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Every workforce is made up of people at very different points on the mental health continuum. Some employees are facing challenges and stressors that stretch their ability to cope. Others are doing ‘fine’ but could benefit from support to feel more resilient, flexible, and able to thrive. Leading organizations tell us they want to meet all these needs, not just respond when issues become urgent. That’s where mental fitness comes in.

Mental fitness is about strengthening the brain’s ability to adapt, recover, and perform under stress—like cross-training for the mind. By helping employees build this resilience, flexibility, and stamina, employers can help workers reach their full potential.

What is mental fitness?

Mental fitness is your capacity to draw on your skills and resources to help tackle challenges, increase positive emotions, and thrive. Think of mental fitness like a muscle—you can build it over time through small, purposeful habits and routines. And while 73% of employees say their mental health has affected their work, most won’t seek out traditional therapy. But many are open to approachable, stigma-free mental fitness activities like meditation, reflection exercises, or gratitude practices.

Historically, mental health has been associated with illness or struggle. But in reality, it’s a spectrum that includes challenges on one end and thriving on the other. Mental fitness supports us across that full spectrum, helping to buffer against challenges while also helping us savor positive experiences.

Mental fitness works because our brains are designed to change. Thanks to neuroplasticity, the brain can adapt and form new connections based on how we think, act, and respond to our environment. That means small, intentional shifts—like new ways of handling stress, relating to emotions, or approaching challenges—can add up to big results. Each time we practice these habits, we’re reinforcing new neural pathways, creating a positive feedback loop where change becomes easier and mental fitness grows stronger.

Consider a situation where two sales managers face the same setback: a major client unexpectedly backs out. One spirals into self-doubt, loses momentum, and struggles to rally their team. The other feels the sting but recovers quickly, reframes the loss as a learning opportunity, and leads the team toward new prospects. The difference isn’t luck—it’s mental fitness.

Why mental fitness matters

The speed of change at work isn’t slowing down. Economic uncertainty and shifting expectations are fueling higher cognitive load and emotional strain. Left unchecked, that strain leads to burnout, turnover, and costly disengagement.

Organizations that weave mental fitness into their culture see measurable gains:

Making mental fitness part of your workforce strategy

The organizations that excel in the next decade will be the ones that treat mental fitness as a core performance driver. That means:

Mental fitness tips for leaders

As a leader, building your mental fitness has a ripple effect. Not only will it benefit you and your well-being, but by modeling mental fitness habits, you can shape a culture where others feel empowered to do the same.

#1 Cultivate flexible thinking

Strong leaders are open to new ideas, perspectives, and information—a mindset that fuels innovation and better decisions. Flexible thinking is the skill that makes this possible. It doesn’t mean abandoning your beliefs or avoiding strong opinions. Instead, it’s about building the habit of examining your views and updating them when new evidence or perspectives warrant it.

You can practice this by noticing when you hold a strong opinion and asking yourself—or your team—‘What would it take to change our minds?’ This simple question helps you pause, broaden your thinking, and welcome fresh insights.

Over time, these intentional moments of openness strengthen new brain connections, making flexible thinking a natural part of how you approach challenges and opportunities. Leaders can also model this skill by showing intellectual humility with statements like, ‘I don’t know yet, I need to learn more.’ These small shifts encourage flexibility in yourself and create a culture where others feel safe to think differently too.

#2 Model mindfulness and balance

Your team takes cues from you. Protect time for breaks, block your calendar when you’re offline, and set clear boundaries around after-hours communication. When leaders show they prioritize rest and recovery, they give employees permission to do the same.

#3 Use gratitude as a leadership tool

We can rewire our brains to be more biased toward positive thoughts, emotions and experiences. One of the most effective and straightforward ways we have to do that is via practicing gratitude.

For a leader, practicing gratitude not only strengthens your mental fitness, but it’s also a powerful tool for building a culture of recognition and appreciation on your teams. You can build this habit with consistent practice: set aside a consistent time each day to reflect on three things you’re grateful for, a practice shown to shift your brain toward noticing more positives. You can also make it a routine to thank someone directly—a coworker, friend, or family member—with a quick message of appreciation.

Research shows this not only boosts your own well-being but also uplifts the recipient, creating positivity for both. Even taking 30 seconds to thank a teammate for their help or a partner for a small act at home can make a lasting impact. Over time, these small practices train your brain toward gratitude and strengthen the kind of positive mindset that benefits both you and the people around you.

Mental fitness tips for employees

Building mental fitness doesn’t require huge amounts of time. Small, consistent actions can help you feel calmer, more resilient, and more focused, both in and out of work. Here are a few skills you can start building today.

#1 Practice mindfulness with a quick check-in

Mindfulness is the practice of noticing your thoughts, feelings, and environment in the present moment and without judgment. You can build this muscle by creating brief, intentional opportunities to hit pause and check in with yourself. This is something that can be done anytime, anywhere, and requires no equipment. Even check-ins as short as 90 seconds can help you build your mindfulness muscle.

First, intentionally focus your attention on the here and now. Then, simply notice your thoughts, emotions, and any physical sensations. As you’re noticing, be curious about your experience, observing your thoughts, feelings, and environment just as they are. The final step is to observe this experience with curiosity and without judgment, just as it is.

#2 Regulate strong emotions with opposite action

Big emotions can hijack our reactions—especially when stress runs high. The problem is, our first instinct isn’t always the one that helps us in the long run. That’s where the skill of “opposite action” can help.

Before reacting, pause and ask yourself two questions:

If the answer is no to either one, that’s your cue to do the opposite of what the emotion urges. For example:

This shift doesn’t mean your feelings aren’t valid—it means you’re choosing a response that protects your long-term goals and well-being. Over time, practicing the opposite action helps strengthen emotional balance, build resilience, and prevent stress from snowballing.

