Prioritizing mental health in the workplace
Mental health is now a workplace imperative, not just a personal one. Whether you’re navigating hybrid work as an office manager, experiencing burnout as a frontline worker, or tasked with supporting employee well-being as a leader, the state of workplace mental health affects all of us.
Let’s be honest: work can make or break our mental health. Burnout, stress, and loneliness aren’t just personal struggles, they’re workplace issues. The numbers back this up. According to the American Psychological Association, 92% of workers say it’s important to them to work for an organization that values their emotional and psychological well-being, yet only about 57% feel their workplace actually does (APA 2023 Work in America Survey). And the World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion each year in lost productivity (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work).
That’s why our team at Haas’s Institute for Business and Social Impact (IBSI) launched the Workplace Mental Health Initiative (WMHI) Working in partnership with the Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces, our goal is simple but urgent: build healthier, more sustainable work and workplaces that support people, not drain them.
Developing a Roadmap with California State
Thanks to funding from California State government’s Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, we’re building a Workplace Mental Health Roadmap. Think of it as a guide for employers, policymakers, and practitioners to move beyond quick fixes and into deeper, structural solutions. The Roadmap will outline WMHI’s priorities to support partners with:
- Organizational Policies and Practices. Implementing policies and practices that promote work-life balance, provide opportunities for growth and development, and foster a culture of inclusivity and respect, backed by the people who need these policies the most.
- Worker Mental Health Resilience and Sustainability. Building employee resilience and addressing mental health concerns to promote emotional well-being and reduce presenteeism.
- Psychological Factors. Mitigating stress, burnout, and other psychosocial challenges to foster engagement, motivation, and job satisfaction on the institutional level, not the personal one.
- Physical Environment. Create workplaces that promote physical well-being, reduce ergonomic risks, and enhance overall comfort and satisfaction.
Insights from Industry Leaders
We’ve already started listening. We organized 20 unfiltered, lightly facilitated discussions with counseling professionals across UC campuses and uncovered some tough truths:
- Uncertainty drives distress. Political instability, layoffs, and economic volatility eat away at workers’ sense of safety.
- Leaders are overwhelmed. Managers are caught between higher employee expectations and fewer resources.
- Individual solutions fall short. Apps and yoga aren’t enough when workloads, toxic cultures, and poor management are the real culprits.
As one participant put it bluntly: “We can’t yoga our way out of burnout.”
Vision for the Future
WMHI’s vision for the future is bold: we want to build a Center of Excellence for Workplace Mental Health. This Center will be a hub that translates research into practice by helping organizations design better policies, training, and workplaces that promote both productivity and human flourishing.
Here is how we plan to get there:
- Workplace Strategies and Programs. Develop and provide comprehensive guidance to implement effective workplace wellness strategies that drive business success. This includes actionable steps and evidence-based practices to foster a mentally healthy and productive workforce.
- Research and Publications. Collaborate with leaders in workplace mental health to identify promising interventions, measure impact, and translate findings into practical applications. The goal is to generate new knowledge and insights to inform evidence-based practices.
- Curriculum and Training. Develop a robust curriculum designed to empower individuals and organizations to foster mental well-being in the workplace. Our training programs are grounded in evidence-based practices and tailored to meet the unique needs of different audiences.
- Outreach. We are committed to raising awareness about workplace mental health, building strong partnerships, and disseminating knowledge and resources to support organizations in creating mentally healthy workplaces.
We know this work isn’t easy. But the stakes couldn’t be higher. Building workplaces that truly support mental health isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s the smart thing to do.
For more information visit the IBSI Workplace Mental Health Initiative website.
