What Employees Need for Their Mental Health Featuring Darcy Gruttadaro and Brit Wanstrath

NAMI released our second poll about workplace mental health on February 27. The poll was conducted in partnership with Ipsos and highlights key findings for employees’ mental health at work. NAMI’s Chief Innovation Officer Darcy Gruttadaro serves as our guest host in discussion with Brit Wanstrath, NAMI’s Manager of Workplace Mental Health Initiatives. In this episode, the pair will discuss the poll’s four key findings, stigma surrounding mental health at work, and how employers can best support their workforce.

You can find additional episodes of this NAMI podcast and others at nami.org/podcast.

Transcript

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Our first key finding is that workers are accepting of their colleagues mental health concerns, and they do want to support them. But about half of respondents are worried that they themselves will be judged by their colleagues if they talk about their own mental health struggles. It's really crucial that leaders and people managers set the tone on that. Welcome to Hope Starts With Us, a podcast by NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I'm your guest host Darcy Gruttadaro, NAMI's Chief Innovation Officer. NAMI started this podcast because we believe that hope starts with us. Hope starts with us talking about mental health. Hope starts with us making information accessible. Hope starts with us providing resources and practical advice. Hope starts with us sharing our stories. Hope starts with us breaking the stigma. If you or a loved one is struggling with a mental health condition and have been looking for hope, we made this podcast for you. Hope starts with all of us. Hope is a collective. We hope that each episode with each conversation brings you into that collective. So you know you are not alone. I'm Darcy Gruttadaro, the Chief Innovation Officer at NAMI. I am so excited to be having this conversation today because I was at NAMI for 17 years. I left for five to run the center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, and I came back to NAMI a couple of years ago, and NAMI has made a big commitment and a big jump into workplace mental health. And that's what we're going to talk about today. As the Chief Innovation Officer at NAMI. I had the pleasure of working with the Workplace Mental Health team, along with youth and young adults and cross-cultural innovation and engagement. I am really excited about the conversation today with NAMI's Manager of Workplace Mental Health Brit Wanstrath. Brit, I'd like you to tell us a little bit about yourself and your position at NAMI. Yeah. My name is Brit Wanstrath. My pronouns are they/them, and I am the Manager for Workplace Mental Health at NAMI. Before working at NAMI, I worked in research labs studying post-trauma stress and pain. And some of that research was being done on rats. I love animals. I really think of research animals as heroes, and it was important to me that they always be treated with respect and compassion. But working with lab animals is really, really hard. A lot of my coworkers would get carers' fatigue and burnout, or they would just become numb to the importance of the work they were doing. And none of us talked about it. It was just the culture that we were in. So eventually, I like so many others, got burned out and, I ended up quitting. And then I was unemployed. And that was so much worse because I missed this sense of purpose and even having a stable routine, I had no idea how much I needed that as part of managing my severe depression. So when I started working at NAMI, I still remembered all of these experiences I've had working in research, but also working at a fast food restaurant to pay for college, or my summer job as a teenager working for a landscaping company. And I realized this job I had at NAMI was the first one where I felt like I could openly admit that I have a mental health condition that impacts my day-to-day. So when NAMI started collecting this data set on how workers engage with mental health in the workplace, my research loving heart just leapt at the opportunity to be involved in this project. Fantastic. And I'm really excited with today's episode theme, which is really looking at fresh data on what mental health supports employees want from their workplaces. Last week, NAMI released our second annual poll about workplace mental health in partnership with Ipsos. So, Brit, you have been heavily involved in planning and analyzing the new NAMI/Ipsos Workplace Mental Health Poll. Can you tell us more about the poll and what the findings were? Yeah. NAMI started the Workplace Mental Health Poll last year in 2024. And the goal was to get a better understanding of how we can shape our workplace mental health initiatives to really meet people where they're at. Around 160 million people are employed in the United States. And for many of those people, their access to health care is through their jobs. But also a lot of people spend more of their day to day with their coworkers than they do with their family or friends. So whether or not you're in a supportive workplace, that can make a huge difference in how you address mental health concerns, whether you ask for help or you know, you let things get worse and worse. So with this poll, what we really wanted was to know things like how comfortable people are talking about mental health in the workplace, whether they feel supported, if they know where to go for help. This year, in 2025, the survey was conducted in-field by Ipsos from January 21st to 27th using KnowledgePanel. So this is a little bit of that methodology. We surveyed a nationally representative probability sample of around 2300 American workers over the age of 18. We wanted to specifically look at people employed full-time in companies with more than 140 employees. And our data also includes an oversample of 104 executives, so that we could really look at differences between workers at different stages in their careers. Fantastic. And