#3 Start a gratitude habit

Practicing gratitude is one of the easiest ways to strengthen your own mental fitness. When you train your brain to focus on what’s going well, it helps balance out stress and makes it easier to stay resilient.

Build stronger teams with mental fitness

Mental fitness helps people feel grounded and engaged and keeps organizations agile. When leaders prioritize it, they create an environment where people can thrive.

A one-size-fits-all approach to global workforce mental health can’t meet the diverse needs of employees based in different parts of the world. To improve employee satisfaction and quality of life as well as minimize issues such as turnover and reduced productivity in your global workforce, company benefits leaders need a more personalized approach to workforce mental health solutions. So how can organizations make sure that employees in all corners of the world have access to mental health support?

Mental health around the world: global mental health statistics

Rates of mental health disorders are escalating worldwide, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. One in eight people worldwide has a mental health disorder, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In a study of global employees, 41 percent of respondents reported declines in mental health due to the pandemic. “The mental health and well-being of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently,” said Devora Kestel, director of the WHO’s mental health department. Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability worldwide. The WHO estimates that the loss in productivity due to depression and anxiety alone costs the global economy $1 trillion each year. Some of the countries with the highest rates of mental disorders include China, India, and the U.S.

Barriers to global mental health care

Although effective treatments exist, few people receive the care they need. Globally, more than 70 percent of people with mental health disorders don’t have access to care. The 26 million people worldwide with severe mental illness face some of the heaviest challenges; nearly 90 percent of people who need treatment for schizophrenia in low-income countries do not receive it. Common barriers to care include:

Discrimination and stigma against people with mental disorders

Seeking mental health care remains taboo throughout much of the world. Many developing countries lack funding for mental health, primarily delivering care through psychiatric institutions. This drives many people to keep their struggles secret. Research shows that people in Eastern countries are more likely to view mental illness as shameful or a moral failing than Western countries. People in Asian countries face especially heavy stigma; for example, as many as 80 percent of psychiatric patients in China experience discrimination.

Shortage of trained mental health care workers

With just 1 percent of the global health workforce choosing to work in mental health, there is a glaring shortage of mental health professionals worldwide that severely limits access to treatment. Almost half (45 percent) of the world’s population lives in a country with less than one psychiatrist for every 100,000 people.

Limited education, awareness, and research related to mental illness

Just as there is a shortage of mental health professionals, there is a lack of trained mental health researchers, leaving gaps in understanding mental illness. In developing countries, limited education about mental illness as a health condition that requires treatment prevents people from seeking help.

Geographical distance from providers

In many low- and middle-income countries, mental health conditions are treated in centralized psychiatric hospitals rather than primary care or community health centers. This makes it difficult for people who live far away from a facility to access care.

Fragmented delivery models

In both developing and developed countries, the health care system typically deals with mental health care separately from physical health, creating a confusing maze for people to navigate. Rather than taking a holistic approach, mental health treatment options are often limited, with long wait times.

Cost

Costs and not having health insurance are barriers to mental health services. Even for those who do have insurance, mental health treatment may not be covered in some countries. In addition, many mental health providers are out-of-network, which is expensive.

Inadequate preventive services

The challenge of addressing global mental health can’t be addressed through treatment alone. Prevention is key. Mental disorders typically emerge in childhood and adolescence. Identifying and treating these issues early in life can help prevent disability and improve outcomes in adults. Yet in many countries, child mental health care is still in early stages of development.

Tips for supporting your global workforce’s mental health

Faced with different barriers and needs across a variety of locations, what can managers and company leaders do to support their global workforce? Developing specific programs and messaging to decrease stigma is a good place to start. Employers play an important role in destigmatizing mental illness and nurturing a positive work environment. When managers and company leaders talk openly about mental health, they send a message that employees are safe talking about their challenges, too. Research shows this type of authentic leadership builds trust and improves employee performance. Here are a few ways you can make mental health part of an ongoing conversation in your workplace:

The importance of localized care

Global workforces require easy access to professional, confidential, consistently high-quality mental health care regardless of where they are in the world. To be effective, that care must also be locally nuanced and relevant.

“There’s an extraordinary difference in how people think about mental health concepts in different countries, from how we describe illness to how we ask people if they’re OK,” says Gus Booth-Clibborn, chief technology officer at ICAS World, a Lyra Health company. In some parts of the world, people express mental health challenges through physical symptoms rather than talking openly. Or people may ask for help with practical concerns like housing or legal status rather than asking directly for mental health support. Understanding these different manifestations can be powerful in getting people the care they need.

With 35 years of experience providing mental health services on a global scale, leaders at ICAS have found that care has to be delivered at a local level to achieve the best outcomes. “And when it comes to local, we mean much more than just language,” says Andrew Davies, chief executive officer at ICAS World. “Language is absolutely critical, but it also involves an understanding of local culture, health care infrastructure, legislation, and geo-political and socioeconomic situations.”

For example, in some countries being part of the LGBTQIA+ community is illegal and members of that community are persecuted. In other countries, suicide is criminalized. In these areas, it’s critical for care providers to offer support that doesn’t put people at risk. Even small actions, like the “thumbs up” symbol, eating during meetings, or calling someone on a Friday can be significant because they may be considered offensive in some regions.

And while it’s critical for global workforce mental health to understand these differences, it’s also important to remember the similarities we all share. “Thinking globally is essentially about cultural competence. At the heart of it is awareness, but awareness isn’t enough,” says Davies. “Sometimes we think too much about how we’re different and not how we’re the same. Certain fundamentals traverse almost every culture—showing respect, listening, acknowledging others, asking questions, being tolerant, expressing interest and gratitude, and finding something in common.”

