‘I have an escape door’: Younger workers say they need more than a good salary t...

Siobhan Neela-Stock learned a painful lesson about the need for mental health support in the workplace when she found herself in an acute breakdown one morning in August of 2021.

By the time she decided to take a six-week mental health leave from her media job, she was finding it difficult to sleep or even string a sentence together.

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“My brain just quit on me,” she says. “I think I was in [fight-or-flight] mode.”

The Vermont-based writer and journalist endured months of prolonged stress from her work environment. Eventually, she reached a point where it was hard to get out of bed.

She eventually decided to hand in her notice that October, joining a growing trend of young employees who are rethinking their relationship with mental health and work. A recent study from financial services company Securian Financial reports that 65% of Gen Z and 60% of millennial workers say it’s “very important” for their employers to provide mental wellness benefits. In comparison, fewer than half of Gen X and baby boomer employees say the same.

But if employers hope to retain talented workers and employees want to avoid burning themselves out, both groups may need to rethink the value they place on providing or having access to mental health benefits in the workplace.

Younger generations value mental health support

Neela-Stock is far from alone in her experience. The American Institute of Stress, a non-profit organization, reports that 4 in 5 American employees suffer from work-related stress. A quarter said their jobs were the number-one stressor in their lives.

But even considering how widespread the issue is, for employees who are struggling, workplace mental health coverage tends to be quite limited. The most common benefit is an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides focused, short-term counseling to help employees cope with a specific issue affecting their work.