THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BENEFITS AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS AND EMPLOYEE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Abstract
Mental health problems among workers have become a critical concern, affecting productivity, absenteeism, and organizational sustainability. Organizational support, particularly through employee benefits and wellness programs, is believed to play an important role in maintaining employees’ mental health. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between employee benefits, wellness programs, and employees’ mental health problems using secondary data from the “Mental Health in Tech Survey.” A quantitative analytical approach with a cross-sectional design was employed. The sample was obtained through a selection and data-cleaning process from 1,259 respondents, resulting in 200 respondents who met the research criteria. The analysis included univariate methods (frequency distributions and percentages) and bivariate analysis using the Chi-Square test. The analysis of 200 respondents showed that employee benefits were significantly associated with perceived consequences of discussing mental health issues in the workplace (p=0.046), whereas wellness programs were not significantly associated with perceived consequences of discussing mental health issues in the workplace (p=0.447). These findings indicate that employee benefits were significantly associated with perceived consequences of discussing mental health issues in the workplace, although the strength of the association was weak (Cramer's V = 0.18). In contrast, wellness programs were not significantly associated with perceived consequences of discussing mental health issues in the workplace. This study demonstrates that benefits have a significant relationship with employees’ mental health, whereas wellness programs do not show a significant relationship. Therefore, organizations should optimize the accessibility of mental health benefits and strengthen the implementation of wellness programs to create a more supportive workplace environment for discussing mental health.