In the wake of the pandemic, a race relations reckoning, global economic challenges, and crucial elections around the globe in 2024, mental health in the workplace is becoming a topic that both employers and employees are more openly addressing.

Yet, for this positive approach to mental health to continue, employers must be authentic and empathetic to continue earning the trust of their employees. This reality is one that we explore in our Workforce State of Mind report. 

Employees are more open than ever about their anxiety and its impact on their work. Almost all employees (98%) say that global trends affect their mental health at work, according to our 2024 Workforce State of Mind report. Nine in 10 employees think their employer should respond to employee mental health needs during global events. Promisingly, 95% of CEOs agree. 

However, in today’s challenging global economy, employers are asking employees to do more with less, which puts added stress on the workforce. The latest sign that this reality is gaining strength is the Bureau of Labor Statistics announcement that the U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs than previously estimated. For many employees, the result of that may be more demands — and more anxiety — at work.  

In order to feel psychologically safe in a workplace and comfortable speaking up about mental health, people must have trust in their employer. Fortunately, we’ve seen significant growth in the ways that leaders are creating trusted environments where employees can do what they need to support their own mental health.

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However, there is always room for improvement, and CEOs are becoming increasingly aware of that. While the majority (96%) of CEOs reported that their company does enough to support employees’ mental health in 2021, only 78% report that they do so today. 

This shift is an indicator that as leaders recognize the challenges to mental wellbeing and the importance of offering mental health benefits to employees, they also see gaps in their approaches and the opportunity to better support their teams. 

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This new level of transparency around mental health has had a positive ripple effect on minimizing stigma around mental health and meeting employee expectations, as well. Employees are more likely today to say their employer is responsible for helping them manage their mental health (93% in 2024 versus 81% in 2022). 

Employers focusing on their employees’ mental health is good news – and it’s leading to better mental health outcomes. According to Mental Health America’s “2023 Mind in the Workplace” report, 81% of workers who feel safe at work say that workplace stress doesn’t affect their mental health.

When global events cause emotions like stress, anxiety, and fear, organizations have an opportunity to support employees in a meaningful way, providing mental health resources and spaces for connection and support. It’s promising to see an increase in employee trust and leader transparency when it comes to mental health and communicating about tough topics. 

However, this trust may be at risk. Both HR leaders and CEOs were more than 20% less likely to say that they would increase mental health benefits in a recession in 2024 compared to 2023, and reported that they were more likely to decrease benefits in a recession. 

Here are three ways that employers can continue to demonstrate that they have their employees’ best mental health interests at heart: 

1. Now is not the time to pull back on mental health resources. 

Employers have an opportunity to prevent poor mental health by offering resources that not only benefit employees, but create direct cost savings on claims spending, as well as positive outcomes in the workplace (i.e., increased productivity and presenteeism). Rather than pulling back on resources during difficult times, take the opportunity to present mental health and wellbeing support to employees when they need it most. 

2. Create mental health literacy campaigns within your organization.

The first step to engaging employees in mental health benefits is letting them know that the benefits exist. Implementing mental health literacy campaigns that showcase the services available to employees and their families further reinforces organizational commitment and increases employee access and engagement in mental health services. 

3. Lead with transparency. 

Create an environment where employees feel confident in the state of the business and the support of their leaders by soliciting questions from your team (e.g., an “Ask Me Anything” with the CEO or executive team). Forums like this create a culture of transparency and safety. 

‍To learn more about this and other trends in mental health at work, download the 2024 Workforce State of Mind report.