Resilience at work is often framed as “grit”—the ability for someone to push harder, bounce back faster, or do more with less. But asking people to absorb stress without reducing unnecessary stressors, clarifying expectations, or providing real support is a form of toxic resilience—and it doesn’t benefit employees in the long run.

Today’s workplace pressures seem relentless: AI shifts, rising expectations, and manager burden, just to name a few. Lyra’s 2026 Workforce Mental Health Trends Forecast shows that individual resilience is cracking under this strain, evidenced by a surge in mental health-related leaves and more complex conditions.

Resilience training can help employees manage stress and adversity, but only when the workplace makes recovery and growth possible.

What is resilience training?

Resilience allows people to identify their stress and understand how they can adapt and effectively cope. It’s not something individual employees can create alone. Resilience training is most effective when the workplace culture supports the true definition of resilience, thus making it a shared strength instead of an individual burden.

When done well, resilience training in the workplace can:

• Help people understand and manage stress responses
• Reduce burnout and increase productivity
• Provide strategies for coping with high-pressure situations
• Support healthier, more flexible ways of thinking and behaving

Why most resilience training fails—and how to fix it

Some companies invest in resilience training for employees but see little change. Here’s where programs miss the mark and what to do instead.

1. Resilience training that isn’t relevant

Many “stress management” workshops are too broad to feel personally relevant. A software engineer, sales leader, and customer support agent face different pressures, so one-size-fits-all guidance rarely sticks. 

The fix: Tailor training to specific roles, stressors, and scenarios. Focus on psychological safety, clear communication, and supportive leadership, rather than generic tips.

2. One-and-done resilience training 

Resilience isn’t built in an afternoon. The information from a single session can fail to be applied  as soon as people return to pressure-filled workloads. 

The fix: Embed resilience training into everyday workplace occurrences, including onboarding, leadership development, management discussions, and change management practices. 

3. Individual resilience can’t fix an unsupportive culture

The biggest mistake is expecting employees to “resilience” their way out of chronic stress. Often, this can mean an expectation to ignore, minimize, or overlook difficult situations while maintaining an outward appearance of being “fine.” A single workshop nor constant positivity will fix unmanageable workloads or unclear roles. And these stressors can impact both mental and physical health, as well as retention and the organization’s overall culture.  

The fix: Improve the environment. Solve workload issues, clarify expectations, and address unhealthy team dynamics. Acknowledge the impact of unavoidable or unchangeable difficulties without rushing to eliminate emotions that come with them. Resilience grows when stressors are acknowledged and work expectations are realistic and sustainable.

What a truly resilient workplace looks like

Workforce resilience requires more than training. It’s a combination of skills, systems, and support.

Managers equipped to lead resilient teams

Managers are often the first to notice burnout and other types of distress. Unfortunately, managers are also under enormous strain. Before they can support their teams, they need tools, training, and coaching that reduce emotional labor, not add to it.

This isn’t “more resilience training.” It’s leadership enablement.

Equip managers to:

• Foster psychological safety
• Model healthy boundaries 
• Clarify priorities and remove low-impact work
• Understand and access support for their own stress

Peer support and community

Social connection is one of our greatest tools to buffer stress. Peer networks, ERGs, and community spaces help employees feel supported and less alone. These spaces can also offer validation and empowerment for those who are part of communities that experience unique forms of workplace, identity-based, and environmental stress.  Feeling a sense of safety and support may make some employees more likely to ask for help, share solutions, and navigate challenges together.

Work design that prevents burnout

Resilience grows in sustainable systems, not high-pressure ones. Design work so employees can do their jobs without burning out:

• Normalize breaks, PTO, and focus time
• Maintain reasonable workloads and clear expectations
• Support autonomy and flexibility

Accessible, high-quality mental health care

Employees aren’t likely to endure major work challenges when unmanaged daily stress is seen as a cultural norm of their workplace. Offering and promoting easily accessible mental health support—including coaching, therapy, and digital tools—through a diverse, culturally responsive provider network reinforces the message that employees are not alone and that their health and well-being are worth the investment.

Invest in resilience, not constant positivity 

Resilience doesn’t come from asking people to “push through” whatever trials they face. It comes from designing a workplace where people can actually recover, grow, and adapt. When you pair resilience training with strong leadership, healthy work design, and accessible mental health care, you build a workforce ready for whatever comes next.

We’ve all been there. You’re at your desk, trying to focus, but your mind is racing. You need to schedule a dentist appointment, defrost the chicken—oh, and don’t forget the permission slip is due tomorrow.

This constant, low-level hum isn’t just a distraction; it’s mental load. While you might be physically present, your mind is busy planning, remembering, and coordinating everything that keeps life running smoothly.

What is mental load?

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Rebecca Lachut describes mental load as “unseen tasks, emotions, and threads” that often come at the expense of the person carrying them. You might think of it as the behind-the-scenes labor that allows a household or workplace to function. While physical chores are visible—a clean floor, a cooked meal—mental load is invisible, but equally exhausting.

Mental load blends cognitive labor (thinking, planning, remembering) with emotional labor (worrying, anticipating needs). For example, cooking dinner is a physical task, but noticing the fridge is empty, planning the menu, and buying ingredients is mental load.

