New NAMI Poll Finds Employees Reluctant to Discuss Their Mental Health at Work

Even with mental health benefits, employees worry about sharing concerns

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) today released its second annual Workplace Mental Health Poll, conducted by Ipsos, surveying full-time employees at companies with 100+ workers. The findings reveal a growing demand for mental health support in the workplace, yet many employees feel their needs remain unmet despite available resources.

"This poll makes it clear—employees value mental health resources, but there's still a disconnect between what's offered and what's actually reaching them," said NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. "Organizations must go beyond simply providing benefits; they need to ensure employees feel comfortable using them."

"More than nine in ten employees see mental health care benefits as essential to a positive workplace culture—on par with health insurance," Gillison added. "With rising stress and burnout, companies can't afford to wait. Prioritizing mental health is not just the right thing to do—it's a business imperative."

Employees fear judgment for their mental health challenges
For those who say they feel uncomfortable discussing mental health at work, the top five reasons include stigma or judgment around mental health, lack of discussion from colleagues, not wanting to appear weak, fear of losing opportunities or retaliation, and their job's effect on their mental health.

More than half of respondents feel comfortable discussing mental health with a close friend at work (81%) or their manager (57%), and just over half of the workforce (51%) believes their company's C-suite leadership cares about them. However, only two in five (39%) respondents feel comfortable sharing with HR, and less than three in ten (28%) would share with senior leadership. This highlights the persistent stigma surrounding workplace mental health discussions.

Employees crave more from their employers
Only half of the workforce (53%) know how to access mental healthcare through their employer-sponsored health insurance, says the poll. Consistent with 2024 results, just over 20% of respondents receive training about mental health conditions or symptoms at work. In contrast, over 75% of respondents report that further information and/or trainings would benefit their mental health and/or ability to support others' mental health at work, namely trainings about employer health insurance benefits for mental health treatment (84%), stress or burnout management (82%), identifying and responding to a mental health crisis (81%), mental health conditions, including signs or symptoms (80%), other employer resources to support mental health (79%), and communicating with coworkers (77%). 

Employees say mental health education drives workplace culture
While a quarter of respondents (26%) shared that they do not know whether their employer offers mental healthcare benefits, an employee assistance program, flexible work arrangements, or sick days for mental health, over 80% of respondents report these benefits are or would be important to creating a positive workplace culture. For those who received training about mental health and/or resources available, more than half (57%) reported it helped them feel more comfortable talking about mental health with coworkers. That figure jumps to 65% for managers. Many employees and managers report the value of offering trainings and mental health care benefits, providing general mental health education and resources, and discussing mental health at work. 

"It takes a commitment for companies to implement mental health education and establish mental health benefits," said NAMI Chief Innovation Officer Darcy Gruttadaro. "By doing so, organizations will see the individual and organizational impact of increased productivity, connection, and satisfaction amongst employees who are connected to resources. Partnerships like NAMI StigmaFree Workplace Initiative are helping employers turn these challenges into opportunities for further growth and success." 

Learn more about NAMI StigmaFree and how to become a partner.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of the millions of Americans affected by mental health conditions.

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This NAMI/Ipsos poll was conducted January 21-27, 2025, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel^®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 2,376 general population adults, age 18 or older, who are employed full-time and work at a business or company with at least 100 employees. This sample includes 104 executives. The 104 executives in the sample include an oversample of N=31 executives. Learn more about the poll methodology here.

SOURCE National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)