The Mental Health Crisis in the Workplace: What Employers Must Know

In today's fast-paced, high-pressure work environments, employee mental health has become a top concern for employers. Recent studies from leading organizations, including the American Psychological Association (APA) and global consulting firms like Mercer, WTW, Aon and Deloitte, reveal a concerning trend: stress, burnout, and anxiety are skyrocketing among employees, and employers must act now.

The Prevalence of Workplace Stress and Burnout

According to the APA, up to 77% of employees report experiencing significant work-related stress. Key drivers include excessive workloads, long hours, unclear expectations, poor sleep, and the lack of work-life balance. Burnout, once considered an individual issue, has now been recognized as a workplace-wide problem, affecting both individual employees and overall company culture.

Aon’s 2023 Global Wellbeing Survey indicates that 41% of employers believe employee stress levels have worsened over the past two years. Anxiety disorders, often linked to unmanageable stress, are becoming one of the most common reasons employees seek mental health support.

The Business Impact of Poor Mental Health

Beyond the personal toll, poor mental health is bad for business. Deloitte’s 2022 Workplace Well-Being Report found that mental health-related issues, like burnout and anxiety, cost companies billions in lost productivity annually. Employees struggling with mental health concerns often experience reduced focus, making critical errors more likely. Additionally, absenteeism and higher turnover rates further erode a company's bottom line. Replacing an employee can cost up to 200% of their annual salary, underscoring the financial impact of unchecked burnout.

Companies that ignore this issue risk more than just a dip in productivity—they risk losing talent, competitive advantage, and, most importantly, the trust of their workforce.

Employer Responsibility: Addressing Mental Health Proactively

The responsibility to combat workplace stress and burnout falls on employers. Ongoing research from WTW underscores the importance of a comprehensive mental health strategy to support better retention and higher engagement. WTW's 2022 report found that 86% of employers agreed that mental health, stress and burnout were a top priority, yet only a quarter had articulated and adopted a wellbeing strategy. The employer challenges remain, as highlighted in their recent article, Your Next Mental Health Action: Ensuring a Culture of Psychological Safety in Your Workplace.

According to WTW’s global benefits survey, 53-59% of employees report feeling lonely, struggling with addictive behaviors, overspending, or being dissatisfied with their social lives. Despite substantial investments in mental health benefits over recent years, the data suggests something critical is still missing.

Provider shortages, stigma, and financial barriers prevent about half of struggling employees from receiving the help they need. Progress has been too slow, and the human cost is staggering—employees continue to suffer unnecessarily while businesses lose out on potential productivity and engagement gains.

To address these challenges, companies must:

1. Promote Work-Life Balance: Offering flexible working hours, remote work options, and encouraging employees to disconnect after hours can significantly reduce stress. Improved work-life balance has been shown to enhance sleep quality, which is critical for maintaining mental resilience and reducing the risk of burnout and anxiety.
2. Reduce Workload Pressures: Managers need to ensure that expectations are realistic and workloads are manageable. Training in workload management and clear communication can help alleviate unnecessary stress. Frontline managers need to be proficient and aware of the benefits offerings and digital programs so they can remind employees of targeted solutions to manage anxiety and improve sleep patterns. Leveraging clinically-validated tools has been proven to help employees regain focus, feel more rested, and ultimately become more productive.
3. Provide Mental Health Resources: From Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to digital therapy solutions, accessible mental health resources are essential. A recent Mercer study supports addressing the full continuum of behavioral health needs, stating "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and highlighting digital self-guided tools based in the concepts of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (digital CBT) as a real impact on business health – impacting employee productivity, retention, and healthcare costs.

The Path Forward

The modern workforce demands more than just competitive pay and benefits; they require a work environment that fosters mental well-being. By addressing the root causes of stress and burnout, businesses can create a more engaged, productive, and loyal workforce. Employers that prioritize mental health today will be tomorrow's industry leaders.

For organizations looking to take proactive steps, comprehensive mental health solutions like those from Big Health provide flexibility, affordability, and on-demand access to the most common mental health concerns—insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Schedule a complimentary session to explore how Big Health can enhance your mental health ecosystem. Our success is realized by helping your employees build mental resilience, improve productivity, and reduce burnout—all while making mental health care more accessible and stigma-free.

Given the mental health challenges of the past four years and the projections ahead, the question isn’t whether your company should take action—it’s whether you can afford not to.