Over the past year, people around the world have faced a multitude of mental and physical health challenges, ranging from stress about pandemic-related health concerns to anxiety about personal finances to anger about social inequity. These challenges have been no different for XPO’s global workforce. Since the early days of the pandemic, tens of thousands of XPO employees around the world have worked the frontlines, managing the distribution of food, medical equipment and other critical items. At the same time, thousands of other employees worked remotely and dealt with the challenges of isolation amid community lockdowns.

For many of us, our work and home lives have blurred into one long period of work. We’ve sacrificed balanced lives as we’ve helped our children with distance learning, managed care and resources for elderly parents and tried to make sense of events happening around us. Our physical and emotional resilience has been tested. People have naturally felt fatigued, overwhelmed and burned out – all mental health challenges brought on by the stressors we’re still enduring.

Everyone deserves to feel well, and good mental health is key to a general sense of wellbeing. Good mental health allows us to bring the best version of ourselves forward. For our families, for work and for ourselves, too. 

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it provides a good reminder that now, more than ever, it’s important to safeguard our mental health. At XPO, we’ve made it a priority to provide multiple resources for our team members and their families. Some of our programs address mental health issues directly, while others provide additional support during this challenging time. Here are a few of the resources we provide to our US-based employees: 

• The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available at no cost to our employees and their dependent family members. It provides assistance with mental health counseling, crisis consultation, legal issues, personal finances, work-life balance and more. Employees are eligible even if they don’t utilize an XPO medical plan. The benefit is available 24/7, 365 days a year. Employees and their dependents are encouraged to visit XPO Benefits Healthy Resources for additional information.
• Anthem, through its LiveHealth Online app, allows users to access psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers across the country virtually or in-person.
• Maven focuses on care for women and families. It provides access to professionals for pregnancy care, adoption and child rearing. Maven can be accessed virtually at no cost to employees enrolled in an XPO medical plan.
• Through our Added Benefits platform, Perks at Work and its Community Online Academy provide free classes for employees and their children. Perks also has plenty of discounts on things we need for family and home.
• Aflac offers additional coverage for sickness, hospitalization and accidents to help with unexpected expenses.
• PayActiv allows employees to receive a pay advance rather than use credit cards for unexpected expenses. 
• Kashable provides responsible, low-cost loans that are repaid through payroll deductions.

I encourage all employees to ask for help if they need it. We have resources available to ensure employees can take care of their own mental health, as well as that of their family members. We’re grateful for all the efforts our employees have made during this unprecedented period, and we’re committed to continuing to identify resources and programs to ensure our colleagues are always able to be their best self.