I think we can agree that COVID was such a game changer when it came to mental health and mental health in the workplace, where, as you said, we spend the majority of our day. I think COVID really made so many people wake up and realize we all have mental health, and mental health is something that we need to take care of. And mental health impacts the workplace in so many different ways. So thank you for that explanation of why this poll contributes to NAMI's work. Reaching more than 2000 people with a poll like this informs the work we do within the Office of Innovation in such an important way. So before we dive deep, what are some of the top findings from the poll? Yeah, so when you do a survey like this, you end up with this giant spreadsheet with all of this data, so many numbers. And you have to decide how you're going to make sense of it all. So first we were looking at these numbers and we're thinking, this doesn't make sense. People are giving these conflicting answers. But when we really looked at the data set as a whole, it became more clear that this data was telling the story that many of us are very familiar with. So our first key finding is that workers are accepting of their colleagues' mental health concerns, and they do want to support them. So 3 in 4 people say it's appropriate to talk about mental health in the workplace. That's fantastic. But about half of respondents are worried that they themselves will be judged by their colleagues if they talk about their own mental health struggles. We also found that there is a significant need for more education around mental health concerns and the benefits available through work. Only about half of workers know how to access their mental health care through their employer-sponsored health insurance. And a quarter of respondents, 1 in 4 people, didn't even know if they had mental health benefits. Around 80% of people think that training about mental health conditions and how to talk about them in the workplace would be helpful, but far fewer people have access to that training. So there are definitely some opportunities there for employers to make a really big difference in their company culture. Wow, that is really interesting and so great to hear that people are more accepting. And when I think about the willingness to be open about your own mental health concern or condition, I think about the ways in which people may fear doing so. Could lead to not getting plum assignments, could lead to a lack of confidence, and the stigma just continues to be an issue. It's interesting that we're willing to be open to someone else, but when it comes to ourselves, it presents such a challenge. I think, again, as you said, we have a long way to go and I'm excited that through the stigma-free workplace initiative, that you're really focusing in those areas, because bringing our full selves to work really goes to performance, productivity and so much more. So again, it's just so interesting to me that workers are comfortable supporting their colleagues, yet they worry that the same consideration would not be given to them. I really am curious about what this finding tells us about stigma surrounding mental health at work. That's a great question, Darcy. And that's one that we definitely want to dig into more. So while 77% of respondents said that they feel comfortable if a coworker talks to them about their mental health, we saw that 42% also say that they worry about exactly what you said, negative impacts for their career if they talk about their own mental health. So of those people who said that they don't feel comfortable talking about mental health at work, we asked them what some of those reasons might be. And we got kind of a top five. So this is the area that we really want to focus on in the coming years. Those top five reported in our survey are judgment or stigma around mental health, a lack of discussion from their colleagues not wanting to seem weak, fear of losing opportunities or facing retaliation, and for some people, it's because their job is the thing affecting their mental health. That is really fascinating. And I'm sure there are times when it's well-meaning colleagues who just don't understand that living with a mental health condition does not necessarily limit you when you're getting effective treatment, when you've got the support you need, that you can function at the highest levels of an organization. And we know this because we've heard about CEOs who have been open, about going to therapy, about getting help when they needed it. So it is certainly not a limitation with the right support. And it's wonderful that the work you're doing with your team is really getting that word out. And I mean, I really find those figures fascinating. And they indicate a real need on the part of employers to support their workforce by creating more openness around mental health so that people feel like they can bring their whole selves to work. So I'm really curious about what are some ways managers and leadership can create an environment where employees feel comfortable starting conversations about their mental health? Yeah, absolutely. It's what you said. 83% of our respondents said that it is a manager's responsibility to help employees feel comfortable discussing mental health at work, but many are also looking to their H.R. And leadership for what is acceptable to talk about. So when so many people are worried about their job or their opportunities, it's really crucial that leaders and people managers set the tone on that. People managers are people, too. They're under the same pressures and stigma as general employees. So it's great when managers are willing to be vulnerable about their own mental health. Say, "I'm taking a mental health day tomorrow," or even, "My work schedule is really stressing me out today. Do you mind if we push this meeting to next week?" But if you're a manager and you don't feel comfortable being open about your mental health, you can also still build wellness into the culture in smaller ways. You can start meetings