The Activist for Activists. Author of Make a Difference with Mental Health Activism and The Happy Activist: Journey the 5-Step Activism Path to Focus Your Passion and Change the World. Teacher, Psychologist, Environmental Activist, Animal Lover.
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Last Updated on August 21, 2025
With one in five people having a mental health diagnosis, it is no surprise that mental illness impacts workplaces. But can you guess the extent of that impact? I guessed millions of dollars in lost earnings each year.
However, I was way off. Mental illness costs the economy about $300 billion each year. So, it is also no surprise that organizations are paying attention to the impact of mental illness on their bottom line. With changes, they can reduce these costs.
“The World Health Organization found that every dollar put into mental health treatment produces a four-dollar improvement in health and productivity for employees and businesses. Effective investment in employee health is likely to create a high return on investment for companies.” Putnam Report (2021)
Corporate wellness initiatives make a difference. As a result, employees who believe their organization supports their mental and physical wellness will be more productive and motivated.
The Impact of Mental Health in the Workplace
The costs of mental illness in the workplace include more absenteeism, lower productivity, higher medical expenses, and lower morale.
Absenteeism
People call out from work for many reasons, but mental illness is the most significant reason. And the most obvious way that mental illness impacts earnings. Depression is the number one reason for a disability diagnosis and results in an average of 26 more absences per year than those employees without depression.
Lower Productivity
Even when employees with mental health disorders are at work, their job performance may suffer (another term for this is presenteeism.) Although absenteeism causes lost earnings, presenteeism costs are 3-4 times higher.
Increased Insurance Costs
Insurance costs twice as much for employees with mental illness compared to costs for other employees.
Lower Morale
Employees that don’t feel valued are less likely to give their full effort to their work. For example, many employees are caregivers of someone with a diagnosis. Many caregivers are less productive or quit without flexibility and support for their unique situation.
Stress in the workplace isn’t new, but it has increased, particularly because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Eighty-five percent of workers report issues with workplace stress. And long-term workplace stress can lead to mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Paying attention to mental health in the workplace makes a difference.
The Solution is a Caring Workplace Culture
What does a caring culture look like? The four elements of a caring culture are:
- A caring work environment
- Ideal work-life balance
- Supportive resources
- Jobs that motivate employees
A Caring Environment
In an ideal caring culture, the organization commits to core values of acceptance, respect, empathy, compassion, and vulnerability. For those with a mental health diagnosis, that means a stigma-free environment.
The organization supports this caring environment with training and mentoring on the core values. Communication reinforces the core values and managers model acceptance, respect, empathy, compassion, and vulnerability.
In the ideal caring environment, commitment to core values trickles down to employees.
Top management often communicates their commitment to employees’ mental and physical health. They model self-care and use paid time off instead of skipping vacations. They are vulnerable about their stress and mental illness struggles.
Many resources are available for corporate wellness.
All employees treat one another with respect. Employees receive training on how to resolve conflicts effectively. Everyone treats employees who need support with compassion, patience, and empathy.
Training
To support commitment to a caring environment, top management ensures that supervisors and employees receive excellent training.
Supervisors receive training to
- recognize emotional distress and help employees get care,
- invite employees to talk openly about stress, and
- identify job stressors and reduce them.
Employees receive training on
- reducing stigma,
- work-life balance and stress management,
- conflict resolution, and
- available mental health resources.
Ideal Work-Life Balance
People balance many aspects of their lives. Work-life imbalance can occur when workplaces demand more time and energy. Unfortunately, workplace stress has increased, made worse by COVID-19, which blurred the lines between work and home even more. Employees feel pulled in multiple directions.
A workplace culture that focuses on corporate wellness helps employees better manage their stress and feel more motivated to perform their jobs well. With support from their organization, employees can use strategies to balance work and life commitments.
For example, an ideal work-life balance is enhanced by:
- a schedule with time for physical activity
- stress management programs
- support for relaxation during the workday, such as a dedicated quiet space
- outdoor areas for relaxation and exercise
- a culture that values self-care
- frequent breaks and flexible schedules
- opportunities for involvement in volunteer and community events
Jobs That Motivate Employees
Being a productive member of society through work is strongly related to happiness.
Caring organizations support employee job satisfaction, which makes a difference in their happiness. Supervisors design jobs to be motivating and increase employee satisfaction.
Rather than being a cog in an unknown process, employees understand the purpose of their work. They see the results of their effort and have input into how they do their job. In addition, employees have input into organizational decisions that impact them.
Supervisors make sure employees are motivated in their jobs and receive recognition for their efforts. Plus, they are flexible on how work is done and invite employees to have input into job expectations. This flexibility is part of company policy. Supervisors check in with employees to ensure they manage stress and stay connected with others, particularly those working at home.
Exemplary Resources for Mental Health in the Workplace
Caring organizations provide resources that support well-being. These include affordable and exemplary insurance, benefits, and communication about the availability of resources.
Health Insurance
The majority of people who receive treatment for mental illness or stress recover. Also, high-quality inpatient and outpatient health insurance coverage makes a difference. Characteristics include:
- Low out-of-pocket costs
- Parity in mental and physical health coverage
- A vast provider network that covers rural areas
- Coverage for mental illness prescriptions
- Digital options such as telehealth
- Employee Assistance Programs that are easy to access and available to family members
- Wellness screening tools
Other Benefits
Companies with a caring culture provide other wellness benefits too:
- Mental health days for the employee or to care for family members.
- At least 20 paid days off per year.
- 401k plan to support financial security.
- Short- and long-term disability.
- Support for childcare and eldercare.
- Tuition reimbursement.
- Opportunities for advancement.
- Competitive wages.
Excellent Information
Good information about the resources available supports a caring environment. Providing excellent resources is outstanding, and exemplary organizations go the extra step to ensure employees know what is available and make it easy to access. Supervisors get training on how to make effective referrals.
How to Create a Caring Culture
A caring culture is a stigma-free environment with accessible and affordable mental health resources, such as wellness initiatives. Employees in a caring culture feel free to talk with supervisors about workplace stress, diagnoses, or caregiving responsibilities that impact their work. And supervisors facilitate a caring culture for employees.
Thankfully, corporate wellness can make a difference in employees’ mental health and pay off for the organization with lower costs and better productivity.
Next Steps for Organizations
To learn more about mentally healthy management practices, visit Mental Health America.
Read From Evidence to Practice: Workplace Wellness that Works (Johns Hopkins) to understand how corporate wellness initiatives can make a difference.
Eliminating stigma is an essential step to a caring culture. NAMI offers a program called StigmaFree Companies.
[To schedule a consultation about your organization’s unique challenges, contact me at terri@lifeattheintersection.com.]
Next Steps for Employees
Even if they don’t have managerial responsibilities, employees can make a difference. Read How Employees Can Make a Difference for Mental Health in the Workplace.
Resources
Mental Health in the Workplace: Creating a Caring Culture is a bestseller!
Making a Difference with Mental Health Activism
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