Employee Well-Being

(Excellent articles on Employee Well-Being in the marketplace.)

Employee care is critical as the workforce and the world battle and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Have you considered what your workforce needs from an employee assistance program (EAP)?

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated another epidemic that has long been plaguing the U.S. workforce: isolation and loneliness. The pandemic forced many employees to work from home, cutting them off from the camaraderie and resources only available in the physical workspace.

This had a massive impact on our nation’s mental health, with nearly one-third of adults reporting feelings of anxiety or depression in June 2020, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, more than 1 in 10 adults said they had considered suicide, which was double the rate from the previous year’s report.

In the workforce, this mental health epidemic affects engagement, productivity, retention, and absenteeism, but beyond the business sense, employers have an obligation to care for both the physical and mental well-being of their employees.

Employee care

By giving members 24/7 access to a network of over 1,800 chaplains, Marketplace Chaplains has represented the best in employee care since 1984.

“It’s kind of like having a lifeboat right beside you every step of the way,” said Jason Brown, chief marketing officer at Marketplace Chaplains.

Whether it’s guidance, assistance, or just a caring person who’s willing to listen, chaplains have long been used by hospitals, police and fire stations, sports teams, and many other societal institutions. Marketplace Chaplains brings the tried-and-true services of chaplains to the workplace — this includes their proprietary MyChap app with embedded video chat, allowing employees to get in touch with their Chaplain Care Team face to face, from anywhere, 24/7.

“A chaplain says, ‘My time is your time, and what is important to you is important to me,’” Brown said. “I’m not going to judge you, I’m not going to criticize you; I may not even have a solution. But you know what, I’m going to listen, and I’m going to care enough to follow up with you and help you all I can.”

Better benefit

Marketplace Chaplains improves upon and helps workers get more out of their EAPs. For example, professional therapy counselors can be a great resource for employees, but studies show it takes as many as six sessions to build the trust it takes to achieve tangible results. These programs also tend to be reactive, rather than proactive, meaning they’re mostly used after an incident has already happened.

By making over 5,000 workplace visits across North America each week, Marketplace Chaplains lays the groundwork to build a relationship of trust between workers and chaplains.

“You never know how many people — if we weren’t there and hadn’t helped somebody — would have started going down the path of suicide or theft or spousal abuse or leaving the company,” Brown said.

And while EAPs can carry utilization rates as low as 7 percent, more than half of employees who have access to Marketplace Chaplains take advantage of the benefit.

“We help get employees connected into their other benefits, and to use an EAP,” Brown said. “We actually bolster those usage rates.”

Back to basics

As your organization grows, it can be difficult to offer the same level of employee care you had when you were just starting out. Marketplace Chaplains helps bring that human element back to your business.

“It’s not an event, it’s not self-help, it’s not a program,” Brown said. “It’s an ever-present resource.”

Learn more about how Marketplace Chaplains can help your employees feel and be their best by visiting mchapusa.com.