Canadian HR Reporter

www.hrreporter.com 3 "Some employers said, 'Hey, we really want to focus on mental health, and let's add things like psychotherapy to coverage.' So, yeah, I'm seeing a lot; EAP usage is up." Many companies are also reevaluating their EAP providers on what they're offering in terms of virtual care. Others have inquired about taking out the mental health components under paramedical and putting it in a separate bucket, he says, "so taking like psychology and psychotherapy and giving that a separate maximum from physiotherapy and massage and acupuncture." A majority of organizations continued benefits during the layoff period, and some even added additional support; for example, providing access to an EAP for a year instead of one to three months after a layoff, says Allen. "One of the great things that's happened with the pandemic is we've really seen a resurgence of empathetic leadership, which is so important in take four hours off to go and sit inside a walk-in clinic to get something done, and they can do it in five minutes over the telephone or the computer…' whatever that cost is, it's quickly rationalized." The adoption of a virtual treatment program on the mental health side has "been terrific," says Carbell, with regular treatment providers, such as primary care physicians, also going virtual. "I'm hoping that that has some legs to be able to continue on because it's really provided a quicker access." Focus on mental health, EAPs On the mental health services side, all employers of choice have jumped in front of this and brought it to the forefront, says MacKay. "If they had any EFAP — employee and family assistance program — they started really heightening the services of that to their employees [or] they were looking to add things to make it easier to access services [like] virtual cognitive behavioural therapy," he says. "We were going to get to these newer things eventually, but with the pandemic, we just leapfrogged the introduction and commercialization of a lot of these things because the need was there, so let's get it out. Now the big question is what kind of legs will these things have? Will they stay in place as we go down the road? I think they will. But the proof will be in the pudding." It's been interesting to watch employers' reactions to the economic downturn, with some scaling back benefits coverage while others doubled down on mental health practitioners, says Gory. trying times and in any times, actually," she says, adding that some employers are providing EAP access to newer job categories such as part-time workers, "knowing that it's a trying situation." For several years, disability was the big motivator behind those kinds of changes, says Allen. "I'm really seeing a shift to '[We're] just making sure that we have that productivity, that we keep people up.' The crisis has really brought home to employers how important employee mental health and well-being is just in their ability to function every day." Disability trends As for the area of short- and long-term disability, it's been interesting to see the effects of the lockdowns, says MacKay. For example, with STDs, it was about figuring out if some of the claims were genuine in the early days. "Everyone was trying to narrow down what qualifies for someone to be off work," he says. "Some providers actually coded it as COVID-19 while others may have just put it down as a respiratory [issue]. So… we did see some spiking in short-term disability claims activity." But it's anticipated that the virus will have an impact on LTDs, probably more so on the mental health anxiety side, says MacKay. "If someone did have COVID-19 and it made its way to an LTD, how reluctant are they to come back to work, from their own personal health perspective? And what kind of mental health issues are they creating?" he says. "Or if someone else was off on a long- term disability claim and they are now CANADIANS KEEN ON VIRTUAL HEALTH CARE "The big question is what kind of legs will these things have? Will they stay in place as we go down the road?" Noel MacKay, Cowan Insurance Group immunocompromised, are they willing to go back to the workplace? And how is that impacting their mental health? That's yet to be seen though that's a pretty big blip on everyone's LTD radar: What is our claiming activity going to be and the duration of claims relative to COVID-19 from a mental health perspective?" The two big drivers of disability have always been mental health and musculoskeletal issues, such as repetitive strains, says Allen. "With so many people working from home, the risk of that is extreme because people don't follow ergonomic principles at home — a lot of people can't because they're in cramped situations and they're not really aware of what they should be doing. And we're already seeing people complaining about pain and aches and things of that sort." That's why it's important for employers to be investing in services that are pre- ventative, as they would for mental health, to help people cope with the new situation, as opposed to just waiting for the pain and seeing a chiropractor, which is the traditional benefit model, she says. 78% Percentage of people who say virtual health care should be provided in benefit plans 43% Percentage of people who would seek online mental-health services 67% Percentage of people who would be willing to get medication from an online pharmacy Source: Green Shield Canada

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