A very broad global EAP and total-wellbeing suite at scale — counselling, work-life, perks and recognition all under one large, established vendor.
Telus Health offers everything. October changes the organisation.
Telus Health, formerly LifeWorks, is a very broad global EAP and total-wellbeing suite at scale — assistance, perks, recognition and more. October Health is something different: clinically effective care the whole workforce actually uses, prioritised intelligence that tells leaders what to act on next, and embedded experts who execute the change. A wide suite offers options. October drives measurable outcomes — burnout, retention, eNPS, performance — across every team.
Whole-organisation systemCare · intelligence · executionTelus Health (LifeWorks)
Traditional EAPsIndependent comparisonBreadth comes at the cost of depth. It carries legacy-EAP utilisation, leans on reporting rather than prioritised action, and has limited embedded execution driving org-wide change.
Software plus embedded experts across the entire organisation — 65% utilisation, prioritised insight on what to act on, and people who execute the change. Care and org-change in one measurable system.
What your people
actually get.
When comparing broad wellbeing packages, look at how the parts work together. October connects daily sessions, weekly pulse checks, leadership pathways and monthly action reviews in one programme.
Offered See detailsAvailability and session allowances depend on your package and location, for both providers.
Swipe across the table to compare both providers.
| Feature or service | OctoberWhat you get — and why it matters | Telus Health (LifeWorks) |
|---|---|---|
| For employeesEveryday tools, personal insight and access to support. | ||
| On-demand content | Build skills people use at workShort courses on focus, leadership and resilience, plus articles, audiobooks and session recordings. Why it mattersGive employees practical steps they can apply the same day. | Digital wellbeing tools and resources |
| Wellbeing assessments | A personal picture that keeps updatingQuarterly ThriveMeter, clinical screening and monthly personal wellbeing insights. Why it mattersEmployees can follow their progress; HR sees aggregate trends without individual answers. | Health assessments; confirm package |
| Live group sessions | 20+ hours of live sessions every dayExpert-led, anonymous audio sessions, with recordings and podcasts to revisit. Why it mattersPeople on different shifts can join, listen or ask a question without going on camera. | Confirm live group-session availability |
| One-to-one counselling | Keep your EAP. Make it easier to reach.Connect your existing EAP inside October, or use October’s virtual or in-person EAP services. Why it mattersGive employees one entry point for everyday support and professional care. | EAP counselling for employees and families |
| Coaching and personal support | Support between appointmentsAsh AI coaching with goal check-ins, practical courses and private Clara AI voice support. Why it mattersEmployees can work on goals in the moment; clinical needs route to human care. Clara allowances vary by plan. | Health and wellness coaching; confirm package |
| For HR teamsTools to understand needs, support managers and engage people. | ||
| Manager development | Turn 360 feedback into a development pathwayLeadership 360 assessments, personalised pathways, coaching content and reassessment. Why it mattersGive each leader a clear next step and a way to measure their development. | Manager assistance and workplace support |
| Workforce surveys and pulse | A weekly pulse. A quarterly baseline.Weekly check-ins, quarterly ThriveMeter and company surveys in the employee app. Why it mattersTrack how teams are doing between formal reviews and follow up after interventions. | Confirm custom workforce survey options |
| HR dashboard and insights | See where to focus and what to doTeam, tenure and location trends, industry benchmarks and AI-drafted action plans. Why it mattersHR gets proposed interventions and owners, reviewed monthly with a customer success manager. | Engage usage reporting; advanced analytics options |
| Employee engagement support | A company hub with a monthly programmeCompany-branded hub, private expert sessions, challenges and a monthly planning cadence. Why it mattersHR has a place to reach employees and support to keep the programme active. | Customer success reviews with Engage |
| For the businessEvidence to guide investment and support to act on it. | ||
| Measurement and action plans | Connect each action to a follow-up measureAction plans with named owners, baseline measures and follow-up, reviewed monthly. Why it mattersLeaders can see what was done and whether wellbeing measures moved afterwards. | Engagement trends and benchmark comparisons |
| Hands-on organisational support | Experts who help carry out the planOctober Advisory can scope and deliver the interventions identified through workforce insights. Why it mattersAdd implementation capacity when your HR team needs help delivering change. Separately scoped. | Workplace and onsite support; confirm scope |
Based on public provider descriptions reviewed 9 September 2026. “Confirm” means the scope is not established by the linked sources.
Large organisations that want a single vendor for a wide menu of assistance and wellbeing perks, and don't need to measure deep change in any one area.
Leaders who want depth over breadth — high utilisation, prioritised insight, clinically effective care, and experts who drive measurable outcomes across every team.
See October in contextQuestions,
answered.
Is October Health an alternative to Telus Health (LifeWorks)?
Yes. Telus Health is a very broad global EAP and total-wellbeing suite. October delivers clinically effective care the whole workforce uses, plus prioritised insight and embedded experts who drive measurable change — depth and outcomes a wide suite struggles to show.
How does utilisation compare?
Telus Health carries legacy-EAP utilisation across its suite. October sees around 65% — roughly 10× — because the platform is built for everyday use across every team rather than offering a menu people rarely open.
Telus Health covers a lot — does October replace all of it?
October focuses on clinically effective mental-health care and org-wide change rather than broad perks and recognition. The trade-off is depth where it moves outcomes — high utilisation, prioritised insight and embedded execution.
What about insight and action for leaders?
Where Telus Health leans on reporting, October gives prioritised insight — what's driving burnout, flight risk and eNPS and what to do next — plus embedded experts who execute the change, so analysis becomes measurable action.
What about pricing and ROI?
Telus Health is typically a broad PEPM suite that's hard to tie to outcomes. October uses predictable platform pricing with a costed ROI up front, tied to measurable change in burnout, retention and performance.
Start with your organisation
Compare October with Telus Health (LifeWorks).
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