off with a short grounding exercise or a one word check in instead of walking past someone in the hall like, "hey", "hey," you can actually stop and ask, "How are you really doing?" You'd be amazed how different the answers you get from people are with just that extra word that "really doing." And again, if you're in an environment where people are just not ready to talk about mental health, you can still incorporate wellness practices like just checking in to make sure people feel like they can actually take their breaks, or taking an extra moment on a Friday to express your gratitude for their hard work. At NAMI, we have, a policy of doing high fives where at the end of a Friday and we can go through and just mark somebody as having done a really good job helping out that week, and being very grateful for that. So celebrating those random acts of kindness and celebrating rest, that can contribute to the kind of workplace culture where people feel accepted and valued and maybe even eventually safe to admit that they're maybe not doing so well. Oh, that's fabulous. And I want to say again, something you said that is so critically important. And that is leadership sets the tone and leadership sets the culture. And vulnerability is a superpower because the willingness of leadership to be open about their own experiences can really help someone feel more comfortable. And we've seen that and heard those stories with some of our corporate partners that when leaders are open, that it helps others to feel like it's okay. And as you said, it really shifts the culture into one of greater openness. So that is exactly what we're striving for in terms of really creating these stigma free workplaces. I really appreciate the useful and practical tips you shared. That advice makes me wonder about other barriers that people, you know, to people discussing mental health at work. Could it be that some respondents don't know enough about mental health in general? And if so, what can employers do to increase their support there? Another intriguing finding, that we had shows us that training about mental health makes a huge difference for employees. About four in five respondents reported that it would help them to receive information on training about various mental health topics, such as stress and burnout management. But only about 20% of respondents said they've received training about mental health conditions and symptoms. Training that we believe and that the data shows, reduces stigma. In looking deeper into the data, we found interesting items in the demographics data, too. Without mental health trainings, 58% of people felt comfortable sharing about mental health at work. But with mental health trainings, that number rises to 70%. And particularly among people managers, those who said their company has provided them with the proper resources to support the mental health and emotional health of their direct reports, are significantly less likely to have decreased productivity because of their own mental health, and they're less likely to have experienced burnout and overwhelm in the past year, and about half as likely to have considered quitting because of work's impact on their mental health. So these figures strongly imply that employers should invest in mental health trainings for their workers, which may help increase worker productivity, connection and satisfaction. But also companies need to see their people managers as a key part of the strategy for implementing workplace wellness initiatives. If the boss is stressed, everyone is stressed. I'm sure we've all experienced that at some point in our lives. So it really starts with making sure your people managers have a detailed understanding of the resources their company offers and what company policies are around things like accommodations and leave, so that when one of their direct reports comes to them saying, you know, they have a mental health condition or they might need some time off, those managers are going to feel confident in their ability to offer appropriate support. Yes. And imagine when you as an employee see the training is coming into the workplace, it really sends the message of the dedication of the workplace to creating a more mentally healthy environment. That concept is easy to grasp. The other thing that I just was thinking about is you talked about connection. I was thinking about belonging and all the research that's been done on loneliness and how much is an epidemic and how much it impacts our physical health and our mental health. And so the more we can help people feel comfortable having conversations when they need to talk about their mental health, or they want to talk about their mental health, it's just important that we give them the comfort level that can help them do so. I think we're making tremendous strides when it comes to mental health. We need to do more, and we know for many the topic can be a taboo subject. So the more we can provide training, the more we can set people's mind at ease, the more we can give them the language that they need, the better. And just the work you're doing around that and along those lines is so critically important. And I mean, we've learned today that there are serious barriers to reducing stigma through discussion at work and that mental health trainings that we just talked about provide great benefit to both employers and employees. I mean, when you think about employers and employees, we're all people. So how can the people listening to this podcast today make a difference in their workplace cultures? Darcy, it's very important what you said about loneliness and belonging and trying to-- trying to find a place for yourself in your workplace. Another of the really interesting stats we found was that, you know, we asked people, who are you most comfortable talking to about your mental health in the workplace and, you know, maybe this is not so surprising to some, but a lot of people said that they're top person that they're willing to talk to in the workplace is somebody who they consider