Mental load in action

Because mental load tasks are often invisible and difficult to quantify, they can go unnoticed by those not performing them. Here are a few common examples of mental load in action:

Household and family management:

• Planning and scheduling: Medical appointments, school events, meals, and social plans.
• Researching: Finding the right summer camp, pediatrician, or insurance plan.
• Inventory tracking: Noticing when household supplies are running low.

Emotional and relationship management

• Anticipating needs: Packing snacks, bringing a sweater, managing moods.
• Remembering/nurturing: Important dates like birthdays and anniversaries, reminding a partner to call their parents, or maintaining relationships with mutual friends.
• Conflict mitigation: Adjusting your behavior to prevent stress for others.

Effects of carrying a heavy mental load

People who routinely take on mental load tasks may experience:

• Decision fatigue: The inability to make simple choices by the end of the day.
• Burnout: A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
• Physical health issues: such as trouble sleeping and muscle tension. Over time, it can even lead to an increased risk of chronic disease.

Mental load can have a huge impact on relationships too. 

“Resentment is one of the clearest signs of an unbalanced mental load in a relationship,” says Lachut. “For some couples, addressing it can be difficult as it may require changing expectations, or reveal fundamental differences that aren’t negotiable.” In some cases, this imbalance can lead to the end of the partnership.

The gender divide of mental load

Mental load isn’t biological, but social norms heavily influence it. Despite women’s increased participation in the paid workforce, they often remain the “primary caregiver” and “household manager” at home. 

Studies show that, in heterosexual relationships, the cognitive labor overwhelmingly falls to women. For example, a father might take the child to the doctor, but the mother likely scheduled the appointment, prepared the medical history, and ensured the insurance card was ready.

Questions about the fairness of roles in modern families have put the topic of mental load into the spotlight. “If the responsibility for finances no longer belongs to one adult in the household, then should all of the tasks and responsibilities be reallocated?” Lachut asks.

Interestingly, same-sex couples with children tend to divide mental load more equitably, suggesting that these imbalances are cultural habits that can be broken, not inevitable outcomes.

Mental load at work

Mental load isn’t limited to the home. In professional settings, it often falls on the same individuals, impacting bandwidth for high-value work and career growth.

This workplace mental load includes:

• Social coordination: Organizing team lunches, buying cards for birthdays, or planning holiday parties.
• Administration: Taking notes, scheduling follow-ups, or handling small administrative tasks.
• Emotional regulation: Managing team moods or mediating conflicts.

How to reduce mental load at home

If you’re struggling under the weight of mental load, simply “doing less” is rarely a realistic option. Instead, the goal is to make the invisible visible and redistribute ownership.

1. Audit the invisible work

Sit down with your partner and list the cognitive tasks you typically perform. Seeing the sheer volume of “invisible” items on paper can be a powerful reality check for the person who hasn’t been carrying them.

2. Delegate ownership, not just tasks

A common pitfall is asking for help with execution (e.g., “Please pick up the dry cleaning”). This still leaves the planning with you. Instead, delegate full responsibility for a task, from planning to completion. 

3. Establish regular check-ins

Weekly meetings can prevent the mental load from piling up. Use this time to review the upcoming schedule, discuss logistics, and assign ownership of tasks for the week ahead. This normalizes the work and ensures both parties are engaged in the planning phase.

4. Prioritize self-care and boundaries

Protect your cognitive space. This might mean setting boundaries around when you’re available to answer household questions or designating specific times to worry about logistics, rather than letting them seep into other areas of your life.

When therapy can help

Navigating the complexities of mental load can bring up raw emotions. A therapist or couples counselor can provide:

• A structured, neutral space to address imbalances
• Strategies to explain mental load to a partner
• Tools to manage the anxiety of “dropping the ball” and over-functioning
• Guidance to restructure household responsibilities for equitable sharing

Mental load FAQs

How do I explain mental load to my partner?

Encourage them to take 24 hours as the “leader” of the household. “They’ll be the one handling calendars, emails, responsibilities, and chores, as well as the consequences of those decisions”, Lachut says. This approach can open their eyes to the true burden being carried by their significant other.

Is mental load the same as emotional labor?

“While mental load is the cognitive burden that is carried, emotional labor is all of the ways that a person might take on the emotions of others in favor of creating harmony within the system,” says Lachut. Often, the person carrying the mental load also carries the emotional labor.

How can I help reduce mental load for my partner?

Don’t put the burden on the other person to tell you what needs to be done. “Act like you’re the only adult in the house,” says Lachut. “Look for tasks. Proactively check calendars and shared emails and own the task until it’s completed.” 

Another tip: show gratitude to your partner. “Notice three invisible mental load tasks each day that your partner has taken on,” says Lachut. “Acknowledge your appreciation and outline a plan for taking your ‘turn’ at the next opportunity.”

While mental load can feel overwhelming, awareness and open communication make a real difference. By sharing responsibility, setting boundaries, and supporting each other, couples and teams can create more balanced relationships.