Balancing global parity with local concerns

Most organizations strive for parity in their global mental health benefits, so that there’s a similar standard everywhere in the world for the types of services available, wait time to access those services, and quality of care. But what does global parity look like?

“It’s critical to realize that the world is not the same,” says Davies. “And it’s a mistake to try and treat it as the same because different countries have different languages, cultures, religions, health care systems, legislative environments, geographical challenges, and attitudes towards mental health. A great global mental health program is one that’s able to recognize, respect, and accommodate those differences.”

At Lyra, we do this by ensuring that our services are relevant and appropriate to every country. Care is not only provided in local languages, but also adapted to local conditions. For Lyra, parity means global operational consistency and ease of access, along with flexibility at the country level to accommodate important local considerations.

For example, in many Western countries, we often respond to a critical incident by running a group trauma debriefing session with those who are impacted. However, in countries such as Japan, where there’s a heavy stigma around mental health and expressing emotional distress can be perceived as a weakness and bring shame to an individual’s family, a group session is often contraindicated and we would need to intervene on an individual level more appropriately. 

Some essential ways to achieve balance between global strategic alignment and local relevance are:

“Mental health is deeply bound to context and culture,” says Davies. “An employee in Germany isn’t too concerned about whether or not she has exactly the same service as her colleagues in the U.S. She’s more concerned about having easy access to high-quality care that’s relevant and appropriate to her needs. Seeking parity is a noble pursuit—one that should be about consistency in standards of care and an ability to manage local differences effectively.”

Mental health care hasn’t reached its Waymo moment just yet.

At the Lyra Breakthrough 2025 Conference, Dr. Tom Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, explored how AI has evolved in mental health. “I tend to sort of put this into a timeline where I think about how we did navigation,” he said. “When I was growing up, we had these paper maps to go on a trip, and now we use GPS. And I guess the question is: Are we ready for Waymo?”

His answer: Not yet. Autonomous AI therapy is still worlds away. But he emphasized that generative AI could still have a profound impact on mental health care right now. It has the potential to improve care navigation, patient engagement, and the quality of therapeutic interventions.

For benefits leaders looking to bring a mental health benefits provider on board, this development presents both opportunities and risks. By choosing a generative AI-focused vendor, you can empower your employees to live better and perform at their best. But if that partner has rushed into adopting the tech without proper human oversight, it can have the opposite effect.

At Breakthrough, Jen Fisher—Creator and Host of The WorkWell Podcast—discussed the benefits and drawbacks of generative AI in mental health with three brilliant panelists:

Their perspectives demonstrate how responsible vendors are embracing generative AI, creating a valuable learning opportunity for those who are looking to scale care for complex employee issues without compromising quality.

Discover how we’re using AI to bring life-changing mental health care to people across the globe.

Don’t let generative AI drift off course

Dr. Alethea Varra, Senior VP of Clinical Care at Lyra, tells her clients the truth, even if it’s hard to hear. Because that is what exceptional therapists do.

“My job as a therapist so very often is to sit down with a human in front of me and to tell them something that is not actually going to make them happy,” she shares. “I’m asking them to challenge their own beliefs, to challenge their own thoughts, to challenge sometimes very deeply rooted patterns of behavior.”

Generative AI, on the other hand, tends to tell people what they want to hear, even if it hurts them. Unlike traditional rule-based AI that follows strict protocols, generative AI learns as it goes, with the ultimate marker of success being whether the human user is happy with the response.

Its people-pleasing tendencies can have serious consequences. For example, a non-profit organization designed a chatbot to provide therapeutic support for disordered eating. But it started to give feedback that actually affirmed and exacerbated the user’s behavior. While it had clear parameters about appropriate responses, it still drifted from its therapeutic purpose, working against the very people it was meant to help.

Benefits leaders, ensure you’re selecting providers that prioritize clinically sound guidance over feel-good responses. Otherwise, you might end up with solutions that not only undermine therapeutic efficacy but also put employees at risk of receiving contraindicated advice.

The importance of the human touch

While generative AI carries risk, the potential it carries is too valuable to ignore.

Dr. Varra shares that moving forward requires that humans and technology work together. When mental health benefits providers embrace generative AI, they need to keep humans in the loop to prevent it from optimizing for satisfaction rather than effective treatment. “The intersection of AI and humans—it’s the magic we need to figure out,” she says.

This approach enables providers to enjoy the tech’s benefits without compromising patient outcomes. Responsible providers proactively assemble an oversight team first, then use AI for administrative tasks to establish clinician trust before rolling out therapeutic intervention.

  1. Establish clinical oversight
  2. Streamline administrative tasks with generative AI
  3. Apply generative AI to manualized therapeutic interventions
  4. Enable continuous monitoring and human intervention

Understanding the rollout of human-centered AI for therapeutic care can help benefits leaders like you understand the qualities to seek (and avoid) when evaluating potential vendors.

How responsible mental health benefits providers approach generative AI deployment

Step 1: Establishing clinical oversight

The humans in the loop can’t be just anyone. Dr. Varra notes that they need to be seasoned clinicians who can understand the subtle nuances between responses that sound good and those that are actually effective.

Forward-thinking providers are hiring clinicians specifically for AI oversight roles. They monitor human-AI interactions and create clear escalation protocols for concerning responses.

Red flag for benefits leaders: Your potential vendor can’t name the clinical leaders responsible for AI supervision.

