Digital Startups Are Challenging the Veterans of Employee Assistance

For the better part of a century, companies have offered various levels of support to stressed-out employees, with substance abuse treatment, counseling sessions, and referrals to therapists. Those initiatives—started in the 1940s to combat alcoholism on the factory floor—helped create a multibillion-dollar industry of companies that administer programs and provide a buffer of anonymity for workers fearful of the stigma attached to asking for help. But rising rates of distress because of Covid-19, coupled with an accelerated shift to virtual health-care services that accompanied the pandemic, have yielded a slew of newcomers seeking to unseat the veterans of the business. “Finally we have innovation occurring in the mental health field,” says Mike Thompson, chief executive officer of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, which represents 12,000 employers. “This had been a sleepy place.”

Dozens of companies have jumped in, aiming to help struggling employees find the care they need. Investment in such startups more than doubled last year to $5.5 billion, according to researcher CB Insights, and 10 of those companies have valuations topping $1 billion. The newcomers offer services ranging from mindfulness training and sleep apps to comprehensive programs that match workers with caregivers. “The mental health system is hard to navigate,” says Darcy Gruttadaro, director of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health. “These digital health companies have seized on the critical need to make access and navigation easier.”