“It’s ok to not be ok”
SAP is a global company that specialises in enterprise software solutions. Mental health and combating employee stress is high on the priority list, especially at its Dutch branch. The ‘Are you ok?’ project and the Mental Wellbeing Ambassadors that emerged as a result are two examples of this. Simone Langewouters, Health, Safety & Wellbeing Officer at SAP: “This policy works, but it isn’t a quick win. This is something that takes years.”
Just like HumanCapitalCare, our partners see ‘prevention’ as an important component when it comes to stress or mental health in general. SAP shares this vision and has itself been active for many years in promoting the mental health of its employees. In cooperation with HumanCapitalCare, they are pursuing this policy through annual health checks and providing training to their employees.
Prevention policy
“We started our ‘Are you ok?’ campaign in 2019”, Simone Langewouters says, beginning her story. “It’s ok to not be ok – that’s what it’s all about. This issue came into play for us even before that campaign, because like many other companies, we already had an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a 24-hour helpline for employees and their family members. They can turn to it for help with all kinds of problems: going through a divorce, struggling with debt or suffering from mental issues.”
Around 2010, SAP itself developed a Business Health Culture Index (BHCI). This is one part of their employee survey. “The findings are very important to us. The questions in that survey relate to the physical and mental health of our employees. It allows us to monitor how health levels are doing. What we have noticed here is that the more involved we get, the lower absenteeism is. Our absenteeism rate is quite low, around two percent. But we find that our policy helps colleagues return to work permanently sometimes two to three months earlier.”
Mental wellbeing ambassador
The ‘Are you ok?’ project gave Simone the idea of creating mental wellbeing ambassadors. “We wanted an approachable and personal way for employees to share their stories. We had career guidance coaches at SAP. Yet these colleagues would often show an affinity for the topic of mental health themselves as well as ‘soft skills’. Within our organisation, I started asking around to see who was open to it and I got ten responses. Alongside HumanCapitalCare, we then started training them. This programme has now been adopted globally at SAP.”
But what exactly does a mental wellbeing ambassador do? “We are really conversation partners, but we don’t diagnose anyone. That’s not the role we play. We listen and give practical advice. I try not to delve too deeply into the problem, because that isn’t my job. Our colleagues can see the ambassador profiles, which they use to decide who they want to talk with.”
Support system
Within any organisation, it is then important to create a support system. “I started by getting the mental health first aid certificate myself. Once you have that, you’re a company emergency team member for mental health. Having certification often improves your level of acceptance internally. Many of my colleagues around the world have gone through the same training. After that, we also started training the management team. It’s not only about writing a health policy, you also have to put it into practice and promote it. That takes time. Over the past several years, about three to five percent of our colleagues have made use of this system.”
Tip
This policy works for SAP, but can other employers implement it too? Apart from all the legal and practical prerequisites, Simone has one other important tip. “If organisations want to do this, they need to remember one thing: it isn’t a quick win. A lot of companies want to do something about long-term employability, but creating and implementing a policy takes several years. You do notice positive changes with the youth. They find their way to a coach more easily.”
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ANWB
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