Step 2: Streamlining administrative tasks with generative AI

Responsible providers are starting with low-risk generative AI applications that don’t directly impact care delivery. They’re using the tech to streamline time-consuming, manual tasks, like data capture and clinical documentation.

This simultaneously frees clinicians to focus on deeper engagement with their patients and builds organizational trust in AI capabilities. Briana Duffy, Market President at Carelon Behavioral Health, shares that mental health remains deeply human work, emphasizing the importance of the bond between therapists and their patients. “Human connection is so critical when it comes to the care journey,” she expresses. 

Technology should deepen rather than disrupt those essential relationships.

Red flag for benefits leaders: Your vendor doesn’t use AI to support clinicians in their day-to-day work.

Step 3: Applying generative AI to manualized therapeutic interventions

When it comes to applying generative AI to actual therapeutic work, Dr. Insel notes that it’s critical to start with manualized interventions, like using cognitive behavioral therapy to address a phobia. These interventions follow clearly defined, standardized steps that help minimize the need for subjective decision-making.

Psychoanalytic interventions, on the other hand, are not appropriate candidates for the use of AI. They’re more open-ended, with a focus on the therapist reading between the lines to explore subconscious thought, which would leave AI with far too much room for interpretation.

Red flag for benefits leaders: Your vendor doesn’t have a framework for determining when AI is appropriate vs. when human therapists must lead.

Step 4: Enabling continuous monitoring and human intervention

The rollout of generative AI for therapy is just the beginning. Leading providers are calling on their oversight teams to evaluate therapeutic interactions on a regular cadence and flag concerning patterns that need to be addressed.

Human intervention goes beyond correcting AI when it starts to drift. Providers also need teams of skilled humans who are prepared to respond when AI identifies patients in need of urgent care. 

Duffy’s team at Carelon can identify patients at risk of self-harm or suicidal ideation, typically five months prior to an attempt. She highlights that having that predictive capability is only valuable if there are skilled clinicians ready to perform trauma-informed, compassionate interventions when AI sounds the alarm.

Red flag for benefits leaders: Your vendor doesn’t have systematic review processes or established protocols for emergency response.

Moving into the future with confidence

Mental health benefits providers who thoughtfully balance AI with human oversight take advantage of everything the tech has to offer while keeping patients safe.

They care for larger populations by automating manualized interventions, while ensuring that patients receive constructive, not counterproductive, guidance. Meanwhile, by using AI to free clinicians from routine administrative tasks, like data capture and documentation, providers enable them to engage more quickly and meaningfully when human intervention is required.

For benefits leaders, partnering with a responsible vendor can create unprecedented value for employees. Your employees will have more immediate access to care when they need it. They’ll receive clinically sound care that helps them genuinely heal. And they’ll benefit from deeper, more meaningful relationships with clinicians when they need them the most.

When providers demonstrate that they are responsibly using AI, you can take confidence in the fact that your investment is having a deeply positive impact on the well-being and performance of each member of your workforce.

At 2 a.m., a mother on leave in Mexico City is overwhelmed by postpartum depression. In your London office, a manager is worried about a grieving employee. Neither knows exactly what to do, but they know they need help now.

These aren’t rare events—they’re everyday realities for a global workforce. When someone is struggling, a robotic dead-end or a delayed, impersonal response only deepens their sense of isolation. Mental health care isn’t one-size-fits-all, especially when your workforce spans continents.

At Lyra, humans are always available. We offer a round-the-clock Care Navigator with the clinical expertise and local knowledge to guide a crisis to a turning point.

5 ways Lyra redefines care navigation 

We’ve built a care navigation system designed for real impact: expansive, responsive, and always there. Here’s what sets it apart:

#1 Unmatched global reach with local expertise

Lyra has the largest care navigation network in the industry. With support in 220 countries and territories and 55+ languages, we connect employees with an in-country care navigator who understands the cultural and regulatory landscape. 

Impact: Consistent quality of care and local compliance knowledge across your global workforce, without adding administrative burden for your HR team. 

#2 The industry’s only 24/7 care navigation team

In case of crisis or a risk flag, members always have access to round-the-clock clinicians. This isn’t just a feature; it’s our global standard of care.

Impact: Employees aren’t left waiting during their most vulnerable moments, and HR teams can rest assured that crises are handled by experts, not left to managers.

#3 Integrated care for every need

From small concerns to serious struggles, our navigators are there every step, providing trusted support for:

Impact: A healthier, more resilient workforce and fewer distractions that pull employees away from their jobs.

#4 Human support, AI-enhanced

AI helps with administrative tasks so navigators can spend more time listening, understanding, and guiding people to the right care, freeing care navigators to focus on more complex and nuanced conversations. 

Impact: More time listening to members than writing summaries and a benefit that puts people first.

#5 Measurable outcomes

Last year alone, we supported more than 240,000 people worldwide—guiding them to the right care, so they weren’t left to figure it out alone. And this year, our care navigators proactively reached out to over 17,000 members who had been identified as high-risk, making sure they got the support they needed. The result is life-changing: 9 out of 10 Lyra members get better.

Impact: Employees get the support they need quickly, and employers see stronger engagement, retention, and productivity.

Your trusted partner in mental health

When your employees can easily access care, they show up healthier, more focused, and more committed. With Lyra’s Care Navigation, you get:

Better care starts here

A mental health benefit only works if people actually use it. Lyra’s 24/7 global care navigation provides your employees with a lifeline whenever and wherever they need it. 

You can’t fix what you can’t see. An employee engagement survey shines light on the moments that make work great, and the ones that drain productivity. It’s the first step in turning feedback into smarter strategy and strategy into results that stick.

What is employee engagement? 

