It’s no surprise that workers and benefits leaders alike are facing new and growing challenges in 2025. With pressure related to work, personal life, and external factors – like inflation and global instability – employees are dealing with stress from all angles. In response, they’re looking for more mental health support from their employers. Yet, HR leaders are faced with a challenge in responding to these needs. With rising healthcare costs and tight budgets, leaders are managing competing priorities when it comes to supporting their people. How can organizations find the right solution?

Our 2025 Workforce State of Mind report just launched, and it shares new data and insights about the state of mental health at work, along with actionable ways employers can take action. We surveyed more than 2,000 employees and HR benefits leaders on their perspectives on mental health and how employers can and should support their teams. 

The mental wellbeing challenges employees are facing today are pressing. Half of employees reported that they have cried because of work issues, and 58% have considered quitting their job as a result of their mental health. In addition, the number of employees that report that their company does enough to support their mental health has decreased in recent years. This is concerning, given that 95% report feeling better after using employer-provided mental health benefits.

So, the question is: how do benefits leaders do more with less to make a real impact on employee mental health? Download our report now and register for our upcoming webinar as HR leaders discuss how they’re tackling these trends.

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1. Combat the impacts of the loneliness epidemic

With more than 1 in 5 people worldwide feeling lonely often, it’s clear that many of us are in need of human connection. Loneliness and social isolation can increase a person’s risk for mental and physical health conditions like anxiety, depression, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and more. 

The good news is that employees are eager to build connections and see work as an opportunity to do just that. The top benefits that employees said would make them more likely to stay at a job were employee-sponsored team and culture building, and professional development and upskilling. This signals a desire for opportunities to connect with others on both a personal and professional level. 

Our data also shows that many of the steps to create community at work are already impactful – particularly through the efforts of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). 59% of those involved in ERGs feel a greater sense of belonging and psychological safety within their company, and 45% have found a community and built connections

To help build community at work – and help reduce loneliness as a driver for presenteeism and reduced productivity – organizations can intentionally offer resources and programming that bring people together. 

• Consider experiences all employees can take part in. Headspace offers workshops, group meditations and coach-facilitated Q&A sessions that help employees learn more about caring for their mental health – and spend time together as a team
• Be sure to support ERGs with funding, executive sponsorship, and other resourcing as a critical component of employee connectivity

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2. Enable everyone to set – and enforce – boundaries

Whether you’re facing deadlines, pressure from teammates, or a workplace culture that focuses on productivity, it can be hard to take a step away. Over time, it’s easy to let work bleed into life outside of work. But when employees struggle to set boundaries – by logging off on time, taking vacation, and maintaining a healthy work/life balance – it can impact business through reductions in productivity, and increases in absenteeism and presenteeism.

71% of employees report working outside of their expected schedule at least weekly, and 75% report being available as needed even when taking time off from work. Troublingly, executive employees are much more comfortable enforcing boundaries at work than managers or individual contributors (ICs).

This illuminates an issue within workplaces today: leaders at the top may not be aware of the challenges middle managers and ICs are facing when it comes to setting boundaries. While 70% of HR executives say their company has clear, actionable guidelines and resources for employees to set boundaries at work, only 54% of HR directors and 43% of HR managers agree. Policies put in place at the top may not be making their way to all employees, especially those at more junior levels in the organization.

Enforcing boundaries at work is a learned skill. Employers must ensure that employees have practical guidelines, resources, and tools to set and maintain boundaries and protect their energy.

• Mental health coaching and guided content can help employees understand where and how to create boundaries and enforce them in a way that enables productivity and protects their energy.
• Manager training can help people leaders spot the signs of mental distress, like Headspace’s workshop, 'Leaders as a Lifeline'. In addition, guided content, like our ‘Thrive as a Leader’ and ‘Mindfulness at Work’ collections can help leaders bring out the best in their teams. For a limited time, we’ve unlocked some content from our Mindfulness at Work Collection to support you and your teams.
  

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3. Build a strategy to support employees through mental health-related leaves of absence – and prevent them in the future

Likely as a result of rising pressures both at work and at home, employee mental health-related leaves of absence are continuing to increase. 51% of HR leaders report that these leaves of absence are increasing, and 2 in 5 employees report having taken a leave of absence to care for their own mental health. 

