OPINION: Supporting the mental well-being of employees is good business

According to the New Mexico Department of Health’s 2022 State of Mental Health Report, the rate of mental health illnesses in New Mexico adults increased from 17.5% in 2016-17 to 21.6% in 2019-20. The rates for anxiety and depression are even greater, and mental health challenges across the board have increased since the pandemic.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 36.4% of adults in the state reported symptoms in 2023, compared with 32.3% of adults in the U.S.

Despite more than a fifth of New Mexicans specifically facing such problems, there is still a stigma in discussing mental health. So, how can employers take steps to support the mental health needs of their employees and our workforce at large?

At Bank of America, we have implemented the Employee Assistance Program, or EAP, to serve as a highly accessible benefit that can support the mental health needs of our teammates.

I have witnessed several of my colleagues’ and their family members’ lives drastically improve from utilizing our EAP, which offers free support to our employees and extends to anyone in their household. This includes children, nieces and nephews, grandparents and even girlfriends and boyfriends. I have also personally taken advantage of these services.

The EAP is similar to a counseling service but differs in that it is short-term and adopts a solution-focused approach for select issues affecting mental health.

Employees and their household members can meet with a certified mental health professional for up to eight to 12 sessions to address the issue affecting them, all without having to use insurance or pay a co-pay. After these sessions, they may still be seen to work through other issues.

The model of the bank’s Employee Assistance Program is individualized to what a person needs at a specific moment in time. Our EAP provider sits in our Rio Rancho call center but offers resources to all New Mexico-based employees regardless of work location.

The EAP program offers multiple resources as part of an ongoing mission to destigmatize discussions around mental health, especially in the workplace.

Employees can choose to be seen in several sessions or can stop in for a single session on site or at the provider’s offsite office. Our provider hosts monthly “Ask Anything Days,” where employees can stop by for quick advice. She also sends out a newsletter with advice on topics like stress management and hosts monthly classes on concepts such as negative thinking traps.

I took advantage of our EAP program after my youngest brother passed away last August. We were very close, and his loss was crushing. I could not focus, I wasn’t sleeping well, and anything from a turn of phrase to a song could send me into a well of melancholy.

Partly because I wanted to set a good example for my team, and partly because I knew I needed it, I began seeing our EAP provider. I am incredibly thankful that I did, and that I had this option and support from Bank of America.

Beyond my immediate need for guidance after the loss of my brother, I have also been able to work on other issues related to my ADHD and some complex family dynamics. I don’t know that I would have gone in this direction if the bank hadn’t made this so easy and allowed me to be comfortable in this decision.

Making this resource easily available is key in ensuring employees feel safe to utilize it. Promoting these services within an office setting also lets employees know that they are recognized and respected, not just for their contributions within the workspace, but are seen as human beings, too.

I am among the many people at the bank who has seen remarkable changes from utilizing the EAP, which can serve as a model for other businesses to help support the mental well-being of their own teams. Reducing mental health stigmas in the workplace is one crucial step we can take today to support our workforce and their families.