Employee engagement is how much people are invested in their work and their organization. When employees feel connected to a company’s mission and values, they give more, bring extra effort and creativity, and solve problems better. 

The stakes are high: Disengaged employees drain an estimated $8.8 trillion from the global economy. Employee engagement grows when companies support workplace wellness and equip managers with tools to understand and help their teams (including employee engagement surveys). 

Why are employee engagement surveys important?

A thoughtfully designed employee engagement survey is more than a measurement tool. When organizations not only gather feedback but also act on it, they can boost retention, strengthen trust, and improve both productivity and profitability. the results can make the difference between changes in retention, productivity, profitability, and trust. 

Gallup surveys on employee engagement and employee turnover found engagement surveys may help:

Turn feedback into action (and trust)

Collecting feedback isn’t usually a heavy lift. Acting on it is where many companies stumble. Only 21% of organizations run surveys three or more times a year, even though 58% of employees want more frequent check-ins. This gap between listening and doing can erode employee trust. But when companies design employee feedback surveys with action in mind—digging into what motivates people and turning insights into concrete steps—they don’t just boost engagement. They build the kind of trust that fuels innovation.

How to create an impactful employee engagement survey 

Your employee engagement survey can be more than a check-the-box exercise. It can spark real culture and performance gains when feedback is tied to visible action.

#1 Communicate intentions

Effective engagement surveys communicate why the employee survey matters, how HR will use the data, and what employees can expect afterward. Emphasize anonymity to encourage candid, honest feedback.

#2 Use the LEAD framework

Consider using the LEAD framework for survey questions. It ensures you’re covering areas that matter most to employees:

#3 Standardize with a 5-point Likert scale

A simple scale (Strongly disagree → Strongly agree) makes responses easier to track, compare across teams, and measure over time. Consistency is key. It helps you spot trends, identify strengths and weaknesses, and focus your actions where they’ll make the biggest difference.

#4 Drive high participation

Promote the employee feedback survey through email, team meetings, and leadership endorsements. It’s essential to dedicate time during work hours to complete tasks since this tends to improve response.

Taking action on employee engagement surveys

Running an employee engagement survey is just the beginning. What you do next determines whether employees feel heard or ignored.

Turn surveys into a tool that drives results

Employee engagement surveys work best when they’re purposeful, timely, and followed by action. Done right, they reveal what fuels your people, build trust through follow-through, and turn feedback into lasting business impact.

Trigger warning: Contains references to suicide and self-harm.

One of the most distressing scenarios for an HR leader is learning that an employee is experiencing a severe mental health crisis and may not be able to keep themselves safe. When a member of your team is struggling with suicidal thoughts or behaviors, your top priority becomes supporting them in receiving the care they need to successfully manage the current crisis and prevent future ones.

Unless you’re familiar with the ins and outs of specialized mental health care, however, you will likely find yourself flooded with a number of questions: Where do we start? Who provides this level of specialized care? How do we vet them for quality? What if there’s a waitlist when this person needs help now? How do I support their manager through this? What can we do differently in the future to catch the warning signs earlier?

This is the moment when you, your organization, and your employee are most in need of specialized, dedicated support to navigate the complex healthcare landscape and connect your employee to the high-quality care they urgently need.

Building a safety net proactively

When an employee’s safety and well-being are on the line, hoping for the best is not enough. An effective workplace suicide prevention strategy requires a comprehensive approach including:

Lyra takes the guesswork out of this process, providing access to the specialized care and support your employee and their family need.

Immediate access to evidence-based treatment

The treatment of choice for someone struggling with suicidal and self-harm behaviors is dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). DBT is a comprehensive treatment program that combines skills groups, individual therapy, and real-time skills coaching to provide your employees with the skills they need to manage overwhelming emotions, resist urges to harm themselves, navigate interpersonal relationships, and avert crises. With Lyra’s DBT program, members work with a team of expert DBT clinicians and have access to 24/7 skills coaching from trained professionals to assist them in applying new skills in their daily lives.

What sets Lyra’s DBT program apart is its accessibility. Whereas most comprehensive DBT programs have waitlists of three to six months, Lyra connects members to care in just days – ensuring that this life-saving treatment is available when it’s needed most. The Lyra DBT program is also more efficient, lasting four months instead of the standard six, thanks to Lyra’s between-session digital tools that reinforce skills practice throughout the week. Notably, the outcomes speak for themselves: 91% of members who complete the program demonstrate meaningful symptom improvement. This is the treatment you want your employees to receive if they are at risk of harming themselves.

Access to higher levels of care when needed

Although outpatient DBT can help many people through a crisis, some may need more intensive care to ensure their safety. Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) and partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) can provide a helpful step-up in care to prevent hospitalization, or serve as a vital step-down to help someone safely transition back to their daily routine and outpatient care.

Finding a high-quality intensive program in the midst of a crisis can be a daunting task, however, especially if you are starting from scratch. Lyra has done the hard work ahead of time, building a robust network of 1,000 trusted facility partners so that we are ready to act immediately when members need more support.

Support for the support system

When someone is in crisis, the people around them can feel the weight too. If you are not a trained mental health provider, helping someone navigate a suicidal crisis can be overwhelming and frightening. Family members, managers, and HR leaders alike may struggle with how best to support an employee in crisis and help them traverse the complex and often confusing healthcare system. With Lyra, you don’t have to navigate this maze alone. We provide dedicated support and guidance not just for employees, but for the families and organizations supporting them.

Be ready when your team needs you the most

A mental health crisis is one of the most difficult challenges a workplace can face—not just for the individual, but for their manager, HR leader, and co-workers. With Lyra, you have a pre-built, high-quality safety net that reduces risk, controls costs, and provides a clear path forward for everyone involved.

