World Mental Health Day: helping employees access the right mental health support

World Mental Health Day is October 10, 2026. It’s a timely opportunity to recognize the important role workplace benefits can play in helping employees access mental health support. A benefits plan that includes a range of mental health solutions—from prevention and education to counselling and virtual care—can help support employees across different stages of their mental health journey.

We’re making it simpler for plan members and their eligible dependents to access the mental health support that’s right for them. By bringing benefits information, care solutions and wellness resources together in one digital experience, we’re helping remove barriers and make trusted care easier to access.

Solutions and resources to support workplace mental health

These options can help make mental health care easier to access through your benefits plan:

• Sun Life Online Counselling, by Dialogue* – connects plan members and their dependents aged 14+ with licensed mental health professionals.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – offers access to mental health practitioners for screening, short-term coaching and referrals, as needed. It also includes support for a broad range of work and life needs, along with coaching for people leaders.
• Mental Health Coach, provided by Kii Health – assesses mental health risks, and provides plan members with coaching and guidance to the right resources across their benefits plan, employer programs and community resources.
• Additional mental health providers – adds five specialized practitioner options to group benefits plans, giving you more flexibility to tailor mental health coverage to employees’ needs. You can add one or all the providers to your Extended Health Care plan.

These resources can help build awareness, support prevention and equip managers and employees with practical information:

• Mental health training for managers – this toolkit includes manager training videos and other tips and resources you can share with your employees.
• Wake-up call: the hidden cost of poor sleep – and what we can do about it – research by Ipsos and Sun Life showing the connection between poor sleep, chronic mental health conditions and workplace well-being.
• The kids are all grown up – Checking in on Generation Z – this report explores the distinct health challenges impacting Gen Z, including mental health issues.

While workplace mental health is important year-round, as World Mental Health Day approaches, reviewing the mental health solutions available through your benefits plan can help ensure employees have accessible support when they need it.

Questions? We’re here to help.

Please contact your Sun Life Group Benefits representative to learn more about the mental health solutions and resources available to support your organization and employees.

*Dialogue is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada operating as a stand-alone entity. All representations about the services of Sun life Online Counselling, by Dialogue, and Sun Life Employee Assistance Program (EAP), by Dialogue, are those of Dialogue and not Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada cannot guarantee the availability of the services and reserves the right to cancel the services with notice.