“I’m not my employees’ babysitter, their mommy, or their therapist,” the CEO insisted. The problem that led to his call—his company’s 2024 employee survey revealed large numbers of his company’s employees expected mental health benefits.

“What are these employees thinking?” he asked. “We offer a generous sick leave allowance and they’re asking for paid mental health days on top of that? Employees need to handle their own personal issues.”

Good luck with that, I told him. According to national surveys, 61 percent of Generation Z employees, 48 percent of Millennial employees, and 41 percent of U.S. employees of all ages reported it’s likely to very likely they would leave their current job if offered a job with significantly better mental health benefits.

These employees hold high expectations for what their employers need to provide, with 58 percent asking for paid mental health days (above and beyond regular sick leave); 48 percent asking for paid or unpaid time off so they can deal with mental health issues; 44 percent asking for flexible scheduling such as part-time hours, job sharing or flexible starting and ending work times; 35 percent asking for mental health coverage as part of their employee health care plans; and 35 percent asking for free or subsidized virtual mental health services.

The reason? The upsurge in mental health problems, with 86 percent of employees reporting they struggle with at least one type of mental health issue. MetLife’s annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, released in March, corroborated that U.S. employees are experience increasing numbers of mental health struggles. The American Psychological Association has equally weighed in, suggesting the U.S. workforce is experiencing the psychological effects of a collective trauma resulting from mass shootings; global conflict; climate-related disasters; an unpredictable economy with persistent high inflation; the pandemic’s aftermath, and an increasingly polarized nation.

In late March, ComPsych, the world’s largest provider of mental health services, analyzed over 300,000 U.S. cases and reported anxiety had dramatically increased among U.S. employees in 2023. Although anxiety didn’t even rank among the top five mental health concerns in 2017, in 2023 more employees reached out for help with anxiety than sought help for stress, depression, addiction or relationship or family issues.

When I spoke with the manager whose call initiated this column, he said, “Our company barely makes a profit. How exactly can we provide what our employees are asking us for—paid mental health days and reimbursements for mental health counseling?”

You might discover, I answered, the benefits pay for themselves in increased productivity. Employees with poor mental health report four times as many unplanned absences as those with good mental health. ComPsych reported that mental health-related leaves of absence, varying from a few days to several weeks, were 33 percent higher in 2023 than in 2022, and a whopping 300 percent higher than in 2017.

Additionally, with four out of every 10 employees saying it’s likely they’d leave their current job for one offering better mental health benefits, employers offering mental health benefits reap rewards in employee recruitment and retention, SHRM Research: Work Is Negatively Impacting Employees’ Mental Health.

Do employers need to come to grips with their employees’ mental health struggles? It’s the new reality.

Lynne Curry, PhD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, authored “Navigating Conflict” (Business Experts Press, 2022); “Managing for Accountability (BEP, 2021); “Beating the Workplace Bully,” AMACOM 2016, and “Solutions 911/411.” Curry founded www.workplacecoachblog.com, which offers more than 700 articles on topics such as leadership, HR, and professional development and “Real-life Writing,” https://bit.ly/45lNbVo.  Curry has qualified in Court as an expert witness in Management Best Practices, HR, and Workplace issues. You can reach her at https://workplacecoachblog.com/ask-a-coach/ or for a glimpse at her novels, short stories and thought-provoking essays, lynnecurryauthor.com.