Success at work hinges on more than just professional skills and brainpower. Emotional intelligence in the workplace can make or break an employee or organization’s ability to reach their full potential in areas like productivity, performance, and leadership. In fact, research finds emotional intelligence (EI) is four times better at predicting success than IQ. Honing emotional intelligence at work isn’t just helpful, but rather necessary to achieve peak performance.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and be agile with our emotions and other people’s emotions. Someone with emotional intelligence is aware of their feelings and uses this awareness to build better relationships and make informed decisions.

Emotional intelligence gained attention from Harvard-trained psychologist Daniel Goleman’s bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Goleman argues that EI is a better indicator of business success than cognitive intelligence or IQ. He names four key components of emotional intelligence:

#1 Self-awareness: recognizing emotions

Self-awareness involves identifying the physical sensations associated with the emotions in your body and mind; for example, recognizing that sadness may manifest as feeling lethargic  or how your stomach feels tight when you’re anxious. Self-awareness helps you recognize these sensations in association with your emotions to help make sense of what is happening inside you.

#2 Self-management: what you do next

Self-management is the ability to understand and regulate your emotions. It’s maintaining composure, making constructive choices, and adapting to challenging situations with resilience. Instead of ignoring or avoiding feelings, people with self-management skills recognize signposts such as frustration or physical tension and choose healthy coping skills like deep breathing, taking breaks, or addressing physical needs such as sleep or hunger before making their next move.

#3 Social awareness: empathy and compassion

Social awareness is the ability to be in your own experience while also noticing and empathizing with others’ experiences, without necessarily reacting. For example, if  a co-worker is distressed, frustrated, or anxious, social intelligence helps you see their perspective, even if you disagree.

#4 Relationship management: effective communication

Relationship management is effectively interacting with others, understanding when and how to engage, and listening actively. This skill is particularly useful when giving constructive criticism or praise.

These four components of emotional intelligence are interconnected and work together to help us navigate our emotions and interact with others more effectively.

Examples of emotional intelligence in the workplace

People exhibit varying levels of emotional intelligence in the workplace, which can significantly impact their interactions and performance. Here are some emotional intelligence examples.

It’s important to keep in mind that low emotional intelligence can be improved. Training and development in these areas can help build interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Why is emotional intelligence in the workplace important?

Emotional intelligence can benefit you both personally and professionally. In fact, forty percent of leaders in one survey said that emotional intelligence would be a “must-have” in the next three years.

Here are a few benefits of emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Greater job satisfaction

People with emotional intelligence tend to be better at managing stress, navigating interpersonal dynamics, resolving conflicts, and fostering positive relationships, which can make work more enjoyable.

Better performance

Research shows that people with high emotional intelligence perform better at their jobs and experience more career success. Those that struggle to regulate emotions, navigate social interactions, and empathize with others may experience stress, conflict, and communication challenges that impact job performance.

Effective leadership

Emotional intelligence at work is especially important for leaders. Understanding emotions allows them to build trust and rapport with employees, make informed decisions, inspire their teams, and create a positive work environment.

Employee retention

When leaders and colleagues make people feel valued, seen, and supported, they’re more likely to stay at a company.

Healthy team dynamics

Team members who manage their emotions are able to work well together, resolving conflicts with empathy and understanding.

Improved communication

People with emotional intelligence can articulate their thoughts clearly and concisely, which helps reduce misunderstandings.

How to develop emotional intelligence in the workplace

Here are ten ways to enhance emotional intelligence at the workplace:

1. Build self-awareness

Get curious about your emotions. Observe how you react to different situations and what triggers certain feelings. How do they manifest in your body? Maybe you feel different emotions in your stomach, jaw, chest, or muscles. Are there any themes or patterns around your emotions? For example, are some feelings more prominent in particular meetings, with certain people, or at specific times of the day, week, or month?

2. Practice self-regulation

Develop strategies to manage your emotions and “unhook” from them as Harvard Medical psychologist and world-renowned management thinker Dr. Susan David says. For example, if you tend to get angry or anxious in certain situations, learn techniques like deep breathing or take short breaks to calm yourself. Avoid making impulsive decisions when you’re experiencing intense emotions. Instead, try to take a step back and assess the situation more objectively.

3. Improve your communication skills

Effective communication is a crucial part of social intelligence. You can boost your communication skills by focusing on active listening (listening with the intent to understand and asking clarifying questions), giving feedback to ensure more effective conversations, paying attention to nonverbal cues like body language and facial expressions, and learning conflict resolution skills.

4. Build empathy

Pay attention to the emotions and needs of your co-workers, clients, and team. Develop your empathy in the workplace by listening actively and practicing perspective-taking, or putting yourself in another person’s shoes to better understand their feelings and reactions.

5. Create psychological safety

Managers have a big impact on employees’ mental health and how comfortable they feel expressing themselves at work. With emotional intelligence training and support, managers can proactively build psychological safety, so their teams feel safe to openly express emotions, ideas, and concerns without fear of being shamed or penalized.

6. Manage stress

Stress is a common emotion in the workplace. Use emotional intelligence techniques to manage it effectively through stress-reduction techniques like exercise, meditation, and time management.

7. Be aware of cultural differences

Educate yourself about different cultures and communication styles to get better at understanding and empathizing with colleagues from different backgrounds.

8. Seek feedback

Ask your co-workers or supervisors for feedback on your social intelligence and communication skills. Regularly reflect on your interactions and consider what you could’ve done differently to improve the emotional tone of the conversation.

