Starbucks Canada is partnering with Morneau Shepell Ltd. to make LifeWorks available to all 24,000 Canadian employees and their family members.
The digital wellness platform and app offers access to critical support services including uncapped, short-term 24/7 counselling sessions and financial advice. It also includes rewards and recognition, proactive advice and learning modules and assessment tools.
This month, the company will also begin dedicated mental-health training for Canadian store managers to ensure they have the tools and knowledge to guide their teams at any stage of a mental-health crisis.
Read: Starbucks Canada increases mental-health benefits to $5,000
“Caring for partners is fundamental to who we are at our core as a company,” says Cara Beck, vice-president of partner resources at Starbucks Canada, in a press release. “We know that now, more than ever, we have a responsibility as a company to do more to support partners wherever they are on their wellness journey. Our commitment is unwavering.”
This is the latest step in Starbucks Canada’s commitment to supporting partners and breaking the stigma around mental health. In 2016, the company increased its mental-health benefits from $400 a year to $5,000. For three consecutive years, the coverage has been the most-used benefit behind drug coverage among Canadian benefits-eligible employees.
In January, Starbucks also introduced free subscriptions to the meditation app Headspace to make mental-health support even more accessible.