The COVID-19 pandemic has created several deeply personal challenges for today’s workforce, as isolation, illness, financial uncertainty and the general ‘unknown’ force employees to deal with conditions few have experienced before. This presentation will focus on the unique stressors created by COVID-19; the behavioral health concerns, such as anxiety, that stem from these stressors; and how disability and absence carriers are evolving their offerings and technology solutions to make financial, medical and behavioral health support more readily accessible. The session will delve into what employers can and should be talking to their carriers about as well as what they should be sharing with their employees to ensure they are taking advantage of these benefits.
Key takeaways from this presentation include:
• The unique stressors amplifying behavioral health concerns in employees that are physically healthy as well as those that are managing a disabling condition, including those coping with the serious illness of a loved one
• The common accompaniment of behavioral health issues in employees that experience a disabling event and the need to address both physical and mental health simultaneously
• The changes made to disability and absence benefits and technology to help all participants—not just those who submit a claim—in their efforts to cope with the current environment
• The resources available to employees through disability coverage such as remote counseling, debt and credit management, identity theft services and investment planning
• How disability and absence carriers and administrators are proactively identifying select indicators of behavioral health and providing resources to help employees.
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