9. Model emotional intelligence in the workplace

Leaders can also model emotional intelligence for their teams. Show them how to have empathy in the workplace by doing it yourself. For example, you can acknowledge and validate a team member’s frustration over a challenging project and offer support and constructive solutions.

10. Participate in training

Consider attending workshops or training on emotional intelligence in the workplace. If your employer offers Lyra you can take part in workshops designed to give you more practical communication skills. Share resources and articles on social intelligence with your team. Emotional intelligence training is invaluable for stronger colleague and customer relationships.

Boost your emotional intelligence

Building emotional intelligence is a lifelong exercise that requires ongoing learning and practice. We’re all on a human journey of learning about ourselves and how we’re evolving. You won’t get it perfect every time, but with training and dedication, you’ll see the benefits emotional intelligence brings to your career and relationships.

If you’ve ever been told to “reduce burnout,” “boost engagement,” or “fix turnover” but weren’t given a roadmap, you’re not alone. Many HR leaders are being asked to solve complex workforce challenges with tools that were never designed to do the job.

For years, organizations have relied on EAPs and point solutions to support employee mental health. But low utilization, fragmented programs, and unclear impact often leave leaders wondering: Is our mental health approach actually working? And if not, what should we do next?

Big workplace goals are easy to set but hard to execute, especially when the role of mental health is overlooked.

That’s why we built the Workplace Strategy Blueprint. It’s a strategic planning tool that gives you a step-by-step guide on how to use organizational mental health practices to drive the outcomes your business cares about most—from retention and performance to engagement and lower health care costs.

Last year, we revealed the Blueprint framework. Now, the full interactive tool is accessible through Lyra Connect and available to every Lyra customer.

What’s new: a guided tool that transforms annual planning

The Workplace Strategy Blueprint begins with a structured assessment that helps you understand how your organization is performing across the most important drivers of workforce mental health—not just benefits usage, but the broader systems and practices that shape day-to-day experiences at work.

You’ll choose one of two proven pathways, each with its own dedicated assessment and set of recommendations:

Promote – Focuses on strengthening individual well-being through programs that build mental health literacy, reduce stigma, and equip employees with the skills and confidence to seek support and build resilience.

Protect – Focuses on improving the management practices, company policies, and organizational structures that shape mental well-being and performance across the workforce.

Rather than guessing at what “good” looks like, the Blueprint provides an evidence-based way to evaluate where you are today—and where to focus next—using proven guidance from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Surgeon General, and Lyra’s own research.

Based on your assessment results, you’ll receive:

• A snapshot of how your efforts stack up to global best practices for workplace well-being and how you compare to industry peers
• Specific actions you can take with Lyra to deliver the greatest impact on top workforce goals in your organization
• Guidance on how to prioritize your workplace activities and involve key cross-functional partners

Turning insights into action

A strategy is only as strong as its follow-through. That’s why every Blueprint comes with support to move from insight to action.

With Blueprint, you’ll receive:

• Guidance from your Lyra Customer Success Manager to help interpret results and align next steps
• Clear, prioritized recommendations tied directly to Lyra programs and services
• Self-serve resources and enablement materials to support execution and stakeholder alignment

And unlike standalone frameworks, the Workplace Strategy Blueprint is fully integrated with Lyra, so insights translate into recommendations you can put into action right away.

Together, the assessment and ongoing support make it easier to turn strategy into meaningful improvements in employees’ day-to-day experience—and measurable progress toward your organization’s well-being and performance goals.

Not just a tool–a strategic partner

Lyra helps organizations move beyond isolated benefits to a cohesive mental health strategy. The Workplace Strategy Blueprint turns insight into action so you can drive healthier, higher-performing teams.

Parents of teens are carrying more than most workplaces realize. After long workdays, many shift straight into managing academic stress, social media crises, identity questions, and the constant worry: Is my teen OK—or is something more serious going on?

Teens, meanwhile, are navigating a world of relentless comparison, 24/7 digital noise, and unprecedented pressures. Nearly half (40%) report persistent sadness, and 20% have seriously considered suicide in the past year.

In my clinical work, I see this strain every day. Parents are exhausted, teens are overwhelmed, and the ripple effects extend into the workplace. Employers are feeling it, too. Nearly half of benefits leaders now rank caregiving and family stress as a top workforce issue—a tenfold jump from last year. They’re seeing the consequences: higher absenteeism, more out-of-network claims and ER visits, and productivity loss.

The challenge isn’t that families don’t want help—it’s that they can’t find good, quality care. Ninety percent of benefits leaders say employees struggle to find benefits tailored to caregivers, and 89% say high quality mental health care for kids and teens is hard to access. More than half report rising claims related to child and teen mental health.

Today’s families are navigating systems that weren’t designed for the realities they face. 

Why today’s teens need a different kind of care

Adolescence has always been complicated. The difference today is the rising prevalence, context, and severity. 

• Academic pressure has never been higher. Many teens feel like one misstep can derail their future.
• Social media and digital life magnify comparison, cyberbullying, body image pressure, and misinformation while disrupting sleep and replacing real-world connection.
• Sociopolitical and climate stress make the world feel less predictable and safe.
• Discrimination adds extra mental health burdens for teens from historically marginalized communities.
• The pace and intensity of adolescent life today requires care that is as adaptive and responsive as the environment teens are developing in.