The support you put in place today can help your employees recover from a crisis and move forward in their lives with a renewed sense of purpose and the ability to navigate crises more effectively in the future.

Employee experience is the beating heart of your workplace. And for benefits leaders, it’s one of the most powerful levers you have to drive engagement, retention, and well-being. When employee experience is positive, people do their best work. When it’s not, even the best benefits can fall flat.

What is employee experience?

Employee experience is the sum of everything an employee encounters at work—interactions with co-workers, the tools and systems they use, leadership behaviors, culture, and support. It spans the entire employee journey, from their first interview to their last day. 

Employee engagement is the indicator. Business results like performance, turnover, and health care costs are outcomes. Employee experience is the input. You can’t demand employee well-being and engagement, but you can design an experience that makes people want to show up, stay, and thrive.

Why is employee experience important?

Employee experience shapes every corner of your organization, from performance to retention and innovation.

A strong employee experience can: 

Stages of the employee experience 

Employee experience unfolds over time, with each stage shaping how people feel and perform.

How to improve employee experience

A strong employee experience is about more than policies or perks. It requires clear strategy, consistent action, and a culture that puts people first. Here are some tips to boost employee experience:

#1 Measure psychosocial risks

Leaders need to understand how aspects of work are impacting employees adversely so that they can take action to make improvements. A psychosocial risk assessment can also help to measure outcomes like levels of psychological safety and burnout.

#2 Build psychological safety

People do their best work when they feel safe to be honest, take risks, and admit mistakes. Psychological safety is the permission slip your team needs to be fully engaged. It starts with small, consistent actions like leaders modeling vulnerability and inviting feedback, which signal that it’s safe to show up authentically.

#3 Get everyone involved

Employee experience isn’t just top-down. Research shows that even a 15-minute weekly check-in from a manager can significantly improve employee engagement and well-being. Equip managers to lead with empathy and consistency, give leaders the tools to act on what they hear, and invite employees to co-create culture and norms.

#4 Prioritize mental health

For today’s workforce, a supportive culture often matters more than salary. Culture is stronger when mental health is core, not a side benefit. Normalize open conversations, train managers to recognize burnout, and ensure employees have easy access to high-quality care. Small actions, like modeling boundaries or starting meetings with check-ins, reinforce that well-being is valued.The lasting impact of employee experience

#5  Provide real flexibility

Work-life balance looks different for everyone. Redefine it as freedom within a framework—whether that’s hybrid models, flexible core working hours, or recharge days during high-stress periods. For shift and gig workers, this could mean the ability to choose schedules that fit with personal commitments and childcare needs. 

#6 Fuel growth and purpose

People do their best work when they see a future for themselves and understand why their work matters. Generic learning libraries aren’t enough. Personalize development paths, connect employees’ work directly to your company’s mission, and celebrate the impact they create.

#7 Offer recognition that resonates

Recognition should be frequent, specific, and meaningful. Public shout-outs, peer-to-peer kudos, handwritten notes, team-based awards (“Most Creative Problem-Solver”), or even extra time off show people they’re valued.

#8 Supercharge your managers

Managers shape the daily employee experience more than anyone else. Equip them with training in particular for  hybrid leadership, trust-building, and sensitive mental health conversations. Give them the tools to support, not just supervise, their teams.

The lasting impact of employee experience

Improving employee experience isn’t a one-time initiative. It’s an ongoing commitment to your people’s well-being, growth, and sense of belonging. When you design that experience with care and intention, you build a workforce that’s resilient, high performing, and ready for what’s next.

One in four adults is a caregiver in the “Sandwich Generation,” caring for aging parents and growing children simultaneously while also trying to balance their careers.

This generation’s challenges took center stage at Lyra’s Breakthrough 2025 conference, where a panel of HR leaders discussed two colliding forces exacerbating the stress these caregivers are under: 

As a result, Sandwich Generation employees face increasing constraints on their time, with more than half reporting a sharp decline in their mental health as a result. 

If you’re looking to support these workers, offering a standalone hotline or hard-to-navigate therapy reimbursement perk isn’t enough. Your employees need a connected system of logistics assistance, financial guidance, mental health coaching, and flexible work arrangements that work in tandem to support their responsibilities. 

When all these systems connect, your employees can show up as their best selves at both work and home. 

At Breakthrough, Lyra’s Dr. Monica Wu and Dr. Jenson Reiser spoke with three remarkable leaders—all caregivers themselves—who are paving the way for more accessible, comprehensive mental health benefits: 

Here’s what they shared about where caregiving benefits fall short—and how successful HR leaders are addressing the issue with compassion and competence. 

Caregivers shouldn’t fly solo in moments of crisis

Traditional benefits structures create silos, leaving employees to connect the dots on their own. For example, a vendor specializing in elder care logistics might excel at sourcing assisted living facilities. However, they might lack the mental health resources, financial counseling, or flexible work guidance to fully support an employee caring for their aging parent. 

This disconnect forces employees to piece together solutions across multiple platforms. And when someone is spending their time caring for aging parents and young children, the last thing they need is to add “benefits manager” to their list of personal responsibilities. 

On the HR side, this fragmented benefits setup makes it hard to make decisions about what benefits will move the needle. Without visibility into where caregiver employees are struggling and which combination of benefits has the biggest impact, your team can’t intervene in a meaningful way. 

Dr. Monica Wu, lead clinical product manager at Lyra Health, highlights that one-third of Sandwich Generation caregivers leave the workforce altogether—a devastating blow to companies who lose experienced talent and institutional knowledge, not to mention the additional burden on remaining team members.  

