How Your Benefits Package Can Help Employees Manage Stress in the New School Year

At VSMG, we understand the unique challenges faced by Arizona school district employers and employees. For school district employees, the start of a new school year brings excitement, fresh goals, and opportunities to make an impact, while also ushering in a familiar challenge: stress. Teachers, administrators, and support staff often juggle demanding schedules, evolving expectations, and the personal pressures of balancing work and home life. For employers, this is more than just a seasonal issue—it’s a reminder that stress management is closely tied to employee engagement, retention, and overall well-being.

The good news? Your employee benefits package can play a pivotal role in helping employees reduce stress and thrive throughout the year. By making your communication timely and highlighting programs that directly support employee mental, physical, and financial health, you can show your employees that you care while helping them cope with the unique pressures of the back-to-school season. Here are just a few tips and tricks to help your employees manage stress now and throughout the new school year.  

1. Mental Health Resources: A Crucial Stress-Reliever

Perhaps the most direct way your employee benefits package can support employees during stressful times is through accessible mental health resources. The back-to-school rush can heighten anxiety levels. Reminding employees of the resources that are available and how to easily access those resources can make a HUGE difference.

• Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs): EAPs provide confidential counseling sessions and referrals, often at no cost to the employee. These services are particularly valuable for teachers managing classroom stress or staff balancing caregiving responsibilities at home.
• Teletherapy Options: Virtual counseling appointments are now widely included in many health plans. For busy employees and educators, the ability to talk to a licensed professional outside of work hours from the comfort of their home can reduce barriers to seeking support.
• Mindfulness and Resilience Training: Wellness workshops or digital tools that focus on meditation, stress management, and emotional resilience are included in many wellness programs. 

Highlighting these resources early in the school year can encourage staff to build healthy habits before stress peaks.

2. Physical Health Benefits: Supporting Energy and Balance

Physical well-being and stress are deeply connected. When employees neglect their health due to time constraints or fatigue, stress levels tend to rise. Your benefits package can support the physical health of your employees in ways that directly reduce stress, such as:

• Preventive Care: Encouraging employees to use their preventive care benefits (annual checkups, screenings, flu shots) helps them stay healthier and avoid missing work due to illness.
• Fitness Incentives: Providing incentives for employees to make time for exercise has been shown to be an evidence-based way to relieve stress. Incentives can include wellness stipends, fitness challenges, reward programs, gym discounts, and virtual classes.
• Chronic Condition Support: For employees managing conditions like hypertension or diabetes, benefits that provide condition management programs, nutrition counseling, or nurse coaching can reduce the stress of symptom management and navigating healthcare alone. 

Be sure to promote these resources at the start of the school year. Remind staff that maintaining physical health is not just possible, but also supported.

3. Financial Wellness: Reducing a Major Source of Stress

It’s no secret that financial worries are one of the top stressors for employees across all industries, especially the public sector. Benefits that support financial stability can have a significant impact on the reduction of stress in the workplace. Some benefits include:

• Retirement Readiness Programs: Access to retirement planning tools, webinars, or one-on-one sessions can ease the stress employees feel about their financial future.
• Voluntary Benefits: Programs like supplemental insurance, pet insurance, identity theft protection, or legal services offer peace of mind and affordable options for unexpected challenges.
• Budgeting and Debt Management Tools: Many EAPs or wellness vendors include financial coaching or online platforms to help employees plan for expenses and manage debt.

Communicating these benefits during the school year kickoff ensures employees know they have help available if financial worries weigh them down.

4. Time-Off Policies: Valuing Work-Life Balance

Even the most robust benefits package can fall short if employees don’t feel they have enough time to recharge. Stress often peaks when workloads increase and personal time feels scarce. Time-off policies can make a world of difference:

• Paid Time Off Reminders: Encourage employees to use their PTO strategically throughout the year, not just during holiday breaks.
• No Email Reminders: Encourage employees not to check emails when they are not on the clock. Encourage your employees to establish clear boundaries between their work and personal lives
• Leave Support: Educate employees on leave benefits, such as FMLA or parental leave, so they feel prepared should they need extended time away.

When employees know their district values their well-being outside of work, it helps reduce the pressure to “power through” stress alone.

5. Communication: The Key

Even the best benefits package won’t reduce stress if employees don’t know what’s included. Benefits communication is especially important at the start of the school year, when information overload is common.

• Make It Simple: Use short emails, flyers, or quick video clips to highlight stress-reducing benefits.
• Be Timely: Send reminders right before peak stress moments—such as the first week of school or during parent-teacher conference season.
• Use Multiple Channels: Teachers and staff consume information in different ways, so diversify your communication through email, posters in break rooms, and district apps.

Be sure to frame benefits in terms of immediate, practical solutions to stress, highlight the programs that directly address stress, and remind employees that their well-being is a priority for your district. 

In closing, stress is inevitable at the start of any new school year, but it doesn’t have to overwhelm and overload your employees. By leveraging and communicating your employee benefits package as a toolkit for employee mental health support, physical wellness, financial stability, and work-life balance, you provide your staff with the resources they need to thrive. When staff feel supported, they’re more likely to engage, perform, and create a positive, productive workplace that benefits everyone.

How VSMG Can Help

VSMG has spent over 20 years working with Arizona’s public sector employers to design benefits programs that meet their employees’ needs. From wellness programs and mental health support to childcare and financial wellness, we can help you build a strategy that reduces stress and boosts productivity. If you’re ready to improve your employee benefits, contact us today to see how we can support you.

If you’re building or expanding your employee benefits strategy, contact us today to learn how we can help support your goals!