As these leaves become common in the workplace, leaders need to make sure they are prepared to support employees before, during, and after these leaves with impactful policies and resources. They can also take steps to proactively address mental health concerns to prevent future leaves. 

Unfortunately, the mental health resources and policies that many HR teams have in place to support employees during mental health leaves are coming up short. 62% of employees did not feel fully supported when discussing their mental health-related leave of absence with their manager or HR, and 56% did not feel fully supported upon returning to work after their leave. 

Leaders must be ready with both proactive and reactive mental health support and leave of absence guidelines to meaningfully support employees on leave, and their surrounding teams. 

• Provide specific mental health resources and tools to help individuals return to work, like therapy, psychiatry, coaching, and guided content.
• Encourage all employees to proactively care for their mental health by using the employer-provided resources. These tools can be used on a daily basis to help build resilience and process feelings, so employees are better able to navigate challenging situations, bounce back, and bring their best selves to their workplace and their home lives.

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4. Make sure your EAP is meeting all employees’ needs.

With more employees turning to their employer for mental health support, it’s become increasingly important that an EAP has a mental health offering that meets the needs of all employees. 67% of HR leaders report that the most important offering when considering an EAP is mental health support. For many, a traditional EAP that only offers a limited number of in-person therapy sessions isn’t enough.

Effective mental healthcare support for employees today goes beyond therapy or psychiatry for times of crisis alone. Employees who are facing a variety of stressors also need mental well-being and skill-building tools that are easy to access and enable them to regularly take time to care for their minds.

The key to ensuring this happens is making sure that your EAP not only provides comprehensive mental healthcare and support, but also enables your team to drive engagement. Unfortunately, only half (52%) of HR leaders are completely satisfied with their EAP provider’s communication and employee engagement materials. They also believe that regular distribution of employee communications and reminders could increase EAP utilization. 

EAP vendors like Headspace are leading the charge on this front. An effective EAP should partner with employers to ensure communications are meeting the needs of their specific workplace and share best practices and strategies that create a culture of care. 

Organizations need to make sure their EAP goes beyond just checking the box to truly move the needle on employee mental health. 

• Partner with an EAP provider, such as Headspace, that offers robust, personalized, and end-to-end mental health support and regular, engaging communications. Consider the value of low-barrier subclinical offerings within EAPs, like evidence-based sleep support, as a low-stigma entry to care.
• Make sure to choose a partner who can work with you to tailor communications to your audience, highlighting the services most important for your employees. You can see how bartaco launched a successful mental health strategy to their employees in our recent webinar.

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5. Embrace the use of AI in mental health resources

With growing employee demands for mental health support and tight benefits budgets, HR leaders should be looking to mental health solutions that can operate at scale, supporting employees in a way that leads to improved outcomes and lower care costs. 

A key way to scale is through the use of AI in mental health resources – and the good news is, there’s a demand for it. 94% of HR leaders are interested in offering mental health benefits that use AI, and 89% of employees would feel comfortable using them.

Preventative and subclinical mental health resources that use AI enable employees to care for their mental health on their own time, with science-backed approaches to improve mental wellbeing. This means that more employees can support their mental health more easily – rather than a traditional model that only offers mental health support through 1:1 therapy and psychiatry.

AI also provides opportunities beyond care and as a complement to care, including skill-building and support between clinical appointments. This can help improve resilience and key mental health outcomes metrics.

Ebb is Headspace’s empathetic AI companion integrated into our app to help people navigate life's ups and downs. Ebb provides instant, personalized support designed to guide Headspace members through self-reflection and emotional processing.

Take advantage of the current demand for AI in mental health.

• Explore mental health benefits that offer AI personalization and support, such as Ebb. 
• Remember that AI cannot replace human-driven mental healthcare like therapy and psychiatry – but it can complement it. Look to AI as a resource for preventative and skill-building support.

While employees and leaders are facing challenges related to workplace mental health, the good news is that benefits teams have an opportunity to take practical, actionable steps that make a difference. Headspace partners with organizations to provide comprehensive employee mental health support at every moment, with our EAP, therapy, psychiatry, mental health coaching, and guided content. 

To learn more about the trends and how you can support your employees, download the 2025 Workforce State of Mind report here.

To learn more about how Headspace can help you move the needle on mental health in your organization, contact us here.