These pressures don’t just affect teens—they redefine what mental health care needs to look like. Long waitlists, generalist clinicians, and poor quality care should not be acceptable for our youth. Teens need care that is fast, specialized, digitally-aware, identity-affirming, evidence-based, and integrated with family support.

A new model for teen mental health care

If the world has changed for teens, our care models must change with it. The mistake many employers and even families make is assuming teen mental health care is just “adult therapy, but younger.” It’s not. Today’s care should include:

• Specialized clinicians trained in adolescent development, able to distinguish normal teen challenges from early signs of anxiety, depression, or other conditions and provide developmentally tailored care.
• Support for digital life, including guidance on social media, gaming, cyberbullying, and healthy screen habits.
• Flexible access points, especially virtual care so teens can engage where they feel safest.
• Culturally responsive, identity-affirming care to keep teens engaged.
• Integrated parent/caregiver support, not as an afterthought but as a core part of treatment.

When care is designed this way, teens engage more consistently, parents feel supported, and families get better outcomes. Programs like Lyra Care for Teens illustrate what’s possible—fast access to specialists, evidence-based therapy tailored to teens, skill-building exercises, secure messaging, and centralized family resources.

How employers can support this evolution

Employers can’t solve every challenge teens face, but they can influence benefits and policies that determine whether families thrive or struggle.

1. Offer comprehensive youth mental health benefits, including youth specialists, culturally responsive care, virtual therapy, parent coaching, crisis support, and minimal wait times.

2. Communicate benefits clearly and often: during open enrollment, onboarding, awareness events, and manager communications.

3. Build flexibility into work, including time off for appointments, remote options, or flexible schedules.

4. Normalize conversations about family mental health – Train managers, engage ERGs, and reinforce that using benefits is encouraged.

5. Support parents directly – Partner with a benefit that offers expert-led webinars, guides, and parent-focused support.

When families thrive, workforces thrive

Teen mental health is shaping the well-being of today’s workforce, and the workforce of tomorrow. With the right support, teens build resilience and confidence, and parents experience real relief. Employers who invest in family-centered solutions aren’t just helping parents breathe again. They’re helping families thrive and strengthening their workforce.

Serious mental illness is rising sharply in today’s workforce. According to Lyra’s Workforce Mental Health Trends Report, complex conditions like severe depression and suicidality are up 88% year over year, and substance use concerns are up 26%. Even as stigma declines and more people seek help, they’re arriving with far higher-acuity needs. Lyra data shows a 46% increase in symptom severity since 2021, which means many employees now require care that goes beyond standard outpatient support.

These rising needs are showing up exactly where benefits leaders feel the strain: 65% report an increase in serious mental health–related absences, and mental health–related sick days have jumped 36%. As a clinician, it’s clear to me that traditional benefits alone aren’t enough to manage this level of acuity.

Why complexity matters

Serious mental illness includes conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, complex PTSD, and substance use disorders with co-occurring issues. These are not conditions that resolve with a few therapy sessions or sporadic access to a psychiatrist. They require coordinated, multifaceted treatment, and most employees simply don’t have access to it. 

Layer in the stressors people are facing today, like economic uncertainty, caregiving strain, rapid workplace change, and sociopolitical tension, and the likelihood of symptom escalation increases.

Then they enter an incredibly fragmented care system: long waits, difficulty accessing psychiatry, multiple systems and referrals, and unclear next steps. Clinically, that’s a setup for worsening symptoms. Organizationally, it shows up as reduced functioning, lost productivity, and, in many cases, extended leave. Not because employees aren’t trying, but because the system wasn’t designed for the complexity of their needs.

Misconceptions that hold employers back

These assumptions come up often, and they’re simply not true:

• “Serious mental illness is rare.”
  It’s present in every workforce.
  

• “Employees with complex conditions can’t stay at work.”
  They can, when they receive the right care.
  

• “Escalation is inevitable.”
  High-quality, continuous support can prevent many crises, hospitalizations, and extended leaves.

The real issue isn’t the individual. It’s the mismatch between their needs and the care model surrounding them.

Strategies to support employees with serious mental illness

Employers can make a meaningful difference by aligning benefits with clinical reality:

1. Identify and treat serious mental illness early – Timely assessments and fast access to specialty therapy or medications stabilize symptoms before they intensify.
2. Keep employees engaged in coordinated care – Integrated programs that blend therapy, medications, and condition-specific support dramatically improve outcomes.
3. Replace fragmented offerings with unified care – A cohesive system eliminates the navigation burden and reduces the risk of people falling through the cracks.
4. Foster a supportive culture and equip managers – Psychologically safe workplaces and manager training encourage early help-seeking—the most effective form of prevention.
5. Choose benefits that truly support high-need populations – Move past “check the box” solutions. Prioritize benefits intentionally designed for complex conditions.

Closing the gaps that put employees at risk

Rising mental health leave is a symptom, not the root issue. Employees’ needs are becoming more complex, but most care systems haven’t evolved to match that complexity.

