Quick Summary: Employee mental health benefits are becoming increasingly important as more workers seek support for stress, burnout, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. Employers can use rising utilization as an opportunity to strengthen employee wellbeing, improve the benefits experience, and support long-term retention. 

• Increased utilization can indicate employees are becoming more comfortable accessing mental health resources.
• Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can provide an important entry point when employees understand how to use them. 
• Effective workplace mental health programs combine benefits, communication, manager education, and accessible support. 
• Year-round communication keeps mental health benefits visible beyond open enrollment. 
• Connecting employee mental health resources with workplace culture can strengthen engagement and retention. 

Mental health benefits have moved from the edges of employee benefits strategy to the center of the conversation. Employees are increasingly using the resources available to them, and employers have an opportunity to turn that engagement into something larger: a healthier, more resilient workforce and a stronger employee experience. 

A Milliman employer survey found that 59% of respondents had experienced an increase in mental health resource utilization. Rising utilization can create cost pressures, but it also shows employees are seeking support. The challenge is making sure employee mental health benefits provide accessible, meaningful help, and that employees understand the value their employer is providing. When meeting with clients and observing this increase in engagement trend, I often share that the increase in engagement is a good signal. It means people are getting the help they need. 

Mental Health in the Workplace Is a Business Issue

Supporting mental health in the workplace isn't simply about offering another benefit. Mental health can affect attendance, productivity, engagement, and retention. 

The impact is visible to employers. Research from Transamerica Institute found that 62% of employers reported at least one negative business impact associated with employee mental health issues. Those impacts included lost productivity, absenteeism, turnover, and dysfunctional work environments. 

That makes employee mental health both a people priority and an organizational concern. When employees are struggling with burnout, anxiety, depression, or another mental health challenge, the effects can extend to teams, managers, and business performance. 

Employers have an opportunity to respond by treating mental health support as an integral part of their broader benefits strategy. 

Rising Utilization Can Be a Positive Signal

Higher claims and utilization are easy to view primarily as rising expenses. But increased use of mental health benefits can also mean employees are overcoming barriers and getting help. 

That's an important distinction. 

Benefits have limited value if employees don't use them. A company could have an extensive collection of workplace mental health programs, but low utilization may indicate employees don't know those programs exist, don't understand how to access them, or don't feel comfortable using them. 

Instead of asking only, "How much is utilization costing us?" employers can also ask, "Are employees getting the right care through the right resources?" "What signals is this showing about the overall health of my organization?" and "Are there trends in what and which employees are seeking care for that can support broader insights?" 

That shifts the focus from simply controlling utilization to improving its value.

Start With the Employee Assistance Program

For many organizations, an employee assistance program is one of the most familiar entry points for mental health support. EAPs can provide confidential assistance with personal and workplace concerns, although specific services vary by program. 

Yet offering an EAP doesn't guarantee employees understand it. 

Employers should clearly communicate what their EAP provides, who can use it, how employees access services, and applicable confidentiality protections. Rather than mentioning the program once during enrollment, organizations can reinforce it throughout the year. 

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) can be especially valuable when employees know where to turn before a problem escalates. Clear, repeated communication can help make the program a practical resource instead of a benefit employees vaguely remember seeing in a guide. 

Build a Broader Mental Health Benefits Strategy

An EAP can be valuable, but supporting mental health often requires a broader approach. Employee needs range from everyday stress to more serious mental illnesses, and a single program may not address every situation. 

Depending on the workforce and benefits program, employers may consider:

• EAP resources and counseling support
• Behavioral health coverage through the medical plan
• Virtual or telehealth mental health services
• Stress management and resilience resources
• Manager training and mental health education
• Flexible work or leave policies when appropriate

The objective isn't necessarily to add more vendors or programs. It's to build an ecosystem employees can understand and navigate. Then make sure that ecosystem is accessible so that employees can take the actions needed to engage easily. That ease of access will go a long way in building trust over time. 

Connect Employee Wellbeing with Retention

Mental health support can also influence how employees perceive their employer. 

A workplace mental health playbook from the Health Action Alliance cited research findings that 62% of workers said they would stay at a job because of robust mental health benefits. That creates an important connection between employee wellbeing and retention. 

Employees don't experience benefits as isolated insurance products. They experience them as part of the organization's overall relationship with its workforce. 

When an employee faces anxiety, family stress, burnout, or another difficult situation, access to useful resources can reinforce the idea that their employer has invested in their wellbeing. If benefits are difficult to access or poorly communicated, the opposite impression can develop. 

Make Mental Health Resources Easier to Navigate

Adding benefits isn't enough if employees can't figure out how to use them. 

Employers should look at the mental health experience from an employee's perspective. If someone needs counseling, do they know where to start? Can they find a provider? Do they understand the costs? Do they know what their EAP covers versus their medical plan?

Employees experiencing stress may have little patience for a complicated benefits journey. Employers and benefits advisors can review that journey and identify unnecessary friction. 

Communication should also happen year-round. Mental health needs don't conveniently appear during open enrollment. Regular reminders, manager resources, benefits portals, wellness campaigns, and targeted communications can keep available support visible. 

Give Managers the Tools to Support Employees

Managers play an important role in mental health in the workplace. They are the key to the employee experience of your workforce. More managers are facing conversations they would not have encountered before, and that can be scary. Most managers are not licensed therapists or clinicians and should not be expected to function in that way. 

Instead, managers can be trained to recognize when an employee may need additional support, respond appropriately, understand company resources, and direct employees toward professional help. 

They can also influence everyday working conditions. Reasonable workloads, clear expectations, recognition, communication, and opportunities to disconnect can all contribute to a healthier employee experience. 

Effective workplace mental health programs therefore shouldn't exist only within HR or the benefits department. The broader workplace culture matters too. 

Measure More Than Utilization

If utilization is rising, employers need to understand what the numbers mean. 

Claims and utilization data can identify patterns, but employers can also examine employee awareness, access challenges, satisfaction, absenteeism, turnover, and engagement. Employee surveys can provide additional insight into which resources workers value and where gaps remain. 

The goal isn't simply to drive every utilization number higher. It's to determine if employees can access appropriate care and if the organization's investment is supporting its workforce effectively. 

Employers should also periodically review vendor performance and program overlap. Multiple programs that employees don't understand may be less valuable than a coordinated strategy with clear access points. 

Turn Utilization Into a Stronger Employee Experience

Demand for mental health resources isn't disappearing. SHRM's 2026 research continues to identify workplace stress, anxiety, and burnout as significant concerns, even as employer investment faces budget pressure. 

That makes benefits strategy especially important. 

Strong employee mental health benefits should help employees understand where to go, make support easier to access, and connect individual programs into a coherent experience. Employers can then evaluate utilization not simply as an expense, but as one indicator of how effectively those resources are serving employees. 

By combining an accessible employee assistance program, appropriate healthcare coverage, effective communication, stress management resources, and a supportive workplace culture, organizations can make mental health benefits more meaningful. In turn, that investment can strengthen employee wellbeing and help create a workplace where employees have more reasons to stay. 

Contact us today to learn more!