to free and confidential mental health
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assessments
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short-term counseling referrals and
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other follow-ups for employees
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fewer employers 26 percent offer
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employees workshops on mental health and
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resilience is part of a wellness program
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mindfulness apps such as calm headspace
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and happify are becoming increasingly
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popular as employee mental health perks
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especially since they're relatively
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inexpensive and easily scalable
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employers can get creative by offering
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unlimited pto and work from home
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flexibility to support employees during
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a mental health crisis
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employers have a variety of wellness
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tools available to them
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but it still begs the question
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are these initiatives actually solutions
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or just bandages for covering up deeper
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personal and cultural problems
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what can employers do about wellness
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even with so many benefit options the
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extent to which employers can solve
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wellness problems may depend on how
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comfortable they are getting involved in
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the lives of their employees
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in other words how far are you willing
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to go for example
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more and more research is bringing to
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light the negative effects of social
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media on mental health with some even
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going so far to call it a public health
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crisis
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a concerned and zealous employer could
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try limiting social media use in the
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workplace and interests of wellness but
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many employers would be uncomfortable
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proposing such a policy even if they're
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convinced of the negative effects
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similarly
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many employers have recognized the
9:37
benefits of covid vaccination
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but far fewer have attempted to
9:41
implement a vaccine mandate even though
9:44
the federal government has provided
9:46
clear guidelines on how to do so legally
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so
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it's less a matter of whether they can
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than whether they will
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after all a generation or so ago many
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offices were filled with smokers whose
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employers likely understood the negative
10:00
effects of tobacco use but didn't think
10:03
it was the responsibility to regulate
10:05
their employees personal habits
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they simply didn't want to move faster
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than society
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while there's no cure-all to solve the
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wellness crisis in the workplace it's
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not at all clear that the office is the
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place to cure personal and societal ills
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employers should care about and support
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their employees physical and mental
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well-being especially when it's within
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their power to prevent burnout
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but they should also offer wellness
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benefits with more realistic
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expectations about what those
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initiatives can accomplish
10:38
as always remember your role is as
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strategic as you make it
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[Music]
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that's all the time that we have for
10:50
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