Supporting Mental Health in Diverse Workplaces
Recently, many organizations have added mental health as a “nice-to-have” rather than a necessity.
However, that’s changed. Stress, burnout, and isolation have become known and understood risks to retention, performance, and inclusion across teams. And for HR leaders, management, and owners, supporting mental health is both a moral and strategic choice.
A 2024 survey from Mental Health America found that workplaces built on trust and support lead to better reports of psychological safety, belonging, and well-being. In fact, 90% of employees in unhealthy workplaces say that work stress affects their sleep, relationships, and overall stress levels. Conversely, only 44 % of employees in healthy workplaces report feelings of stress.
Addressing gaps between intention and comfort and between support and trust are where real work needs to happen.
Mental Health is Not a Monolith
Regardless of how similar your lifestyle is to others, mental health doesn’t look the same for everyone. Different communities have different struggles, and even more notably cultural beliefs about stress, trauma, help-seeking, and disclosure vary wildly, often shifting mental health outcomes.
What does this mean? For example:
Some cultures stigmatize seeing mental health providers; others prefer community, religious, or spiritual support.
Language, immigration status, discrimination, and access to care (e.g., cost, location, hours, availability) can create additional barriers to help
For historically excluded groups, the emotional labor that comes with “code switching", microaggressions, and navigating bias can drain resilience.
Remote and Hybrid Work Adds Complexity
Remote and hybrid work arrangements are beneficial for a lot of reasons: flexibility in hours and location, cost savings for travel, and better work-life balance. However, it also adds risks to mental health: blurred boundaries between work and home life and isolation being the biggest ones.
Leaders should aim to design remote and hybrid work structures intentionally, working to meet the individual needs of people.
The Goal? Build Systems of Support
Too often mental health is treated as an extra benefit at work. Instead, embed well-being into how work is structured. Of course, this is easier said than done.
1. Reassess Job Design and Workload
Avoid constantly rising expectations without clarity or buffer time.
Recognize hidden labor such as emotional labor, mentoring, inclusion work, and reward it.
Introduce boundaries. Use notification settings to set offline hours and block off windows of time for work where people can’t book meetings.
2. Flexible Time + Policy for Care
Offer mental health days, or “well-being leave.”
Make it easy (and safe) to use, not just available.
Allow flexibility for employees to schedule support, rest, or spiritual practices without penalty.
3. Multi-Channel Mental Health Access
Don’t lean solely on one tool (e.g. a counseling hotline). Use a mix: peer support groups, digital platforms, webinars, in-person services, coaching.
Evaluate vendors for cultural competence, confidentiality, and cost transparency.
Provide low/no-cost options so cost doesn’t block access.
4. Data, Feedback & Evolution
Launch regular, anonymous pulse surveys with mental health/well-being items.
Track usage of supports, time-off for mental health, reports of stress, burnout signals.
Use feedback to drop or iterate programs. Don’t hold onto things just because “they look good on paper.”
5. Safe Ways to Ask for Help
Develop a disclosure policy: set clear protections, privacy norms, and non-punitive adjustments.
Train HR and management to respond compassionately, not dismissively.
Offer coaching or scripts so employees know how to ask for accommodations.
Lead With Accountability and Empathy
Support starts at the top. Without leadership modeling, even the best programs can feel superficial.
Speak your own story
Leaders sharing their struggles signals that needing help isn’t shameful. In 2024, 89% of employees said their leaders talk about their mental health, which is up from 35 % in 2020. But transparency must be genuine, not forced.
Train managers on psychological safety
Managers are the frontline for mental health. Train them in:
Recognizing distress or burnout
Having open, nonjudgmental conversations
Fairly reallocating workloads
Knowing when and how to escalate to professional support
Embed support in performance metrics
If leaders are measured only by output, they’ll cut corners on well-being. Add metrics related to team health, employee trust, turnover related to error, or well-being scores.
Anticipate challenges & pushback
Even well-intentioned efforts stumble. Here are common obstacles and how to navigate them:
Skeptical Leadership or Budget Constraints
Start with small pilots. Show early wins, stories, and ROI (lower turnover, fewer sick days) to unlock more funding.Fear of Misuse:
Emphasize trust. Use guidelines, not micromanagement. Monitor patterns, not individuals.Cultural Silence or Resistance:
Some employees may push back: “I don’t need it,” or “this is too soft.” Use peer ambassadors, lived stories, and safe listening sessions, not lectures.Privacy & Data Ethics:
Employee data must stay anonymous and aggregate. Avoid “tracking stress” software without full transparency and consent.
What Can You Start Doing Today
Send a simple, candid message from leadership acknowledging mental health as a priority and inviting feedback.
Launch a 1-question anonymous pulse survey: “How supported do you feel mentally at work?”
Pick one manager training (e.g. “how to have mental health check-ins”) and begin trialing it.
Audit your current mental health benefits: cost, access, cultural fit, awareness.
Identify one equity-focused support (e.g. a peer group for underrepresented employees) and pilot it.
Resources for Supporting Mental Health - USA
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 and has blossomed into the nation's leading voice on mental health as an alliance of more than 600 local Affiliates and 49 State Organizations.
Mental Health America is the nation's leading national nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of mental health, well-being and illness prevention.
Bring Change to Mind began in 2009 as a mental health awareness and anti-stigma messaging organization, focusing on BIPOC communities to oppose racism and bigotry.
Resources for Supporting Mental Health - Canada
Canadian Mental Health Association is a mental health charity in Canada that promotes mental health nationwide and offers workplace mental health services.
Mental Health Works Canada provides research, education, and resources on mental health and addiction for the workplace.
Wellness Together Canada was created in response to a rise in mental health and substance use concerns since the COVID-19 pandemic and is funded by the Government of Canada.
FAQ: Quick Tips to Support Mental Health in Diverse Workplaces
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Offering benefits is an important start, but a truly supportive workplace often goes further. They actively build a culture where employees feel safe, seen, and heard, especially individuals from marginalized communities.
Aim to create psychological safety, address bias, and encourage open dialogue about mental health.
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Leaders can track progress through confidential employee feedback, engagement surveys, usage rates of mental health supports, and indicators like retention or absenteeism. But numbers only go so far: listening to qualitative insights from diverse employee groups is key to making sure initiatives resonate across the board.
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It means recognizing that mental health is shaped by culture, identity, and lived experience. A culturally competent approach considers systemic barriers, avoids one-size-fits-all solutions, and respects different ways of coping and healing.
