Employers are failing to tailor and prioritise mental health benefit solutions to diverse populations in their workforce, according to Mercer.
The advice firm revealed there was a disconnect between requirements for workforces and the benefits employers were putting in place.
Angelita Graham, partner and Toronto office leader at Mercer Canada, explained the mis-match in a panel debate at the diversity and inclusion in insurance festival Dive In.
Graham revealed to delegates that Mercer’s Inside Employee’s Minds survey found that while mental health ranked as the number two benefits issue for women and people of colour, many traditional benefit plans were not really designed around the lens of inclusivity in terms of sexual orientation, gender or race.
“There is a lack of inclusivity in some of the benefits that we’re seeing,” Graham said.
“The good news is Canadian organisations rank mental health as number three, but I think there is an opportunity to do more.
“And what I mean by that is when we look at the data just over 60% of Canadian organisations were addressing mental health adequately and less than 60% were dealing with burnout – and burnout is also a factor in terms of mental health.
“So, there is a gap there as well in terms of all the factors of mental health being not completely addressed by employers,” she added.
But this all presents an opportunity to employers to ensure they have more inclusive benefits.
“Are your benefits meeting the needs of your diverse population?” Graham continued.
“It is really going to start with data – really looking at the data and assessing and reviewing the gaps in your benefits programme relative to the diverse population that you have.”