Streamline benefits navigation via warm transfers

Innovative benefits leaders are tackling this problem by integrating their caregiving benefits and educating employees on complementary resources. 

This means preparing vendors to facilitate warm transfers—where one vendor connects an employee directly to another service provider—at critical moments. 

For example, when an employee contacts elder care services, the vendor should also be able to directly connect them with a mental health counselor, rather than providing the employee with a phone number to call. This makes it easier for employees to get the care they need when they need it.

Here’s how you can put less work on your caregiving employees, while connecting them with every resource they need. 

How to build a collaborative caregiving vendor network

1. Establish cross-vendor knowledge sharing and referral protocols

Train your vendors’ front-line staff on the specific services, eligibility requirements, and value propositions of complementary vendors. This includes referral protocols that dictate how a vendor should respond when an employee reveals interconnected needs.

Stephanie Hosig and the benefits team at Northwestern Mutual, a financial services company with thousands of employees, saw the value of Lyra and Wellthy’s integration firsthand. With Wellthy focused on navigating the logistics of family care and Lyra providing mental health support, the connection between the two solutions created a smoother path for employees to get the right help. 

Now, when a Northwestern Mutual employee mentions caregiving stress or burnout, their Wellthy care coordinator can highlight Lyra’s mental health resources and offer a warm transfer.

At national security tech company Peraton, Bernadette Long shares that the benefits team has created a “trio of key vendors” to support caregivers across behavioral health for children (Rethink), caregiver support (Torchlight), and mental health support (Lyra). Each member of the trio understands how the others support different aspects of employee and family needs, and makes referrals as needed. 

Pro tip: Identify keywords and themes that can clue in one vendor about where a complementary vendor may help. 

2. Build cross-vendor reporting systems

Integration isn’t the end of the story—you should also set up shared reporting to gain insight into how employees are navigating your benefits system.

This involves capturing referral volume, acceptance rates, and outcomes metrics across vendors.

For example, both Lyra and Wellthy provide Northwestern Mutual with reports that show which employees utilized the two services together, allowing Hosig’s team to understand how effective the integration is and identify the impact on employees receiving dual support. This data enables more strategic benefits planning and vendor relationship management. 

Pro tip: Use this data to identify internal influencers who may want to share their stories and encourage other employees to make the most of their benefits. (More on this in the next step.) 

3. Use community to help employees discover benefits 

Foster communities where employees can connect with others in similar situations and where they can openly share their stories about seeking help. This peer-to-peer sharing helps employees discover benefits through trusted colleagues who understand their unique challenges.

For example, Peraton’s most engaged employee community is its caregivers community, where members share how Lyra has helped them better themselves and better show up for their loved ones. 

At Cummins, a global power technology company, Kate Fisher and her team help employees discover benefits through ongoing mental health programming, such as Lyra-guided “Mindful Monday” meditation sessions and regular panels on mental wellness with Lyra VP of workforce transformation Dr. Joe Grasso. These touchpoints serve as a stepping stone for employees to learn about caregiver support. 

Pro tip: Invite employees to pitch new communities that could support their individual experiences, and identify how your benefits can play a role in the conversation. 

A safety net of support 

Connecting your benefits helps you go from offering one-off programs in a vacuum to weaving a true safety net that catches your employees when they need it the most. 

When vendors and peers can guide employees to the support resources they need, you prevent thinly-stretched employees from getting lost in the shuffle—or worse, leaving your company altogether due to burnout.

At the same time, you’ll gain powerful visibility into how employees actually use their caregiving benefits. Armed with the data you need to continuously refine your offering, you can maximize benefits utilization, and more importantly, genuinely support employee well-being at work and home alike. 

The workforce is on the verge of a seismic shift. This evolution will create an unprecedented multigenerational workforce, as Gen Z grows to represent more than a third of the global workforce over the next decade, while the first members of Gen Alpha will begin their careers. At the same time, with one in three workers over 50 by 2035, the needs of experienced employees are also changing.

For benefits leaders, this five-generation dynamic creates an urgent mandate. A strategy built for the workforce of yesterday won’t meet the demands of tomorrow. The key is to understand these generational distinctions to build a future-proof benefits plan that drives engagement, well-being, and retention for all. With the right support, this rich mix of experience and perspectives can become a powerful driver of innovation and growth.

Advantages of a multigenerational workforce

When you bring together people from different life stages, you build a more resilient and innovative workforce. A multigenerational workforce offers: 

Multigenerational workforce challenges

The benefits are clear, but they don’t come automatically or immediately. Supporting an age-diverse team requires intentional leadership and flexible policies. Consider these potential friction points:

Generational profiles: what drives support and motivation

Each generation has unique life experiences and different support needs. While every individual is different, certain generational patterns can offer insight into what people may value or need at work. 

Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964)

Known for loyalty and a strong work ethic, Boomers can be members of multigenerational workforces who value respect, purpose, and recognition. Many are balancing work with caregiving for aging loved ones or managing chronic health concerns.

What helps: Discreet, high-quality mental health support; guidance for retirement transitions; flexible schedules to manage caregiving duties.

Generation X (born 1965-1980)

Often the bridge in a multigenerational workforce, Gen Xers value work-life balance, autonomy, and competence. Many may be navigating midlife pressures like aging parents, children at home, and financial stress.

What helps: Flexible care options; digital access to therapy or coaching; tools for managing stress and burnout.

Millennials (born 1981-1996)

Collaborative and purpose-driven, Millennials prioritize flexibility, growth, recognition, and values alignment. They can expect mental health care as a core benefit. 

What helps: Therapy access, mental fitness tools, coaching, and leadership development that promotes both personal and professional growth.