a friend. So what I would really recommend to the people listening now is that everybody just take a moment, right now, and write down the name of a coworker you want to connect with. If you're in-person, you can make an effort to sit with them during a lunch break. If you're remote, you can set up a virtual coffee chat. But connecting on a personal level with your coworkers will help build that sense of community and help establish to that person that you're a safe person to talk to if they find themselves struggling. And I also really consider these chats I have with coworkers to be incredibly productive. Because often you get a chance to talk to people in other departments and share updates or tips about how you're doing things, things like building protocols or staying organized. So it's really making sure that people aren't reinventing the wheel in your company either. So building off of that, if you're talking to coworkers and you notice a few of you all share a similar interest, start an interest group. It doesn't have to be about serious topics. It could be about movies or sports. Just building that community of people who you feel comfortable talking to, it makes a huge difference. But if you do end up wanting to have more of an impact on company policy, you could start something more formal, like an employee resource group or an advisory committee. A lot of companies already have these groups for people to weigh in on topics like being a working caregiver or for people with disabilities, so you should check first to see if your company already has something like that that may already exist and, you know, you're just now finding out about it. And then finally, I know for me, I am an introvert. And social stuff isn't always the easiest. So you can still make a difference just by signaling that you're safe person who isn't going to judge someone for being honest about what they're going through. If you have therapy appointments on your calendar, call them that. You don't have to call them doctor appointment or private. You can just label them what they are and that right there can make a huge difference to someone who sees that. And if you prefer to stay anonymous, you can still help by putting up a flier with local resources or helplines in the restroom or by the elevators. You really just can't imagine what kind of difference you can make just by being yourself and trying your hardest to be kind. That's fabulous. And writing down the name of someone you want to connect with is such a practical, great way to really think about connection at a higher level. And the high fives and all of that is fantastic. And I think the word "belonging," it makes so much sense that it really goes to teamwork and our ability to work well together in team, which for many of us is part of the work experience. I think, too, as we think about high performers and most employers, if not all employers, of course, want to keep their highest performers through their retention policies and practices. What better way than to make sure that people feel a sense of belonging? They say having one friend at work can make all the difference when it comes to whether someone stays in the workplace. So when it comes to all those employers that really want to keep their highest performers, thinking about belonging, thinking about teamwork, thinking about a friend at work is really essential. And I love the idea of therapy. I did a virtual town hall once with the construction industry, and I had a CEO of a mid-sized construction company put in the chat that when he goes to his therapy appointment, he sends a note out to his leadership team saying, "I'm going to therapy. I'll be back in an hour." So that openness, that vulnerability, that willingness to share, really can make all the difference. Wow. And I just want to pivot, Brit, because before we conclude, I'd like to ask you the question we ask every podcast guest. The world can be a difficult place, and sometimes it can be hard to hold on to hope. That's why each episode we dedicate the last couple of minutes of our podcast to a special segment called Hold On to Hope. So, Brit, can you tell us what helps you hold on to hope? This might be my research background coming out again, but I get so much hope from knowing there is a world of knowledge that I don't have yet. I love learning new things, gathering new skills, and finding new interests. It's like a game I play just trying to surprise the person I was a few years ago. So I can't wait to see where this journey of discovery leads and who I'll meet along the way. What gives me hope is that our stigma-free workplace team includes you and Meg and Barb, and there's so much commitment through this polling process and all that you're developing to really understand what employees and employers need and to really build initiatives around the need. That's what really gives me hope, because workplaces are communities. It is a place where people come together and can establish that sense of belonging, and that offers so much hope for people to have a positive experience while still doing purpose-driven work, while still making a difference, while still measuring impact and data. It can be done in such a way that really helps people feel proud and happy about where they are for 6 to 8 to ten hours a day. So thank you, Brit. Thank you for an important conversation. Can't wait to see all that gets developed as a result of these poll findings. Really appreciate you being a guest on the podcast. This has been Hope Starts With Us, a podcast by NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. If you are looking for mental health resources, you are not alone. To connect with the NAMI helpline and find local resources, visit nami.org/help. Text "helpline" to 62640 or dial 800-950-NAMI (6264). Or if you are experiencing an immediate suicide, substance use, or mental health crisis, please call or text 988 to speak with a trained support specialist or visit 988lifeline.org. I'm Darcy Gruttadaro, your guest host. Thanks for listening and be well.