May 2025

Mental health and the workplace: Strategies for success

Today, more than ever, employee mental health is in the spotlight — and with good reason. Last year, a striking 89% of employees reported having had a mental health challenge.¹ With the very real consequences this can have on business performance, it is important for employers to prioritize mental health when designing effective and valuable benefits packages.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Workplace Insights™ is pleased to share a recent conversation with Katy Riddick, who advises employers, consultants and healthcare stakeholders on mental health issues in her role as Managing Director at High Lantern Group, a strategic communications consultancy. Bank of America’s Cyndi Hutchins, Director of Financial Gerontology, discussed with Katy ways in which workers’ mental health can impact productivity, culture, engagement and overall company wellness. They also explored what employers can do in light of recent trends.

A really solid mental health strategy looks at 100% of your employees, because any employee may experience grief, trauma, depression, anxiety or other mental health challenges that affect their ability to work and be productive.” — Katy Riddick

Cyndi Hutchins (CH): How prevalent are mental health challenges in the workplace right now?

Katy Riddick (KR): I just saw a survey that reported nearly 90% of employees had a mental health challenge last year.² That’s enormous. That means virtually your entire employee population is the target audience for the mental health care, support and benefits you may offer.

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CH: Wow! Those are eye-opening statistics. How can employers respond to these realities?

KR: Employers are uniquely positioned to influence a positive shift in the mental well-being of their workers. Which makes good business sense, since poor employee mental health drives everything from low engagement to diminished productive capacity to greater rates of absenteeism. Depression alone costs the U.S. economy over $210 billion each year from lost productivity and absences.³ On top of that, employees struggling with their well-being at work are four times more likely to report an intent to leave their organizations.⁴

A really solid mental health strategy looks at 100% of your employees, because any employee may experience grief, trauma, depression, anxiety or other mental health challenges that affect their ability to work and be productive. So you want to provide what they need across the continuum of their mental health. But what we’re seeing is, while we had almost 90% of employees reporting a mental health challenge last year, it’s not uncommon for only about 4% to take advantage of the mental health supports available in their employee assistance program (EAP).⁵ So, you have a huge difference between the number of people who need support and the number of people who are actually getting it.

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CH: Are you seeing any emerging trends connected to mental health and physical work environment?

KR: Yes, although it’s not necessarily about the office environment. It’s a conversation about whether workers are able to support their needs outside of work while commuting to and from an office — and whether that’s the best environment for them to do their best work. When people were working remotely, we had a very different dynamic. Some people are very comfortable in those environments and others do better face-to-face. We’re all unique in our social skills and our abilities to connect, and returning to the office can be very stressful for some employees and very beneficial to others for a variety of reasons.

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CH: Would you agree that, compared to prior generations, younger workers are thinking more about how the workplace affects their mental health, and that the stigma around mental health is dissipating?

KR: It is. Particularly in younger workers, there’s more transparency around mental health needs and experiences. However, many mental health conversations in older workers are similar but using different language. Someone who’s younger might describe their mental health by saying: “I have so much anxiety about what’s going on in the world.” Whereas an older worker might say: “I feel like the world is going crazy right now, and I don’t know what to do.” They’re framing it using different words, but they’re essentially describing the same experience of fear or anxiety.

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CH: Which means it’s first an issue of understanding how each generation expresses itself and listening to what they’re actually saying. And then you have to keep in mind the stigma that older generations might put on mental health treatment because of their lived experience. On that note, are younger generations more likely to seek help than older generations?

KR: I’d say yes, but I think the greater disparities are around industry, employee type and geographic availability of providers. There are even differences in platform preferences — younger workers may be more willing to engage with app-based support, whereas older workers may want face-to-face conversations with providers. It starts with understanding the demographic and generational differences in their workforce so employers can tailor their benefits approach in a way that will influence success and acceptance of those programs.

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CH: So, even though older and younger workers may be experiencing similar symptoms, the solutions for each could be vastly different?

KR: Exactly. And this is particular to mental health. If I break my leg, my course of treatment is fairly well defined. I know what kind of treatment and physical therapy I’m going to get. My experience is going to be similar to someone else’s. With mental health, we see widely variable treatment journeys. People may respond differently to pharmaceutical treatments versus cognitive therapies. They may use a certain combination of therapies. They may look for support groups in community- or faith-based programming.

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CH: And that’s a concern for employers?

KR: Absolutely. There’s a whole level of variability that adds uncertainty to what employers offer, and it means not just having things like an EAP available, but having stress reduction techniques and advice on getting good sleep and nutrition and fostering social connections and volunteer opportunities. All of these feed into a good mental health package that can reach workers and benefit them. And, ultimately, that can keep employees more productive and more engaged.