Generation Z (born 1997-2012)

The newest entrants to the multigenerational workforce, Gen Z often values authenticity, inclusivity, and continuous feedback. They expect transparent leadership, strong DEI commitments, and real support for well-being and burnout prevention. 

What helps: Mobile-friendly, on-demand mental health resources; inclusive policies; support for stress, anxiety, and burnout prevention.

10 tips for managing a multigenerational workforce

So, how do you effectively manage a multigenerational workplace with varying values, preferences, and needs? 

#1 Lead the individual, not the age bracket

Actively challenge your own biases—for example, assumptions like “young people are entitled” or “older workers resist change”—and get to know your team members for their unique skills, goals, and needs.

#2 Focus on results

Clearly define expectations and success metrics, then grant your team the autonomy to meet those goals. For instance, instead of mandating a strict 9-to-5 office schedule, focus on whether deadlines are met with high-quality work, regardless of where or when it was done.

#3 Create space for all voices

Don’t assume silence is agreement in a multigenerational workforce. Encourage dialogue by asking questions like, “What ideas haven’t we considered yet?” and give equal weight to all types of knowledge and insight. For example, in a project meeting, ask both, “What does our past experience on similar projects tell us?” and “What new tools could make this more efficient?” 

#4 Use multiple communication channels

Communicate in ways that reach everyone and make information easy to absorb. For instance, follow up a company-wide email about a policy change with a discussion in team meetings and a summary on your internal chat platform.

#5 Offer recognition in ways that resonate

A multigenerational workforce requires that you move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. Offer a range of rewards: public praise, stretch projects, bonuses, or learning opportunities.

#6 Encourage two-way mentoring

Formalize knowledge-sharing through reverse mentorships, pairing entry-level employees and season pros to exchange industry knowledge and best practices. 

#7 Be mindful of team dynamics

Avoid age-related jokes or assumptions. Offer inclusive team events suited to diverse schedules and lifestyles. For instance, instead of only planning evening social events, also organize team lunches or morning coffee chats that appeal to different lifestyles in a multigenerational workforce.

#8 Prioritize fair evaluation

In hiring and performance reviews, use the same objective criteria for everyone. For example, use a structured interview process with the same core questions for all candidates applying for the same role to reduce unconscious bias.

#9 Build psychological safety

Train managers to foster trust and openness so employees feel safe sharing concerns or new ideas. For example, when a team member raises an issue with a project timeline, rather than getting defensive, a manager can respond with,“Thanks for bringing that up, let’s talk through it,” to encourage open dialogue.

Managers should  remind themselves that their perceived idea of the “right” and “wrong” way to approach completing a project may be generationally influenced, and should avoid labeling things as such (even to themselves), to be open to ideas in a way that encourages diverse and honest feedback.

#10 Tailor mental health support across life stages

Gen Z faces a crisis of loneliness and burnout. Millennials are grappling with imposter syndrome and financial stress. Gen X may be sandwiched between caregiving roles. And Boomers often manage chronic health conditions while planning retirement. 

Each generation in a multigenerational workforce carries a different weight. For some, it’s a crisis of loneliness, imposter syndrome, or burnout. For others, it’s the stress that comes from financial issues, caregiving, or managing chronic health conditions. That’s why tailored mental health support is a necessity. Offer flexible options like therapy, coaching, and on-demand tools that meet employees where they are, whether that’s navigating major transitions, managing stress, or seeking purpose. 

Harness the power of a multigenerational workforce 

The strongest organizations are those that harness the unique contributions of every generation. When you replace stereotypes with strategy, your organization won’t just survive the future of work—it will define it.

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. Salesforce has demonstrated a willingness to push limits and think boldly about the future of workforce mental health, and is the winner of Lyra’s 2025 Workforce Mental Health Award for Innovative Company of the Year. Earlier this year, we had the privilege of speaking with Felicia Cheng, director of global well-being design and strategy at Salesforce, to discuss Salesforce’s partnership with Lyra and how mental health support is an essential component of business success. 

What is your philosophy around caring for a workforce?
I see my role in the organization as creating the environment and the conditions for employees to thrive in their wellbeing and to feel safe to seek care whenever they need it. It’s also important that when they do choose to seek care, we offer them the highest quality of resources and care with quick access.

What do you or your members love most about the Lyra benefit?
What I love most about the Lyra benefit is the guarantee of evidence-based care and outcomes. That gives me peace of mind every night when I go to bed, knowing that I’m putting our employees in the right hands and the right care. What I hear from our employees about what they love most is the match they make with their Lyra therapist. They’ve said to me that “It feels like a match made in heaven.” It’s incredibly important to them that they find someone they can trust and connect with and they find it in Lyra.

What’s the next big thing you’re working on? 
As a leader in AI CRM, we know that technology is only half the equation. The other half is the human talent that wields it. With the incredible pace of change in AI, it’s also natural for our employees to experience levels of uncertainty at times. We’re focused on turning that uncertainty or anxiety around AI into a growth mindset, accelerating innovation and further bridging that Human + AI Connection.

If another benefits leader asks you how or why they should make the case for a mental health benefit, what would you tell them?
I would tell them that mental health is a business imperative – not just a Benefits one. We are seeing the cost of poor mental health, with higher health care claims and mental health leaves as short- and long-term disability claims continue to rise, especially in North America. There’s also a huge cost in employee productivity and presenteeism. 

I think of mental health as a foundation, like a building. It’s often unseen, but it’s really important. So you can have the best strategies and tools, but if the foundation is shaken (i.e., your employees are suffering from anxiety, depression, or burnout), it could collapse. Strengthening the foundation of mental health through a mental health benefit is critical to achieving business outcomes and your business goals.