PROJECT HEALTHY MINDS AND HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL RESEARCHERS TO EXPAND THE EVIDENCE BASE AROUND WORKFORCE MENTAL HEALTH
'Project Healthy Minds Workforce Lab' brings together leading companies to create a standardized measurement framework and build the business case for workforce mental health
NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Project Healthy Minds, the leading mental health tech nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to mental health services across the United States, today announced the formation of the Project Healthy Minds Workforce Lab, a groundbreaking coalition bringing together blue-chip companies, leading scholars and top thought leaders to expand the evidence base of "what works" for workforce mental health. A first-of-its-kind research hub for employers, the Lab will generate new evidence at the intersection of business, economics, and public health — helping companies build stronger, more resilient workforces and healthier organizations.
Founding members of the Project Healthy Minds Workforce Lab are Acast, Apollo Global Management, AXIS Capital, KPMG, L'Oréal USA, ServiceNow, TD SYNNEX, Teneo and Universal Music Group. The Lab is co-chaired by Jacqui Canney, Chief People and AI Enablement Officer of ServiceNow, and Stephanie Kramer, Chief Human Resources Officer of L'Oréal North America. Ryan W. Buell, CD Spangler Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School serves as an academic collaborator with the Coalition, helping to shape a research agenda designed to engage scholars and employers in generating rigorous evidence on what works in workforce mental health.
For decades, workforce mental health has been treated as a benefits-and-wellness conversation. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization estimates 12 billion working days are lost annually to depression and anxiety alone, costing roughly $1 trillion in lost productivity globally; and in 2024, diminished employee productivity drained an additional $438 billion worldwide, according to Gallup. Yet no standardized framework exists to measure what interventions are actually working.
The Lab reframes mental health as an operational and financial performance question — building a blueprint for how companies can support, measure, and ultimately improve mental health in the workplace, with a focus on the sustained productivity of a retained, engaged, healthy workforce in a dynamic business context. Across Project Healthy Minds' owned thought leadership and flagship business and cultural convenings, Lab Member executives will foster dialogue on the current state and future of employee wellbeing.
"For too long, the conversation about workforce mental health has lived in the wellness aisle. The Project Healthy Minds Workforce Lab founding members are saying something different — that mental health is a performance issue, a retention issue, and an issue leadership must key in on. We're proud to be working with a group of outstanding companies, alongside researchers from Harvard Business School, to build the evidence that proves it, and a playbook every employer can use," said Phillip Schermer, Founder & CEO of Project Healthy Minds.
"At ServiceNow, we believe the companies that outperform and outlast will be the ones that prioritize their people. Wellbeing is the foundation that sustains the judgment, creativity, and resilience organizations depend on, especially amid rapid transformation. The Project Healthy Minds Workforce Lab brings together leading CHROs and researchers at Harvard Business School to measure what actually works. We're proud to be part of this effort," said Canney.
"Prioritizing mental health is a fundamental leadership responsibility and essential for sustainable performance. At L'Oréal, we believe that a company is not walls and machines, it's people, people, people," said Kramer, "Through partnerships like the Project Healthy Minds Workforce Lab, we are proud to elevate this dialogue, learn from data-driven research with Harvard Business School experts, and share best practices that create a ripple of positive change far beyond our own walls."
"The most substantive progress happens when leading organizations are willing to study themselves — and each other — with intellectual honesty, " said Buell. "That's what this coalition strives to do. It has an opportunity to generate an evidence base that will allow more employers to move from good intentions to proven practice."
The Project Healthy Minds Workforce Lab is designed as a long-term, year-over-year research endeavor, with continuous publications and ongoing findings released as the work progresses. Each member company will receive a private readout including peer benchmarking, custom recommendations, an ROI analysis, and an action plan — alongside the aggregated findings shared with the field.
Member company employees will also benefit directly through turnkey engagement campaigns, employee volunteering opportunities, and access to Project Healthy Minds' annual World Mental Health Day Festival in New York City.
The Lab will anchor its programming around two flagship moments each year: World Mental Health Day on October 10 with Project Healthy Minds' signature Festival in New York City and Mental Health Awareness Month in May.
ABOUT PROJECT HEALTHY MINDS:
Project Healthy Minds is a Millennial & Gen Z-driven mental health tech nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to mental health services across the United States for every community. Project Healthy Minds focuses on three programmatic areas: (1) destigmatizing mental health by mobilizing culture-makers; (2) expanding access to mental health services through the world's first free digital mental health marketplace; and (3) advocating for innovative workplace investments in employee mental health. Project Healthy Minds' programmatic initiatives have served more than 500,000 people. For more information, visit www.projecthealthyminds.com.
PRESS CONTACT:
FerenComm on behalf of Project Healthy Minds
[email protected]
SOURCE Project Healthy Minds
Share this article