Fostering Accessibility and Inclusion in the Workplace: How Employers Can Support ALL Employees

As an employer, you know a passionate, well-supported workforce is essential to your success. But what do we mean when we say “well-supported?” We’re referring to creating a truly accessible environment where every single employee, regardless of their physical or mental health status, can readily receive the support, tools, and resources they need to thrive. 

Mental health is a key component of this equation. While physical disabilities are often the focus of workplace inclusion, it’s equally important to consider mental health accessibility, particularly for employees with invisible disabilities, which are both physical and mental health conditions that significantly impact their lives but may not be immediately obvious to others.

Here’s the issue: despite the growing recognition of the importance of mental health, there remains a significant gap in access to mental health resources. In fact, EBSA investigators report that most employers still skimp on behavioral benefits, providing inaccurate, inaccessible, and often unaffordable resources to their struggling employees. In this blog, we’ll explore how employers can close the gap, promote accessibility, and create a culture of support for all employees.

Accessibility Starts with Culture 

Building an accessible workplace begins with a cultural commitment to understanding and addressing mental health challenges, often as they intersect with disability. In order to create a culture that prioritizes accessibility, businesses must ensure that their employees feel safe, seen, and supported, enough so they don’t feel hesitant to disclose their mental health struggles or ask for accommodations.

Consider creating a safe space where employees can confidentially discuss their needs for mental health support. This could include providing accessible channels for requesting accommodations or simply offering reassurance that their requests will be taken seriously and handled with compassion.

Accessibility and Mental Health Awareness: A Training Opportunity

While policies and accommodations are crucial, changing a workplace culture to be genuinely supportive of mental health requires a serious commitment to mental health education. To make mental health resources truly accessible, start by implementing regular mental health training for all employees, including managers and leadership. This training should focus on reducing stigma, promoting understanding, and giving managers the ability to recognize when an employee may need support.

Teaching your workforce how to approach mental health challenges with empathy and respect will help create an environment where employees feel safe to ask for help, even when dealing with invisible disabilities.

Redefining Accessibility: More than Just Physical Spaces 

When people think about accessibility in the workplace, they often focus on physical accommodations like ramps, accessible restrooms, or adjustable desks. However, true accessibility goes far beyond just physical elements – it must take mental health into account as well.

It means taking a hard look at your company’s mental health resources and how they are made available to employees. While employee assistance services, otherwise known as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), and other mental health benefits are common, many employees still find them difficult to access due to lack of flexibility, stigma, or complexity.

Let’s review some strategies that can help close the gap:

• Make mental health resources easily accessible by offering flexible counseling hours and options for digital therapeutics. When services are available remotely, employees working from home or in hybrid environments will have easier, on-demand access to the care they need.
• Ensure that employees with disabilities have equal access to these resources by providing accommodations, such as digital mental health tools that are fully accessible for people with vision impairments or therapy sessions that are available in formats suited to neurodivergent employees.

Addressing Accessibility Through Inclusive Policies 

To continue bridging the mental health accessibility gap, it’s important to prioritize inclusion in the workplace. We recommend implementing inclusive policies that specifically address the mental health needs of all employees, including those with disabilities. Start by reconsidering how you structure your benefits and offer accommodations:

Mental Health Benefits and Employee Assistance Services 

First and foremost, ensure that mental health coverage is comprehensive and accessible. Beyond the basics of therapy and counseling, mental health resources should include workshops, digital mental health tools, and psychoeducation resources. For employees with disabilities, this could mean offering a variety of service options, such as text-based mental health apps or on-demand counseling that can be accessed outside traditional office hours.

Additionally, integrate mental health support into your overall wellness strategy, so employees understand that mental health is as important as physical health. This can help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health care and make it easier for employees to seek help when needed.

Flexible Work Arrangements for Inclusion in the Workplace

Mental health challenges can often be exacerbated by rigid schedules or the expectation to constantly perform at high levels without room for recovery. Offering flexible work arrangements like adjusted start times, regular break schedules, or work-from-home opportunities can help employees manage their symptoms.

Allowing for flexible time to attend therapy appointments, recharge during periods of heightened stress, or simply take a mental health day is another important step in encouraging accessibility. Employees with disabilities, especially those with mental health conditions, will benefit from the ability to self-manage their work schedules to better align with their needs. Plus, if you’re wondering how to encourage diversity and inclusion in the workplace, this is a great place to start. 

Making Accommodations for Mental Health Disabilities

Accommodations for mental health should be considered just as important as physical accommodations. Employees with mental health disabilities may need modifications in the way tasks are assigned, deadlines are set, or how communication takes place. For example, employees with anxiety may benefit from a quieter, more structured work environment.

Employers can offer job restructuring or reassign certain duties to other team members if an employee’s mental health prevents them from effectively performing specific tasks. This type of flexible approach ensures that employees can continue to contribute meaningfully to the team, even if their capacity fluctuates.

Accessibility and the Role of Technology

In today’s digital age, technology plays an essential role in making mental health resources accessible to all employees. There are a variety of innovative tools available, from digital therapeutics to self-paced educational modules that teach employees how to manage stress and anxiety. Employers can invest in platforms that provide easy-to-use, secure, and accessible mental health resources that employees with disabilities can also navigate with ease. 

Workplace mental health initiatives should include both high-tech and low-tech options so that all employees — regardless of their individual needs or abilities — have ways to seek support in ways that are most effective for them.

Building an Accessible, Inclusive Future with Perusta

Still learning how to determine what counts as a disability? Still striving to embrace inclusion in the workplace? At Perusta, we believe truly accessible mental health resources are the answer. We’re your partner in creating a supportive work environment and honoring the unique challenges of your disabled and non-disabled team members. We believe in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as the gold standard mental health treatment for mental health disabilities, and we’re always striving to make employee assistance services, like digital therapeutics, accessible to all who need them. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution for mental health, but you can still find a way to accommodate each and every employee for the benefit of your whole organization. Learn more on our website.