How employers can support employee mental health: 8 things that actually work

Most employers want their people to be well. Many have tried something: a wellness app, a yoga session, a webinar. Often, very few people use it, and it’s hard to tell whether anything changed.

Here’s what the evidence and the leading guidelines say actually helps, and how to know whether it’s working.

Why it matters

The World Health Organization estimates that around 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety worldwide, costing about US$1 trillion a year in lost productivity. Behind those numbers are people struggling to concentrate, calling in sick, burning out or leaving.

Anxiety at work isn’t only about the individual. Workload, schedules, management, harassment and job insecurity all play a part, which means employers have real power to make things better.

What the guidelines say

The World Health Organization’s guidelines on mental health at work recommend that employers focus on organisational interventions: assessing and then reducing workplace risks to mental health, such as through flexible working arrangements and frameworks to deal with violence and harassment. They also recommend training managers to recognise and respond to mental health conditions.

The US Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being (2022) sets out five essentials:

1. Protection from harm: physical and psychological safety, and adequate rest
2. Connection and community: inclusive cultures and trusted relationships
3. Work-life harmony: autonomy, flexible and predictable schedules, and respect for boundaries
4. Mattering at work: fair pay, recognition and a voice in decisions
5. Opportunity for growth: learning and a path forward

8 things that actually work

1. Fix the work itself

Unmanageable workloads, unclear expectations and constant urgency drive stress and anxiety. Look at staffing, deadlines and priorities before adding wellness perks. No app can fix a job that’s impossible to do well.

2. Train managers

Managers shape day-to-day experience more than any policy. Train them to notice when someone is struggling, have a supportive conversation, adjust workloads and point people to help, without trying to be therapists.

3. Make schedules predictable and flexible where possible

Last-minute changes and constant availability keep people on edge. Predictable rotas, protected time off and flexibility over when or where work happens, where the role allows, all help.

4. Respect boundaries

Discourage out-of-hours emails and messages, and lead by example. People can’t recover if work never stops.

5. Offer support people will actually use

Traditional Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are valuable, but many employees never use them, often because they don’t know about them or worry about privacy. Support works best when it’s:

• instant, for the moment someone feels anxious, not just weeks later
• private, with no way for the employer to see who uses it
• practical, teaching real skills like slow breathing and grounding
• always available, including nights and weekends

6. Build privacy in, not just promise it

People won’t use mental health support if they fear it could affect their job. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must keep medical information confidential. Go further: choose tools where you can’t see who signed up or what anyone shared, by design.

7. Make reasonable adjustments easy

Anxiety disorders can count as a disability under the ADA. Make it simple to ask for adjustments, like schedule changes, a quieter space, written instructions or time for therapy appointments, and train managers to respond well. The Job Accommodation Network (askjan.org) has free guidance.

8. Measure outcomes, not just sign-ups

Logins and webinar attendance don’t tell you whether people are doing better. Look for measures that matter, reported only for groups:

• anxiety levels over time, using a validated questionnaire like the GAD-7
• how quickly anxious moments ease
• absence and turnover
• what people say in anonymous surveys

Only report results for groups large enough that no individual can be identified, and only use data people have agreed to share.

What to avoid

• Wellness as a substitute for fixing problems. Meditation won’t solve chronic understaffing or a toxic manager.
• Anything that feels like surveillance, like tracking individual app use or mood.
• One-off events with no follow-up.
• Stigma. Make it clear, from the top, that asking for help is normal.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way for employers to support mental health?

Start with working conditions: realistic workloads, trained managers, predictable schedules and respect for boundaries. Then add private, easy-to-use support and measure the results for groups, not individuals.

Are EAPs enough?

EAPs are a useful part of the picture, especially for short-term counselling. But many employees don’t use them, so pair them with support people can use instantly and privately, and with changes to the work itself.

Can employers see who uses mental health apps?

It depends on the app. Some report individual usage to employers. Look for tools that, by design, never show who joined or anything anyone wrote, and only report results for groups.

How can we measure the impact of mental health support?

Track group-level outcomes like average anxiety scores over time, absence and turnover, and anonymous feedback. Only report results for groups large enough that nobody can be identified.

How Breatheasy for Teams can help

Breatheasy for Teams gives your employees Breatheasy Premium, paid for by you, with privacy built in. Employees get a panic button that walks them through anxious moments in seconds, guided breathing and grounding, short lessons, sleep sounds and stories, and Luma, a kind AI companion.

• You never see who joined, or anything anyone writes, feels or says to Luma.
• Your dashboard shows results for the group: how much panic eased on average, and anxiety scores (GAD-7) over time, only for groups of 10 people or more.
• Clear pricing: one price per employee, shown on the page, with a free 30-day pilot and no card needed.

Breatheasy is coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Sources

• Mental health at work, World Health Organization
• Guidelines on mental health at work, World Health Organization, 2022
• The U.S. Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being, US Department of Health and Human Services, 2022
• Depression, PTSD and other mental health conditions in the workplace: your legal rights, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Job Accommodation Network, funded by the US Department of Labor