Who’s more likely to use their employer’s mental health benefits?

St. Paul, MN — Younger workers are far more likely than their older co-workers to use employer-provided mental health benefits, results of a recent survey show.

Securian Financial, a provider of group life and supplemental health insurance benefits, surveyed more than 2,500 U.S. workers from four generations. The respondents reflect the age distribution of the current workforce and the mix of ethnicities in the general population, a Securian press release states.

Millennial workers (74%) were most likely to report using mental health services, just ahead of those in Generation Z (73%). By comparison, 58% of Gen X workers and 49% of baby boomers said they used the services.

Among the Gen Z and millennial workers, 65% and 60%, respectively, indicated that it’s “very important” that employers provide mental health services. Fewer than half of Gen Xers (49%) and baby boomers (45%) agreed.

The top mental wellness benefits used were mental health days (54%), subscriptions to meditation/mindfulness classes or apps (39%), workshops or seminars that focus on mental wellness (35%), mental health coverage through medical insurance (34%), and financial planning seminars or counseling (34%).

The most common benefits offered by employers are mental health coverage through medical insurance (70%), set number of free counseling sessions via an employee assistance program (57%), virtual counseling (49%), in-person counseling outside of work (41%) and grief support (41%).

“Addressing mental wellness in the workplace has never been more crucial,” Darin Reeser, a regional director for supplemental health benefits at Securian, said in a press release. “With burnout and the ‘great resignation’ still in our midst, better understanding employee needs, expectations and concerns about mental wellness is pivotal.”