Blog Post
June 02, 2025
7 meaningful ways to celebrate Employee Wellness Month at work
- Resources
- Blog Posts
- Employee mental health is in crisis: 6 impactful strategies for leaders
Employee mental health is in crisis: 6 impactful strategies for leaders
Recent data regarding employee mental health is setting off alarms for many organizations. What was once a peripheral concern is now firmly at the center of how organizations think about performance, retention, and culture.
More employees are navigating stress, anxiety, and emotional strain as part of their everyday work experience. They’re doing their jobs, but often with less energy, focus, and capacity to engage. This presents a complex challenge for leaders: how do you support people you may not see struggling in meaningful and sustainable ways?
Mental health isn’t always visible. But its impact is felt across teams in delayed projects, increased turnover, quiet disengagement, and a general sense that something is off, even if no one is saying it out loud.
This isn’t about diagnosing or “fixing” individuals. It’s about recognizing that employees don’t walk into work as blank slates; they bring their whole lives with them. Supporting mental health means understanding how both personal challenges and workplace conditions shape their ability to be present, engaged, and psychologically safe.
The good news is that progress is possible. Leaders don’t need to have all the answers, but they do need to be willing to listen, adapt, and respond. To do that effectively, it starts with understanding what employees are really going through and what’s at stake if we don’t respond.
Examining the employee mental health crisis
A recent study from Lyra surveyed 7,500 employees across 6 countries to shed light on mental health struggles in the workplace. The results of the survey have been eye-opening for many employers. According to the study, a staggering 73% of employees said work-related stress negatively impacted their mental health and work performance, marking a 24% increase from the previous year. With Navigate’s employee wellbeing platform, leaders can leverage real-time data to identify trends and create programs that address mental health proactively before it impacts performance and culture.
The biggest contributors to work-related stress:
Excessive workloads (44%)
Inadequate staffing (41%)
Lack of recognition (33%)
Workplace stress is not the only thing on employees’ minds, however. There was a 27% increase in financial stress in the U.S., with 63% of respondents citing the current economic climate as negatively impacting their mental wellbeing. Additionally, a study by PlanSponsor revealed that 74% of employees stated that anxiety caused by political turmoil and social issues leads to burnout at work.
The research is clear. Employees are dealing with personal mental health struggles that ultimately end up impacting their performance at work. An unfortunate reality of this situation is that 89% of the employees surveyed by Lyra stated that they had faced at least one mental health challenge over the past year, but less than half of those employees sought care.
The research is clear. Employees are dealing with personal mental health struggles that ultimately end up impacting their performance at work. An unfortunate reality of this situation is that 89% of the employees surveyed by Lyra stated that they had faced at least one mental health challenge over the past year, but less than half of those employees sought care.
Recognizing these struggles, organizational leaders will need to move beyond surface-level wellbeing initiatives and take meaningful steps to embed mental health support into the fabric of their culture.
Let’s take a look at some actionable strategies for addressing employee mental health.
Practical strategies for supporting employee mental health
Solving the employee mental health crisis won’t come from a single policy change or a new perk. Leaders need to think holistically and act intentionally. Here are six areas where meaningful impact can start:
1. Provide meaningful mental health resources
As employee stress, burnout, and anxiety continue to climb, workers are actively seeking employers who offer real, accessible support. In fact, 91% of organizations now plan to increase their investment in mental health solutions—a significant jump from just a few years ago. But it’s not just about spending more, it’s about offering the right kind of support.
Employees need tools that are easy to access, personalized to their needs, and grounded in evidence-based practices. Navigate offers a comprehensive suite of employee mental health resources with personalized, practical tools that encourage meaningful engagement. Employees can access 1-on-1 mental health coaching, guided mindfulness sessions, expert-led courses, confidential assessments, and a library of curated content focused on building emotional resilience. Each resource is designed to be approachable, stigma-free, and easy to fit into daily life.
Additionally, Navigate optimizes benefits navigation for employees by integrating carrier and third-party benefits—ensuring that there’s one centralized location for employees to easily find resources. A recent survey indicated that 85% of employees don’t utilize their mental health benefits due to a lack of awareness or confusion. To close that gap, Navigate helps employers proactively educate their workforce and create an open dialogue around mental health. This includes periodic mental health surveys to gauge employee needs, ongoing communication about available resources, and tools that encourage safe, stigma-free conversations. By keeping mental health top of mind and easy to access, Navigate ensures support doesn’t get lost in the noise.