When employers invest in integrated, specialized care, they’re not just reducing escalation and leave—they’re protecting their workforce and ensuring people get the level of support their conditions demand.

If you’ve ever set a New Year’s resolution and abandoned it a few weeks later, you’re not alone. A Forbes Health survey shows that most people give up their resolutions within the first four months of the year.

But why is it so hard to stick with them? “What I see most often is that people don’t create a plan they can actually stick with,” says Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Chelsea Vinas. “Sometimes the goal is so big that even taking the first step feels overwhelming. People also tend to focus only on the end result instead of noticing and celebrating the progress they make along the way.”

The type of goal you set can also make a big difference. According to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the goals you make that stick tend to focus on your overall well-being—things like reducing stress and taking care of your mental health.

We’ve put together a list of 21 simple, meaningful New Year’s goals to support your mental health this year, plus expert tips to help you stay motivated and on track.

Tips for keeping your New Year’s goals

No matter what your goals are for the coming year, these tips may make them easier to achieve. And, if you’re still working on last year’s resolutions, they can also help you finish the year strong.

Start small

“If you’re struggling to make progress, the first step is probably too big,” says Vinas. “Try making the first step so small and doable that it’s hard to miss, which will create momentum to continue on.” 

Try habit stacking

Instead of starting from scratch, build your new habit onto something you already do. “Habit stacking” makes the goal part of your existing routine.

For example, “After my morning coffee, I’ll drink a glass of water” or, “After I turn off my alarm, I’ll write down one thing I’m grateful for.”

Align your goals to your values

“When setting goals, ask yourself, why is this important to me?” says Vinas. Connecting your goal to a deeper reason can help you stay focused, especially when things get tough.

Writing your goals down, and including your “why,” can also increase your chances of following through. 

Loop in a friend

Telling someone about your New Year’s goals can help you stay accountable and give you a boost when your motivation starts to fade. 

Celebrate small wins

Progress isn’t just about big milestones—it’s about consistency. That could mean showing up, sticking with a habit for a week, asking for help, or doing something outside your comfort zone. Celebrating those wins builds confidence and keeps momentum going.

New Year’s goals: 21 ideas for improving your mental health

Want to set a New Year’s resolution that actually sticks, and feels good? These 21 ideas are simple, doable, and designed to support your mental health all year long.

1. Spend more time outside

Spending time in nature is proven to help lower stress and anxiety levels. Even a 10-minute walk, stretching after work, or sipping your coffee outside can help you hit the mental reset button. 

2. Try meditation

Regular meditation may lower stress, improve focus, and help you sleep better. If you’re new to it, start with a guided video to help you get the hang of it.

3. Schedule your self-care

We all say we want to make time for self-care, but then life happens. Block time for it on your calendar like you would any other priority.

4. Start a gratitude practice

Instead of focusing your New Year’s goals on what’s missing, try noticing what’s already good. Gratitude can boost happiness, improve sleep, and strengthen relationships.

5. Cut back on screen time

Excessive screen time is linked to decreased grey matter in the brain. Try simple swaps like keeping your phone out of the bedroom, deleting a social app, or starting your day screen-free.

6. Delegate something

You don’t have to do it all. Asking for help, at home or at work, helps lighten your mental load and prevent burnout. 

7. Say no

Saying “no” can be hard, but it’s a powerful form of self-care. It protects your time, energy, and peace of mind.

8. Prioritize sleep

There are so many benefits of getting enough sleep: better mood, memory, concentration, and stress management. Create a calming bedtime routine and aim for consistency—your brain will thank you. 

9. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of fully tuning into the present moment and accepting it without judgment. Pause, notice what’s around you, and gently bring your mind back to the present moment when it wanders. “Taking time to pause and reflect on the environment in moments we may take for granted can help decrease anxiety,” says Vinas.

10. Nurture your relationships

Strong social connections help reduce stress, combat loneliness, and remind you that you’re not alone. Send a quick text. Make that dinner plan. Practice asking for what you need in relationships and receiving feedback. 

11. Ditch the negative self-talk

Standing up to your inner critic is a New Year’s resolution that can shift your entire mindset. The way you speak to yourself shapes your self-esteem and mood, and negative self-talk is also strongly linked to conditions like depression. Taking time to challenge these negative thoughts is a powerful first step toward breaking the negativity cycle.

12. Try something new

Growth begins when we step outside our comfort zone. If you don’t have a specific goal in mind or a hobby you’d like to pursue, try simply setting a resolution to shake up your routine in small ways like trying a new food, visiting a store you’ve never been to, or signing up for a class.

13. Take a trip

“Go on a road trip, discover a new place, go back to a place you enjoyed, plan a trip for you and your loved ones, or go on a solo trip,” suggests Vinas. Travel gives your brain a boost and your stress a break.

14. Move more

A lot of New Year’s resolutions center around exercise, but you don’t have to have lofty weight-loss or muscle-building goals to benefit from a little extra movement. Try a short walk outside, a dance break, or a bike ride to lift your mood and energy.

15. Make time for fun

Joyful, unstructured moments help relieve stress and remind you that life isn’t only about productivity. Whether it’s revisiting a forgotten hobby, planning something spontaneous with friends, or simply setting aside time to do something that makes you laugh, building fun into your routine can boost your mood and help you recharge.

