WorksWell

OSUSPP has been helping our campus to create a culture of care since 2006. Since then, nearly 22,000 students, staff and faculty have been trained in REACH© as suicide prevention gatekeepers who have learned how to reach out to their fellow Buckeyes who may be at risk for suicide. In 2019 the Ohio State Employee Assistance Program met with OSUSPP to learn more about the outreach and education initiatives offered to undergraduate, graduate and professional students, and discussed collaborating to implement suicide prevention for faculty and staff as well. Given the number of helpful and supportive mental health services and resources already available through the EAP program, this partnership was envisioned to advance assessing and addressing mental health and suicide concerns for employees on the academic and medical campuses. In 2021, this partnership formally developed into Ohio State WorksWell, a program that offers a voluntary and confidential mental health screening to employee groups and that emphasizes the importance of employee wellness and access to helpful resources and supportive services.

Ohio State Employee Assistance Program

EAP (hr.osu.edu/benefits/eap)

How Can I Partner with Ohio State WorksWell?

We hope that you will consider partnering with Ohio State WorksWell to create a culture of caring about your employees’ mental health and well-being! Any employee group can choose to engage in the Ohio State WorksWell Roadmap to Success process with their department, office or program.

How the Ohio State WorksWell Roadmap to Success works

1. A department leader initiates contact with either EAP or OSUSPP to convey interest and learn more.

2. Ohio State WorksWell arranges a first meeting with a small group of department/program/college stakeholders to educate them on the process and to set up the implementation phase. At this time a date range to roll out the Interactive Screen Program Stress and Depression Questionnaire will also be established.

3. Employees receive an email from an employee group leader inviting them to voluntarily complete the screening anonymously and confidentially.

4. The Ohio State WorksWell counselor assigned to that department roll out receives a notification each time a questionnaire has been completed. The counselor reads the scored responses which helps them to understand the severity of that employee’s presenting mental and emotional health concerns.

5. The counselor initiates contact with the employee and invites the them to communicate further via the website’s confidential and anonymous dialogue system. The counselor can then answer questions, provide helpful next steps and suggest resources.

6. At the end of the roll out, the Ohio State WorksWell counselor aggregates the de-identified data regarding usage, severity and themes that were present in responses and prepares a department report (no employee names or any identifiable information is presented).

7. Ohio State WorksWell counselor arranges a final debriefing meeting with department stakeholders to provide the data, facilitate departmental conversation about next steps and to make recommendations for additional support and strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Helpful Resources for Employees

• EAP
• HR Employee Resource Center
• OSUSPP
• OSPF
• AFSP
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• Local and National Resources
• REACH Trainings
• Ohio State Couple and Family Therapy Clinic
• Ohio State Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Lab
• Office of Institutional Equity
• Kirwin Institute
• Office of Diversity and Inclusion
• Military and Veteran Services
• Department of Public Safety