Over the past five years, Lyra Health has surveyed HR and benefits leaders across diverse industries to discover their most challenging hurdles, monitor shifts in attitudes, and deliver actionable guidance. This year, we surveyed over 500 HR and benefits professionals from U.S.-based organizations with global workforces to pinpoint the trends defining workforce mental health. Lyra’s 2025 Workforce Mental Health Trends Forecast found that HR and benefits leaders will be managing surging health care costs, addressing acute mental health needs, and empowering managers to combat workplace stress this year.
Surging health care costs test mental health benefits
Benefits leaders are under mounting pressure to demonstrate the value of mental health benefits as part of their overall spend. Our study found that 87% of benefits leaders emphasize ROI as a critical value metric to HR leadership, yet less than one-third fully trust their vendors’ ROI claims. This credibility gap will prompt organizations to adopt rigorous evaluation processes when selecting benefits.
Employee turnover also remains a costly challenge, a Gallup poll reveals 51% of U.S. employees were looking to leave their current roles in 2024 and 42% voluntarily leaving for a preventable reason. For organizations navigating layoffs, hiring freezes, or restructuring, retaining talent and fostering resilience is essential to weathering economic uncertainty. A majority of benefits leaders (88%) surveyed agreed that comprehensive mental health benefits have emerged as a potential solution, suggesting that employees would stay at a company because of these benefits.
Actionable tips:
- Invest in evidence-based mental health care benefits to drive measurable health outcomes. Organizations offering comprehensive mental health programs are 13% more likely to report higher employee productivity, 17% more likely to see increased engagement, and 10% more likely to achieve ROI compared to those without such benefits.
- Partner with vendors that provide transparent, outcomes-based reporting to ensure employees have access to high-quality mental health support that will deliver value for both employees and the business.
Focusing on high-acuity needs
High-acuity mental health conditions, such as substance use disorders and severe depression, are among the most costly and complex health challenges facing workforces and their employers. Nearly 50% of benefits leaders report rising claims for these issues, which affect nearly 1 in 20 adults in the U.S. Despite the urgency of complex conditions, employees often face long wait times for treatment, inadequate access to specialists, and fragmented care, leaving them without the timely interventions they need.
As mental health challenges grow more severe, people team leaders are realizing that they cannot afford to ignore its impact on their workforce and bottom line. Over 80% of benefits leaders express concern about the increasing prevalence of high-acuity conditions, underscoring the need for more effective solutions. Addressing this gap with evidence-based, coordinated care not only improves employee outcomes, but also reduces the financial and operational burden created by poorly managed treatment.
Actionable tips:
- Streamline access to evidence-based, specialized mental health care by collaborating with mental health care providers that offer expert care navigation, robust provider networks, and proactive follow-up for complex conditions.
- Prioritize solutions that reduce barriers to care, integrate comprehensive treatment approaches, and deliver measurable outcomes for high-acuity mental health needs.
Related: How HR can approach employee mental health care benefits in 2025
Supporting managers to address workplace stress
Hazardous levels of workplace stress continue to undermine employee wellbeing and productivity, with over one-third of benefits leaders identifying work-related stress and burnout as the most common challenges impacting employees. Financial stress, job insecurity, and excessive workloads are primary drivers, with financial stress alone cited by 39% of benefits leaders. According to an American Psychological Association (APA) survey, 63% of employees report their work significantly contributes to their stress levels, with nearly half saying it impacts their mental health.
Managers play a critical role in addressing these challenges—especially when they determine 70% of the variance in team engagement—but often lack the training and data insights into their teams to do so effectively. While 85% of benefits leaders view managers as integral to their mental health strategy, fewer than 40% provide adequate support. This disconnect leaves managers ill-equipped to address team wellbeing, increasing the risk of burnout, disengagement, and turnover across the workforce.
Actionable tips:
- Equip managers with the tools, training, and data insights needed to improve working conditions for better job performance and wellbeing.
- Provide access to mental health resources, such as live and on-demand training in leadership skills that promote workplace engagement and prevent burnout, as well as data on how workplace conditions impact team wellbeing and strategies for addressing stressors like excessive workload and incivility.
- Support managers in their own mental health needs to help them lead by example and create a culture of psychological safety.
Turning insight into action
Addressing mental health support gaps isn’t just about solving immediate challenges—it’s a pathway to sustained organizational success. By investing in accessible, high-quality care solutions, organizations can reduce costly turnover, mitigate absenteeism, and enhance overall workplace cultures. Comprehensive mental health programs don’t just improve lives; they also bolster business outcomes, creating a more resilient and engaged workforce ready to navigate the complexities of today’s workplace.
Dr. Grasso is the VP of workforce transformation at Lyra Health and a clinical psychologist by training.