16. Declutter your space

Decluttering can have a surprisingly calming effect, even if it’s just a drawer or shelf. A tidy environment often leads to clearer thinking, reduced stress, and a greater sense of control, making it easier to relax and focus.

17. Drink less alcohol

You don’t have to quit completely. Try cutting back or joining a dry month challenge. Your mood, sleep, and energy may improve more than you expect.

18. Start journaling

Journaling can have a powerful effect on your mental health. It can help you process emotions, track thought patterns, and release stress. Prompts can help if you’re not sure where to start.

19. Breathe deeply

A few slow, intentional breaths can help reduce anxiety, lower stress levels, and create a sense of mental clarity. Set aside a few minutes a day to make it a regular habit or use it during stressful moments to get quick relief.

20. Ask for help

New Year’s goals often revolve around solo activities, reinforcing the idea that we need to carry all of our needs and worries alone. But asking for help—whether it’s with household chores, work tasks, or something bigger—can make life feel less overwhelming and even help us build a greater sense of connection. 

21. Try therapy or coaching

Talking to a mental health provider is one of the best long-term investments for your well-being. Whether you want to work through emotional challenges, heal from past trauma, or work with a coach to create a strategy for personal growth, the benefits of working with a qualified professional often extend long beyond your sessions, helping you better navigate life’s ups and downs. 

Be kind to yourself

You won’t stick to every goal perfectly, and that’s OK. What matters is the effort, not perfection. “Even if you don’t follow through on everything, setting goals gives life meaning and direction,” says Vinas. “If you find yourself in a position of not following through, it’s a great opportunity to get curious, not critical.”

And if you need a little help identifying New Year’s goals or staying motivated, a therapist or mental health coach can help you reset, refocus, and find a path that works for you.

Everyone works differently. Some people thrive in structure, others in flexibility. Some are energized by collaboration; others do their best thinking solo. Understanding and embracing these different work styles isn’t just considerate, it’s a strategic advantage.

Research shows that teams with cognitive diversity solve problems faster and produce higher-quality outcomes. When employees feel their working styles are supported, stress drops and collaboration improves. That’s critical in today’s environment, where 92% of employees say they want to work for organizations that value emotional well-being.

The foundation lies in psychological safety. Google’s Project Aristotle study found that this ability to take risks, ask questions, and admit mistakes without fear is the single biggest predictor of team success. When teams prioritize trust, openness, and collaboration, diverse work styles complement each other rather than clash. Friction becomes synergy.

What is a work style?

Work styles describe how people prefer to approach tasks, communicate, and solve problems. They’re shaped by personality, experience, and environment, and they can evolve as people and teams grow.

When leaders ask, “What’s your work style?” they’re really uncovering how someone thinks, collaborates, and thrives at work. Recognizing these patterns helps teams pair strengths effectively and provide the right kind of support.

Types of work styles

There’s no single framework, and most people don’t fit neatly into one box. Many shift between working styles depending on the project, environment, or team dynamic. For example, you might prefer independent focus for deep work, but lean collaborative when brainstorming or solving complex problems.

These styles reflect themes from the VIA character strengths framework—a tool that helps people understand the qualities that align with their innate strengths and personal values. Think of them as flexible guideposts, not rigid labels.

Independent

• Strengths: Deep focus, self-direction, reliable follow-through, judgment, perspective, perseverance (virtues: wisdom and courage)
• Watch for: Working in silos, missed feedback opportunities, unclear priorities
• Example: Marcus, a software architect, schedules focused coding blocks and weekly check-ins to stay aligned with his team.

Collaborative

• Strengths: Energized by teamwork, curiosity, and leadership (virtues: justice and wisdom)
• Watch for: Dependence on group input, meeting overload
• Example: Sarah thrives in brainstorming sessions but balances them with independent project time to deliver results.

Supportive

• Strengths: High emotional and social intelligence, leadership, fairness, and team dynamics (virtues: humanity and justice)
• Watch for: Avoiding conflict, emotional exhaustion
• Example: Natasha helps mediate team tensions and uses structured feedback tools to share constructive input.

Idea-oriented

• Strengths: Visionary thinking, creative solutions, judgement, fresh perspectives, love of learning (virtues: wisdom)
• Watch for: Overlooking constraints, too many ideas, lack of prioritization
• Example: Malik generates breakthrough concepts and partners with detail-focused teammates to turn ideas into action.

Detail-oriented

• Strengths: Precision, quality control, risk reduction, prudence, fairness, perseverance, perspective (virtue: temperance, justice, and wisdom) 
• Watch for: Perfectionism, difficulty adapting to change
• Example: Yuki catches critical errors before launch. Her manager sets “good enough” criteria to prevent overanalysis.

Proximity

• Strengths: Balances solo and team work, bridges communication gaps, perseverance, judgement (virtues: humanity, courage, and wisdom)
• Watch for: Blurred boundaries, diluted focus
• Example: Alex moves easily between deep work and collaboration, supported by clear norms for when to connect or focus.

What is your work style?

