50% of people access mental health support through work first — yet only 55% of employees believe leaders understand what they need.
Mental health isn’t a May priority — it’s a 365-day business challenge. With $44B lost annually to depression-related productivity loss and nearly half of struggling employees staying silent, this resource hub gives HR and Benefits Leaders the tools to close the gap between intention and execution: from spotting quiet burnout to building a whole-person mental health strategy that reaches employees before crisis hits.
For Health & Benefits Leaders who are ready to make whole-person wellbeing a real priority, not just a line item
Every person’s mental health journey is different. It shifts with life stages, work pressures, and personal circumstances. Stress looks different at 28 than it does at 52. Burnout hits different after a valley than a peak. A major health diagnosis, a caregiving crisis, a return to office after years remote – each one molds what support looks like for that person at that time.
One-size-fits-all mental health benefits weren’t built for that reality. And the data shows it.
50% of people access mental health services through work first. That makes your organization one of the most important entryways in the entire system. Yet only 55% of employees believe that senior leaders actually understand what they need. That gap – the divide between access and genuine understanding – is where organizations either lead or fall short.
And falling short has a cost most leadership teams aren’t fully accounting for. Nearly half of employees who are struggling never say a word, held back by stigma or fear of what disclosure might mean for their career. That silence shows up in the numbers:
- 51% of employees feel burnt out by the end of every working day
- 300% increase in mental health-related leave since 2019
- $44B lost annually to depression-related productivity loss
The business case is clear. What’s less clear for many organizations is where to start.
Every May, we talk about mental health – and for good reason. It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, after all! But for the people on your benefits plan, and the leaders responsible for their wellbeing, mental health is a 365-day-a-year reality.
That’s what this month’s resources are designed to help with.
Better health starts here.
5 mental health resources picked for you
From spotting burnout to building a strategy that reaches your employees – here’s what we’re sharing this month.
Your highest performers may be the ones who need the most support
Quiet burnout doesn’t look like burnout. It looks like someone who’s still showing up, still delivering, still managing. Until they stop. This quick read breaks down what quiet burnout actually is, how it differs from traditional burnout, and how to catch it before it becomes a crisis in your organization.
- What quiet burnout is and what sets it apart from traditional burnout
- 5 signs to watch for in your workforce
- A quick assessment to gauge your organization’s risk level
Think your team is fine? Read this first: Quiet burnout: How to end the ‘always on’ spiral
Not all burnout looks the same
| Classic Burnout | vs | Quiet Burnout |
|---|---|---|
| Obvious exhaustion — hard to ignore | Visibility | Hidden fatigue — employees appear “fine” |
| Sudden, noticeable drop in output | Performance pattern |
Gradual disengagement over weeks or months |
| Clear — absenteeism, missed deadlines, visible distress | Manager signals |
Easily missed — compliance masks disengagement |
| Reactive — support triggered after crisis point | Typical response |
Requires proactive detection — damage done before it’s visible |
| Often event-driven — a specific breaking point | Root cause | Systemic and chronic — driven by always-on culture |
| Acute — concentrated in individuals | Organizational risk |
Widespread — affects whole teams silently |
The space between “We care” and actually showing it
Knowing mental health support matters is not the same as knowing how to build it, fund it, or talk about it with employees. This toolkit was built for the gap between intention and execution – pulling together our most actionable resources for HR and Benefits Leaders into one place:
- A quick read on addressing employee stress and mental wellbeing
- A playbook for talking about mental health with employees
- Tools to help destigmatize mental health across your organization
Focused on building a mental health strategy that sticks? Start here: Mental Health Toolkit for HR & Benefits Leaders
The stats don’t lie – your people need support
76%
U.S. workers reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition (HHS.gov)
55%
of adults with a mental health concern receive no treatment (MHA)
81%
of people report seeking workplaces that support mental health (HHS.gov)
Your employees are looking to you. Are you ready?
Up to 50% of people access mental health services through their employer first, according to Forrester. Yet only 55% of employees say senior leaders understand what they need. That gap closes when HR teams and managers have the knowledge, language, and tools to actually show up. This eBook is your starting point for:
- Where to start with addressing employee stress and whole-person wellbeing
- How to reduce mental health stigma and create a culture where people feel safe seeking support
- Why mental health training benefits leadership, management, and HR teams alike
- How one-on-one health coaching helps employees build resilience and sustained wellbeing
Not sure where leadership fits into your mental health strategy? This one’s for you: The Role of HR & Leaders in Employee Mental Health
Mental health support that meets people where they are
Most mental health strategies are built for the crisis moment — not the daily reality. This eBook makes the case for supporting employees across the full spectrum of need, from everyday stress and habit-building all the way through clinical care, with a connected platform that moves with them. You’ll gain:
- Strategies for driving enterprise-wide engagement that leads to real action
- How actionable data powers smarter mental health decisions
- Personify Health’s whole-person approach to mental wellbeing
- Why a centralized platform benefits both employers and employees
Ready to support mental health at every stage, not just in a crisis? Check out this workplace mental health guide: How to Support Employee Mental Health at Every Stage
What 1,000+ benefits leaders learned about mental health at Thrive Summit 2026
Mental performance is a competitive advantage. That was one of the clearest messages from Thrive Summit 2026, where leaders from across the country gathered to talk about what it actually takes to build resilient, high-performing organizations.
From building a culture of hope to navigating five generations in one workforce, this blog captures the conversations that Health and Benefits Leaders were still unpacking on the flight home.
Want the highlights from the room? Read the blog.
“Mental strength is not about positive thinking. It’s about taking positive action – showing up and taking purpose-driven action irrespective of how you are feeling.”
Don’t let the intention and momentum slip
Mental Health Awareness Month puts a spotlight on something that deserves attention all year. Your employees are navigating stress, uncertainty, and pressure that does not pause on June 1st.
Most benefits strategies treat mental health as a separate lane. Personify Health takes a different approach. Mental health support is built into our platform alongside physical health, sleep, nutrition, and daily habit-building, because those things do not operate independently in a person’s life. Neither should their health benefits.
Through personalized coaching, health challenges, daily check-ins, and whole-person engagement tools, we help organizations create the conditions where employees can actually address their mental wellbeing — consistently, not just in a crisis.
The members who engage with Personify Health report real, measurable shifts:
Why members use – and love – Personify Health
29%
feel less stressed
81%
develop positive daily habits
30%
sleep better
29%
feel more confident
87%
reduced or maintained healthy stress levels
29%
have more energy
Those aren’t soft outcomes. They are the leading indicators of a workforce that shows up, stays engaged, and performs. And they come from an approach that treats mental health as part of health, full stop.
Start with one of the resources above. Share it with your team. See what it surfaces. If you want to talk through what a whole-person mental health strategy looks like in practice, we are ready for that conversation.