It’s mental health awareness month, and Amazon announced they’ll be providing mental health benefits for all U.S. employees and their family members. It’s called the Resources For Living program and, of course, it’s free. Employees and anyone living in their homes have access to free one-on-one counseling sessions, whether it’s in person, video or over the phone. They’ll also receive self-care programs, a stress resource center and suicide-prevention support access. Amazon will fund up to 24 million counseling sessions per year for its U.S. employees.
Good PR for Amazon
Of course, we can’t ignore the fact that this comes months after one of Amazon’s warehouses tried to form a Union. One of the employee grievances was lack of benefits and lack of care for worker’s wellbeing. The union vote landed on the side of Amazon, keeping their warehouses union-free, but perhaps they’re taking some of the complaints into consideration.
No matter what, this is a good move for Amazon and its employees. The labor shortage shows us that many Americans opt out of the workforce until they can find a job that meets their criteria. More benefits and higher wages are at the top of many job lists in 2021, and despite the retail giant’s PR disaster that was 2020, Amazon could be leading the pack on both fronts.
Mental health awareness
According to Mental Health America, more than 26 million adults suffered from untreated mental health concerns. We all know that 2020 was a stressful year for everyone, and as we head back to work, the memory lingers in the backs of our minds. Thankfully, young people have been putting mental health at the forefront, especially in the workplace. By highlighting burnout and insisting on healthy company culture, Millennials have really changed how many employers look at their approach to mental health.
Even if they don’t actually care about their employees, managers care about their bottom line. If workers aren’t at their best, they can’t produce their best work, and, therefore, you make less money. So, it only makes sense for companies like Amazon to offer mental health benefits, more paid time off and more.
