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V O L . X X I I N O. X I H E A LT H Y B U S I N E S S 16 K ennebec Technologies has invested millions of dollars in recent years in new preci- sion manufacturing equipment and technology. But some of the company's most valuable investments, says President Charles "Wick" Johnson, have been those the company has made in the mental and emotional well-being of its 65 employees. Kennebec Technologies has offered an Employee Assistance Program, or EAP, for a decade. It subsidizes continuing education and professional development, and it has launched a raft of other initiatives to let employees know that the work they do and their personal well-being are valued. In 2014, the Augusta company was named a "Psychologically Healthy Workplace" by the Maine chapter of the American Psychological Association. "Companies are not happiness machines," says Johnson. "But that doesn't mean we can't be sensitive to employees' changing circumstances. You can't overstate how valuable it is to have a stable workforce that is committed and engaged. And you have to look at it on a lot of different levels." A healthy workforce is also critical to the company's ability to serve its customers, Johnson adds. "If we had one employee who became disabled, it really hurts us," he says. "It's abso- lutely in the company's best interest." A growing awareness of a growing problem Kennebec Technologies is one of a growing number of small and mid-sized companies that is addressing the mental and emotional needs of its employees as well as their physical health. According to the Society of Human Resource Management, half of businesses with 50 employees or less provide EAPs, up from 48% in 2011. Among companies that size, 82% provide some mental health coverage, up from 71% percent in 2011. "I think that the awareness level is up to mental health needs," says Rick Dacri, a Kennebunk-based human resource consultant. "I think manag- ers are much more sensitive than they have been in the past, and there's a greater amount of use of EAPs to be able to help them tackle these kinds of issues." More employers are tuning in to the prevalence of mental health and substance abuse issues the work force, and the impact on performance, pro- ductivity, health insurance costs, and employee retention if those issues go unaddressed, Dacri adds. Nearly a quarter of the U.S. work- force experience a mental or sub- stance abuse disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control. More days of work loss and impairment are caused by mental illness than by other chronic health conditions. People with mental and emotional health issues are more likely to also suffer from many of those chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, asthma or stroke, all of which can be costly to treat, according to a 2012 report conducted by PwC, the global consultancy. What's more, on-the-job stress can lead to mental and emotional health issues. Workers with high job demands and job strain are at increased risk of sick leave due to mental disorders, according to a study in the August 2015 issue of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Employers find that they also need to address the stress faced by a grow- ing proportion of the work force that is part of the "sandwich" generation, providing care for children and elderly relatives. Nearly half of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or finan- cially supporting a grown child, accord- ing to a 2013 study by the Pew Research Center. Two thirds of caregivers are employed, according to the 2014 study conducted by the New York-based Families and Work Institute. Caring for the caregivers Donna Betts experienced this loss of productivity firsthand when she was trying to get help for her grown son, who suffered from depression. At the time, she worked in development at a non-profit agency — fundraising, meet- ing with donors, and planning events. "I would walk into my office, close my door and start making phone calls to find resources to help my son," Betts recalls. "Even when I wasn't making phone calls, I was just worry- ing about him. My capacity to work and my output was greatly dimin- ished. I had a very supportive boss. But it wasn't fair to my employer." Betts' son committed suicide in 2009 at the age of 23. She moved to a larger organization, but that job came with more responsibilities and stress, which felt unmanageable. Ultimately she took a leave of absence and quit. In 2012, she launched Family Hope, a non-profit agency which helps families, friends, and caregivers of the mentally ill find the help they need. e Scarborough-based nonprofit provides a variety of services, like the Family Support Navigator Program, which helps families find therapists who are taking new patients, who take a family's insurance, and finding out what the wait time is for an appointment. "at piece is time consuming," says Betts. Family Hope is working with KMA Human Resources Consulting to make this service available to small business owners, to help employees with loved ones who are mentally ill. "When you take care of someone with a serious mental illness, there's a lot of stress and anxiety, which can also lead to physical health problems," says Betts, executive director of the Scarborough- based agency. "A lot of family members MaineGeneral's Workplace Health offers expert Occupational Medicine and Employee Health & Productivity Management services for employers of all sizes in the greater Kennebec Valley. Good health is good for business. You can count on Workplace Health to be your partner to help maintain and improve the health of your workforce. Locations • Thayer Center for Health, 149 North Street, Waterville — 207-872-4260 • 15 Enterprise Drive, Augusta — 207-621-7550 • Onsite at your workplace To learn more about MaineGeneral's Workplace Health, call 207-872-4455. Trust. Workplace Health & Wellness Investing in mental health Companies taking a look at employees' issues beyond the workplace B y J e n n i f e r V a n A l l e n Addressing needs Among companies with 50 employees or less: S O U R C E : Society of Human Resource Management 50% provide an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 82% provide some mental health coverage

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