It’s holiday planning season. You’ve budgeted for the end-of-year bonuses, the virtual gift cards, or the team pizza party. You’re trying to do something good.

Now, I want you to imagine your employee. The one who, as we discussed in our last article, is silently suffering. The one who just had a panic attack—in their car before walking into the office, or at their kitchen table before logging on—because they’re terrified about how to pay for their therapy, or frustrated by a health plan that doesn’t cover the therapist they actually need.

How do you think a $50 gift card feels to them?

As a therapist, I’ll tell you: it feels like a performance. It feels like a slap in the face.

It’s a sign that you see their labor, but you don’t see them.

Your team, especially your Black employees, doesn’t need another trivial “perk.” They are over-stimulated, burned out, and facing a stability crisis. They don’t need a party; they need a lifeline.

The Performance of “Perks” vs. The Power of “Care”

For years, corporate wellness has been a box-checking exercise. You offer a generic EAP you know no one uses. You provide an app like Talkspace, hoping it solves the problem.

Your team knows this is a “false economy.” They know these one-size-fits-all solutions are not designed for their complex, lived experiences.

When a Black employee is navigating intergenerational trauma, systemic bias, and the mental load of code-switching, the last thing they want is a 15-minute text-chat with a generic therapist who doesn’t get it.

So, they don’t use the “benefit” you’re paying for. They continue to suffer in silence, or they pay the full out-of-pocket cost for a private, culturally-responsive therapist—a cost that is becoming impossible to manage.

Your well-intentioned holiday “gift” just highlights the gap between what you think they need and what they are actually begging for.

This Holiday, Give the Gift of Certainty

Your team doesn’t need you to fix the U.S. healthcare system. They need to know that you have their back, regardless of what happens in Washington.

They need certainty.

This is the real win-win. Instead of spending thousands on a holiday party that will be forgotten by January, you can make a lasting investment in your team’s stability.

The Well-Being Works program is that investment.

It is not a “perk.” It is a foundational support system. It’s a B2B service that gives you, the business owner, the power to provide guaranteed access to high-quality, culturally-responsive mental healthcare for your entire team.

This is the gift that says, “I see you. I hear you. And I am providing a safe, relevant resource for you.”

The “Write-Off” That Changes Everything

This is the solution for your whole team—from your W-2 employees to your mission-critical solopreneurs and contractors.

As a B2B service, this is a simple, affordable business expense. It’s a write-off.

For you, it’s a low-overhead, high-impact investment in your team’s loyalty, focus, and reliability.

For your team, it’s everything. It’s the permission to finally get help. It’s the financial relief of not having to choose between their mental health and their budget. It’s the gift of knowing their leader truly cares about their well-being, not just their productivity.

This holiday season, stop the performance. Stop buying pizza. Give your team the one gift that will actually change their lives.

Book a discovery call today. Let’s get your team a customized, affordable quote before the year ends.

 

Written By: Dr. Shatiea Blount, LCSW-C