Discovering your work style requires self-reflection:

• Communication: Do you prefer structured meetings or spontaneous chats?
• Project approach: Do you like detailed plans or flexible frameworks?
• Energy patterns: What tasks energize or drain you?
• Environmental factors: Where do you feel most focused and balanced?
• Feedback: Ask colleagues how they see your working patterns.

How to support different work styles

Creating space for diverse approaches requires intentional leadership.

Pair complementary styles. Match big-picture thinkers with detail-oriented doers, or independent workers with connectors. Diverse teams consistently produce stronger outcomes.

Build psychological safety. Encourage questions, experimentation, and healthy disagreement. Trust enables teams to learn and adapt.

Provide flexibility. Stanford research shows hybrid arrangements and flexible schedules help everyone work at their best.

Watch for burnout risks. Each style has vulnerabilities. Supportive employees may absorb too much emotional labor, while independent ones may overwork quietly. Use capacity checks and clear priorities for protection.

Normalize differences. No style is “better.” Strengths-based cultures see higher engagement and lower turnover. Research backs this up. McKinsey found that over half of employees report being unproductive when their work styles aren’t acknowledged or supported. Recognizing these differences helps re-engage teams and boost impact.

Measure and adapt. Track engagement and workload balance. Rotate rituals—like focus blocks, written updates, or team syncs—to keep collaboration fresh and fair.

Creating space for everyone to succeed

Recognizing and empowering different work styles gives organizations both a human and competitive edge. When people can lean into their natural strengths, teams move faster, innovate more, and maintain better well-being.

The work mental health providers do is profoundly meaningful—and often incredibly demanding as they balance their client’s needs with required administrative tasks. The Lyra AI Sessions Summaries tool helps lighten this administrative load, allowing providers to be even more focused and present with their clients throughout their day.

Built in close collaboration with clinicians, Lyra’s AI tool supports providers while keeping their professional autonomy and judgement at the center. It drafts a summary of each session they can review, edit, and finalize in their notes, ensuring documentation reflects their clinical expertise and perspective.

Built with providers in mind

Integrated into the Lyra Engage provider platform, Lyra AI Session Summaries streamlines paperwork so providers can stay engaged in their workflow. As part of the development, Lyra conducted a 10-week pilot study, designed to measure the usability and impact of the new Lyra AI Session Summaries. In the pilot, providers saved an average of three administrative hours per week from using the tool—time they could reinvest in planning, reflection, or recharging. Providers also saw real potential for AI to reduce their administrative work. 

The pilot study found the tool to be: 

• Accurate – AI-generated summaries closely matched provider notes and required minimal editing
• Highly rated – Providers gave summaries an average of 4.3 out of 5 stars for usefulness and accuracy
• Easy to adopt – Providers used the tool in 3 out of 4 eligible sessions
• Supportive – Providers reported feeling more present in sessions and hopeful about AI easing administrative work

Tested, trusted, and clinician-approved

Rigorous research is core to how we validate our results and build trust. Every Lyra AI tool is guided by Lyra’s Polaris Principles, our framework for safe, responsible AI in mental health care. The pilot study shows that when AI is designed and implemented thoughtfully, it can reduce administrative strain while supporting high-quality documentation. 

Technology that supports providers

With around 75% of sessions now using Lyra AI Session Summaries, the tool is becoming a seamless part of providers’ workflow. With less paperwork, providers can dedicate more attention to the work they care about most—helping clients get better.

At Lyra, we’re proud to partner with benefits leaders who think boldly and prioritize the mental health of their employees by visibly and meaningfully integrating mental health into their broader company strategy. Carey Shore, Wellness Program Manager at Heidelberg Materials, is the winner of Lyra’s 2025 Workforce Mental Health Innovator of the Year award. Carey is a leader who has demonstrated a willingness to push limits and think boldly about the future of workforce mental health by launching programs like Heidelberg’s Well First Responders and working with leadership to reduce stigma and promote mental health at all levels of the organization. We had the privilege of speaking with her about how she promotes mental health in the workplace. 

What is your approach to advocating for mental health?
A major reason we’ve been able to introduce innovative programs is strong leadership involvement. When leaders openly communicate that it’s OK to talk about mental health, and that support is confidential and free for employees, it sends a powerful message. Those are big deals. That leadership backing was critical for us in the beginning, and it continues to drive engagement and reinforce the importance of mental health today. 

What are you especially proud of?
What I’m most proud of is that we’re driving engagement and utilization. I love seeing people use these resources—they’re engaged, they’re learning, and they’re getting help when they need it. And I’m proud that we’re talking openly about sensitive topics we never talked about before. We’re talking about suicide, anger management, parenting—real, sensitive issues that shape people’s lives. These conversations help create cultural transformation and better work-life balance. I feel like it’s truly making a difference for our people.

What do you or your members love most about the Lyra benefit?
What I hear most often about Lyra, and what our employees love, is how easy it is to use. If a benefit isn’t easy, people simply won’t use it. It has to feel comfortable, accessible, and seamless, and Lyra consistently delivers on that. 

If another benefits leader asked why they should invest in a mental health benefit, what would you tell them?
I would say that mental health is essential. It’s truly the foundation of overall well-being. You can’t be physically if you’re not mentally well. That’s why having a high-quality provider, paired with ease of use and strong engagement, is key for any benefits package.