City of Seattle sheds light on mental health

Limeade customer City of Seattle hosted a Mental Health Awareness Week to ignite conversations about mental health and provide more resources to help City of Seattle employees and families through challenging times.  

The City’s highest enrolled medical plan had 24% increased spend and 21% increased utilization on mental health services in 2020. In addition to the claims data showing more people seeking help, City of Seattle noted NAMI statistics that 60% of adults with a mental health illness do not receive care, and decided to take action to better support employees and families with education, access and awareness. 

“Seattle Sheds Light on Mental Health” was a citywide week filled with well-being activities, webinars and keynote speakers to support employees. 

Seattle sheds light on mental health 

During the week of awareness, City of Seattle featured a packed schedule of events for employees to participate in — with a range of key topics including compassion, anxiety, burnout, resilience and more. According to Seattle Human Resources (SHR), the goal of this week-long event was to: 

• Normalize self-care and mental health care  
• Reduce the stigma of mental illness  
• Elevate employee and family mental health resources and benefits  
• Offer education opportunities  
• Talk about anxiety, trauma, depression, coping, resiliency and growth 

“We acknowledge the trials and traumas employees and families are experiencing. To create a more compassionate workplace where employees feel supported and can thrive, we’re embracing Limeade’s science of care concept and tackling some harder aspects of well-being and equity. To best serve our community/residents, we have to take care of ourselves.”

– Amanda Hutchinson, Health and Well-being Advisor, Seattle Human Resources 

How Limeade supported City of Seattle’s Mental Health Awareness Week: 

1. Dr. Laura Hamill, CEO, Paris Phoenix Group and Chief Science Advisor, Limeade, kicked off the week with a keynote speaker session entitled “Changing How We Think About Mental Health at Work,” where over 100 attendees learned about burnout, care for mental health in the workplace and compassion for self, peers and at the organizational level. 

2. Limeade helped the City of Seattle launch a bundle of 17 activities to support emotional well-being in the City’s well-being experience, Reach, with topics including: 4 Ways to Fight Mental Health Stigma, Cultivating Joy in Times of Pain, Acknowledging Loneliness and more. 

The importance of mental health programs at work 

The City of Seattle’s Mental Health Awareness Week was one of many efforts and programs to support employees with mental health awareness, concerns or personal issues. Learn more strategies for managing and supporting mental health at work, here. 

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