2. A holistic approach to wellbeing
While providing resources specific to supporting mental health is crucial, it’s also important to zoom out to look at the bigger picture. Mental health challenges don't exist in isolation. They're intricately connected to every aspect of our lives, from physical health and financial stability to relationships and sense of purpose. That's why addressing the employee mental health crisis requires a holistic approach that supports all facets of wellbeing.
Navigate embraces this holistic philosophy, recognizing that true wellness stems from a harmony of mind, body, and spirit. By offering diverse resources and tools, we empower participants to take charge of their wellbeing inside and outside the workplace.
By taking this holistic approach, Navigate doesn't just address symptoms, we build an environment where employees can truly thrive. We believe that when individuals are supported in all aspects of their wellbeing, they bring their best selves to work, fostering a more engaged, productive, and resilient workforce.
3. Reduce stigma and normalize mental health conversations
One of the most powerful things leaders can do to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in the workplace is to create space for open dialogue. That doesn’t mean asking intrusive questions. It means making it clear that mental health is not a weakness, not a liability, and not something to hide.
When leaders speak candidly about their own challenges or acknowledge the emotional labor employees carry, it sets a cultural tone. It signals that wellbeing is not peripheral to performance, but central to it.
4. Emotional intelligence training for leaders
Managers are often promoted based on technical performance, not necessarily their soft skills. When it comes to supporting mental health, prioritizing emotional intelligence in leaders is critical.
Research has shown that EI training for managers can yield up to a 1,484% ROI for organizations. Leaders and team managers need practical tools to spot signs of distress, address sensitive conversations, and lead with empathy without overstepping boundaries. EI training is not about turning managers into therapists. It's about helping them to build skills that create a more supportive and productive work environment.
5. Rethinking flexibility
Supporting mental health means recognizing that life doesn’t pause for work. Flexibility gives employees the space to navigate both without running on empty. While hybrid and remote work have expanded where people can work, true flexibility means giving employees more control over when and how they work.
Rigid schedules are one of the most frequently cited causes of employee burnout. When employees feel tethered to arbitrary hours or forced to perform during their lowest energy windows, stress builds fast, and recovery becomes harder.
Leaders can make a real impact by rethinking time norms. That might include allowing employees to shift hours based on personal rhythms, caregiving needs, or space for midday mental health breaks. Autonomy over one’s time empowers people to recharge, refocus, and work in ways that align with their natural flow.
The result? Healthier minds, more sustainable performance, and teams that are resilient, not just productive.
6. Workload management
In modern business culture, many organizations treat chronic overload as a badge of honor. It’s increasingly common to hear employees describe their feelings around their workload conditions as “slammed”, “swamped”, or “drowning”. While some organizational leaders may encourage or celebrate overload, effective leaders know it’s a recipe for burnout, disengagement, and turnover.
Unmanageable workloads are one of the strongest predictors of mental health decline at work. When employees feel like they’re constantly falling behind, stress becomes chronic. It’s not just the volume, it’s the lack of clarity, prioritization, and support that does the real damage.
Leaders can prevent burnout by setting realistic expectations, encouraging open conversations about capacity, and modeling boundaries themselves. Tools like pulse surveys, project debriefs, and weekly check-ins can surface early warning signs before burnout sets in.
A sustainable workload is good for employee wellbeing and business. When people aren’t overwhelmed, they can focus, create, and contribute at their highest level.
The path forward
The data is clear, the stories are consistent, and the need is urgent. Employee mental health has become one of the most pressing organizational challenges of our time, not just because it impacts individuals but also because it deeply affects culture, performance, and long-term growth.
The companies that will thrive in the years ahead are not those that simply react to crises, but those that design systems to prevent them. That means moving beyond surface-level wellness initiatives and embedding mental health into the foundation of how we lead, manage, and support our teams.
Supporting employee mental health is not a one-time campaign. It’s a leadership commitment. The organizations willing to make that commitment will be the ones people trust, not just to employ them, but also to care for them.
Ready to see how Navigate can help transform employee mental health in your organization? Book a personalized demo today!
Lyra Health: 2025 State of Workforce Mental Health Report
Fast Company: 89% of corporate workers are facing mental health challenges
Guardian Life: Mind, Body, and Wallet®: Workforce Well-being
Wellable: 2024 Employee Wellness Industry Trends Report
MedCity News: Survey: 85% of Employees Don’t Use Their Mental Health Benefits
