An excellent article in the ITIJ magazine quotes from a recent survey conducted by Aetna in UAE, UK, Singapore and the US demonstrate that many employees are reluctant to access health benefits due to stigma fear.
Full article here: https://www.itij.com/latest/news/employees-reluctant-access-health-benefits-due-stigma-fear
Key finding include:
29 per cent fear that their career progression may be impacted if HR/management believes they are struggling
27 per cent fear revealing their mental health details to HR/management
24 per cent expressed uncertainty about how to access existing health and wellbeing benefits
20 per cent of respondents also said that they don’t use health and wellbeing benefits due to worries about how their colleagues will perceive them if they do
Close to 50% of those employees interviewed claimed they would be likely to use health and wellbeing benefits if they were properly introduced to them.
While the amount of companies that offer health, wellness and safety benefits is increasing alongside with the number of innovative providers from traditional and tech environments, a major issue remains proper communication and employee education.
A key area to invest in what is also called "human factor".