May 5, 2021
By Lisa Woods, Vice President, Physical and Emotional Well-being
The unprecedented global events of the past year impacted our lives in ways many of us couldn’t have imagined. These events put an emphasis on how critical it truly is to care for our emotional well-being.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40% of U.S. adults had reported struggling with mental health or substance abuse over a period of 30 days in a September 2020 survey.
Today, we are taking our benefits to a new level by more than tripling the number of no cost, confidential counseling sessions available to all U.S. associates and their families through Resources for Living.
Starting this month, all U.S. associates and their household members, including dependent children up to age 26, will be eligible for up to 10 no-cost counseling sessions per concern.
RFL licensed professionals are available 24/7 to listen and offer caring advice. What types of concerns does RFL cover? Just about anything that affects emotional well-being including stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationships (personal and professional), family conflict, substance abuse, coping with change, parenting and more.
These no-cost counseling sessions come in addition to an already robust well-being focus at Walmart. We’ve waived the co-pay for Doctor On Demand services for associates in the medical plan. We’ve also combined our foundational well-being programs into our most comprehensive suite of tools and resources to-date under Thrive, which offers healthy eating and weight loss support, debt management and financial well-being tools, educational programs and more. And, we’ve made it easier for associates to quickly find well-being resources at One.Walmart.com/MyWalmartCares.
We know our existing well-being programs are making a difference in our associates’ lives. We also know that today, more than ever before, many of us are facing new unexpected personal circumstances that impact our emotional well-being. And though those circumstances are ever-changing, we'll continue investing in the well-being of our associates — today, and always.
