Mental Health Benefits: Caring for Every Mind at Work

Everyone’s mental health journey is different. Whether you’re dealing with stress, managing a long-term condition or just focused on maintaining your well-being, Cox has the resources to help employees thrive. 

Everyone deserves to feel supported, connected and empowered to prioritize their mental health. 

Wherever employees are on their journeys to well-being, Cox is committed to offering a variety of mental health benefits and resources to make sure they’re getting the help they need whenever they need it. This can include providing support for those who are feeling overwhelmed, grieving a loss or going through a difficult time. 

“Cox is different just because you truly feel how we care about employees — and it reflects in the benefits,” said Mary Groover, lifestyle benefits manager at Cox. “It’s unique that we have such visibility and support from our leaders.” 

What kind of mental health and emotional wellness resources does Cox offer?  

Cox’s benefits teams are constantly exploring new ways to support employees in every stage of their lives — and we carefully consider their feedback to continue building on our suite of best-in-class wellness benefits, including: 

Free counseling 

Through Resources for Living, Cox employees and their household members receive 8 free confidential counseling sessions per topic, per family member, per year via phone, text, chat, video or face-to-face. After that, they can continue treatment through their insurance. Counselors are available 24/7 to provide support for personal and work-related challenges such as stress, anxiety, grief, relationships, and more. 

“We’re not just looking after our employees, but the whole family as well,” Mary said. “Whether your parents are living with you, your brother, sister-in-law, whoever it is that’s under your household — as well as children up to age 26 — they can access those benefits.” 

Free telemedicine  

Employees insured through Cox’s medical plan have free access to Teladoc to talk to a mental health professional via web, phone or mobile app at no cost. 

“We know that people value virtual counselling,” Mary said. “We did see that the majority of employees who were surveyed said that if they didn’t have access to Teladoc, then they wouldn’t have sought out mental health support.” 

Virtual counseling for kids and teens 

Brightline mental health experts can provide kids and teens with virtual therapy, psychiatry and coaching for issues, such as cyberbullying, body image, ADHD, depression and anxiety. Brightline is available through Cox’s medical insurance plan. 

“We heard that a lot of people were looking for pediatric mental and behavioral health support, so that's why we implemented Brightline in 2024,” Mary said. “And now have heard really great feedback on it.” 

Meditation, sleep and emotional wellness 

All Cox employees can get a free subscription to Calm, an app focused on meditation, relaxation, focus and improved sleep. Employees can also invite up to five dependents to enjoy free access to the app. 

Cox also offers free access to Mind Companion, a self-guided digital program that provides emotional health support tailored to each person’s needs. 

Additional treatment coverage 

Cox medical plan members can explore more in-depth treatment options including rehab, medicine management or talking with a psychiatrist, psychologist or professional counselor.  

Work flexibility and flexible PTO  

Everyone’s work-life needs are different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to achieving balance. That’s why we embrace work flexibility and flexible PTO. 

“Your mental health is top priority,” Mary said. “If you’re obviously not functioning at your best, mentally or emotionally, then you're not going to be functioning at your best at work.” 

Leading conversations about mental health at work 

A key way to support employees is by giving them chances to talk about their mental health and well-being at work. 

“Opening the conversation and making sure we supported employee sharing has been important to decrease the stigma around mental health,” Mary said. “The more people that talk about it, the more comfort it gives them.” 

This was the idea behind the Wellness Forums guided by a licensed clinical social worker to help employees manage and cope with different thoughts, feelings and reactions. 

Employees can sign up anonymously and don’t have to be on camera. They can be a silent listener or be an active participant — whatever they’re comfortable with. These conversations are not recorded to provide a safe space to talk. 

“It’s really nice to have that expert who just ‘gets it,’ and gives tips and tricks on how to navigate through life,” Mary said. “We started doing them once a month, and now we’re doing them twice a month because they are so popular.” 

For Mary, there’s always room to do more for employee wellness and she’s grateful that Cox supports new ideas wholeheartedly. 

“If we hear people ask for something from our employee surveys, there’s no question that we’re going to look into it and figure it out,” she said. “We’ve never run into an issue where leadership is not supportive of an initiative around mental health and well-being.” 

Learn more about our benefits here. Want to work with us? Explore job openings and sign up for our Talent Community today!