5 Reasons Employee Mental Health Benefits Are a Business Essential—Not a Perk

Mental Health Care Matters–Because Work and Life Aren’t Separate

Employees don’t stop being human when they show up to work. The same people you hired for their passion, creativity, and skills are also managing parenthood, caregiving, health concerns, and economic anxiety. Stressors, whether inside or outside of the workplace, show up in engagement scores, retention rates, and productivity metrics. That’s where mental health benefits come in to help you ensure your employees have what they need to bring their best to work every day.

The Business Case for Mental Health Benefits

Mental-health benefits are no longer a perk. They’re the foundation of a sustainable, future-ready workforce. When well-being is built into your operations, you don’t just support employees—you strengthen your entire business.

In fact, a 2023 Justworks market survey found that 95% of employers and 97% of employees agree that mental health benefits are important to offer—a clear sign this is a shared expectation across the workplace.  In the same Justworks study, 60% of employees said they expect their employers to prioritize mental health in their benefits investments, and 34% named improving mental health as a top wellness goal. For small and growing teams, prioritizing mental health isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a smart investment in the people and potential that drive your business forward.

Burnout Is More than a Feeling—It’s a Business Risk

The impact of stress and burnout doesn’t end at low morale. If left unaddressed, these feelings drain productivity, increase absenteeism, and accelerate turnover. According to Gallup, employees who frequently experience burnout are 63% more likely to take a sick day and 2.6X more likely to be actively seeking a new job. While burnout is a concern, employers may not always know how to help. 

Supporting Employees Dealing with Burnout: 

• Start Employee Check-Ins: If you aren’t already, make sure you set up time regularly to ensure employees don’t feel overworked. Employees who always raise their hands to take on more work are at a higher risk of burnout, so make sure to monitor to nip the problem in the bud before it becomes a larger issue. 

• Implement an Employee Assistance Program (EAP): An EAP is an employer-sponsored program that provides employees with resources to address personal or work-related issues. A provider like Health Advocate offers 24/7 phone counseling and up to three in-person sessions yearly for everything ranging from anxiety, stress, addiction, and more. 

• Offer On-Demand Therapy: Talking to a licensed professional can make a huge impact, but finding a therapist who is covered can be a challenge for many. Talkspace is a great way to make therapy more accessible. With Talkspace, employees receive up to 12 free video therapy sessions annually, plus unlimited text and voice messaging with a licensed therapist.

The Importance of Benefits Communication

Even when mental-health benefits are offered, many employees don’t know how to use them—or worry about how seeking help might be perceived. According to NAMI, only about half of employees know how to access mental-health care via employer-sponsored insurance, and many fear stigma or career impact when seeking help. When employees do go to their managers for support, managers may not always feel they have the resources or knowledge to help, even if mental health benefits are provided. 

That’s where benefits communication comes in. Justworks offers plug-and-play communication support, including ready-to-send email templates and awareness-month toolkits, to promote available benefits without adding administrative burden. That also includes manager-focused resources and toolkits designed to build emotional intelligence and psychological safety at work. By giving managers both language and structure, we can help managers move from “I don’t know what to say” to “I know how to support you.” That shift can be transformative. 

Mental health is nuanced and some situations require more nuance and guidance. When a guide isn’t enough, Justworks offers free access to HR consultants to help leaders navigate complex employee issues with empathy and within compliance.

Measuring the Return on Investment for Mental Health Care

Research from Deloitte shows that for every $1 invested in mental-health programs, there is at least a triple return in productivity, engagement, and reduced absenteeism. Still, many businesses—especially smaller ones—lack the tools to measure that ROI directly. When you can measure wellness alongside output, however, you stop treating care as an expense—and start recognizing it as a growth driver. Within Justworks, payroll, benefits, and HR analytics are integrated into one platform, making it easier to pull insights on benefits utilization, PTO, and engagement. 

When all the data connects, you’re able to form a clear picture about the impact of benefits on employee engagement and retention. And when care is easy to access, you don’t just see healthier teams—you see a healthier bottom line.

Mental Health Benefits for Small Businesses

For many small-business owners, a “mental health program” sounds expensive—something reserved for corporations with full HR teams and large budgets. Common mental health benefits include access to dedicated services, fitness benefits, employee assistance programs (EAP), or floating holidays dedicated to helping employees relax and refresh. All of which are possible and easy to manage with Justworks. 

Through Justworks, small businesses can access health insurance plans at competitive rates and offer employees wellness perks like Talkspace, Health Advocate, and One Medical at no additional cost. See how Justworks makes it easy to deliver affordable, human-centered mental health benefits that scale with your team—get started today.