Mental health support via apps vital for UK policyholders
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Members of workplace protection schemes are using online mental health support services attached to their insurance policy more than ever, data has suggested.
According to user data from Canada Life’s mental wellbeing app, myStrength2, the number one mental health support category that UK employees have been seeking is around mindfulness.
With figures from mental health and wellbeing charity Mind suggesting one in four people in the UK experience a mental health problem of some kind each year, Canada Life’s head of product and proposition for the group market, Jo Turner, said access to support was more important now than ever before.
The latest data from myStrength revealed that in 2023, the mindfulness category accounted for more than a third (36 per cent) of activities completed on the app.
This was followed by sleep, with more than a quarter (27 per cent) of employees completing these activities within.
Anxiety and stress related activities each accounted for more than one in 10 (13 per cent), followed by depression support (11 per cent).
The top activities completed on myStrength were as follows:
|
Activity Title |
Category |
Usage |
|
The Mindful Check-in |
Mindfulness |
15% |
|
Anxiety and Your Emotional Landscape |
Anxiety |
13% |
|
Conscious Noticing |
Mindfulness |
12% |
|
How We Can Help With Sleep |
Sleep |
11% |
|
Depression and Your Emotions |
Depression |
11% |
|
Mindful Breathing for Beginners |
Mindfulness |
9% |
|
What’s Up Sleep New |
Sleep |
8% |
|
The Sleep Diary New |
Sleep |
8% |
|
Stress Reduction Strategies |
Stress |
7% |
|
Inspiration: Laughter Heals |
Stress |
6% |
Turner said: “Now more so than ever, employers have a role to play in proactively supporting their employees in the workplace with their mental health – not just when a medical intervention is required, but with preventative measures to support their overall wellbeing too.
“The myStrength app is just one of the many ways in which employers can help employees take positive steps to improve their quality of life.
“Whether it is gaining support for a better night’s sleep, or finding moments of peace and quiet within a busy day, it can really help in improving the wellbeing of employees across the country.”
Canada Life launched the myStrength app just a year ago, in February 2024.
The app is available to all existing and future Group Income Protection, Group Life and Group Critical Illness customers of Canada Life, and to all employees and their immediate family members over the age of 16, whether they are insured under a policy or not.
