A mental health leave of absence is rarely the starting line.
As Kelsey Witmer, VP of Total Rewards and People Operations at Spring Health, puts it, “Leave is usually the output. It’s the final signal that flares up when early warnings go unnoticed, manager support is inconsistent, or care is simply too hard to access.”
For HR leaders, that signal is getting louder. New Spring Health research of 500+ HR professionals across five countries reveals a workforce under significant strain, and that output is showing up in the form of leaves of absence (LOAs):
- 61% say mental health leaves have increased within their organizations over the past year.
- 16% say they’ve seen mental health leaves increase by 25% or more.
- 40% cite rising mental health disability and leave claims as a top concern keeping them up at night.
This isn’t an isolated trend for specific industries or business sizes. It’s a global workforce risk that demands a proactive, sustainable approach.
If your organization feels like it hasn't figured out the continuum of leave yet, you aren't behind. You're navigating an evolving landscape where leave is less about the paperwork and more about the inputs we can actually control.
Why are mental health leaves increasing?
A few potential drivers of this increase in mental health leaves include:
1. Stress and burnout are escalating into absences
HR professionals in our survey estimate that 30% of employees are currently experiencing "silent burnout,” which was defined as a slow, undetected state of exhaustion where people maintain the appearance that everything is fine while running on empty.
Approximately 40% of burned-out employees reported presenteeism, which represents a sustained performance drag that usually occurs long before an employee files a claim. While silent burnout and presenteeism can hide beneath the surface, they can create an environment for very visible LOAs down the road.
One interesting note: Over half (51%) of HR professionals experiencing the highest levels of mental health leave increases (25% or more) in our survey said that “rising stress and burnout among managers” was an emerging mental health trend that most concerned them over the next year. That suggests HR professionals are identifying managers as a vital part of the solution to this challenge.
2. Financial and caregiving strain are compounding the mental load
Employees aren't just overwhelmed at their desks. They are overwhelmed everywhere. Spring Health simultaneously surveyed 1,500+ full-time across five countries and found that:
- 59% of employees in our survey said their financial stress has increased over the past five years.
- 74% of employees said this stress has significantly impacted their mental health.
When you add the "sandwich generation" pressure of caring for both children and aging parents, the cognitive bandwidth for deep work evaporates. When these loads compound without a visible pathway to support, leave may feel like the only remaining option.
3. Traditional EAP models aren’t intercepting risk early
The "check-the-box" mental health approach isn't working. While most mid-to-large companies offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), utilization is only about 4%, on average.
If only a tiny fraction of your workforce uses the support provided, it cannot meaningfully reduce the risk of a mental health leave. The barrier is often practical: In Spring Health’s survey, employees cited lack of time, cost concerns, and confusing access points as reasons they don't seek care until they reach a crisis point.
Additionally, when talking about higher-acuity needs such as substance use disorder (SUD), eating disorders, trauma, or severe mood and anxiety conditions, more is needed than just a limited-session model or a handoff to an external provider list.
Within our research, 32% of HR professionals seeing the highest mental health leave increases (25% or more) said that higher-acuity mental health cases were an emerging trend that most concerned them.
Watch below: Spring Health Chief People Officer Karishma Patel Buford shares her thoughts on the rise of mental health leaves during our recent webinar where she released our findings for our 2026 Workplace Mental Health Annual Report. Watch the full webinar here.
Why rising mental health leaves are a business issue
Treating leave as a purely administrative task ignores the financial and operational impact on the organization.
Direct leave costs
The obvious costs include salary continuation, administrative overhead, and the expensive burden of backfilling roles or paying overtime to cover gaps. New-hire leaves are especially costly, as the organization loses the entire investment spent on recruiting and onboarding before the employee has even reached full productivity.
Medical trend impact
The hidden cost of mental health leaves is the impact on your medical trend. Unaddressed mental health needs exacerbate physical chronic conditions, drive frequent ER visits, and increase pharmacy spend, in addition to the impact on LOAs.
The strain loop
When an employee goes on leave, the workload doesn't vanish. It gets redistributed. This places additional strain on the remaining team members, increasing the risk of workplace burnout for them and potentially triggering a cycle of repeat leaves.
Risk of incomplete outcomes
LOAs can unintentionally become "rest without healing" if the employer approves the time off and then simply leaves the employee alone to navigate their recovery in a vacuum. This can lead to additional leaves of absences or even resignations.
3 tips to help you reduce leave-of-absence rates
Preventing mental health leaves doesn’t mean discouraging people from taking necessary time off. It means building a culture where support is visible, trusted, and easy to use, so leave isn’t the first time an employee gets help. If LOA is the output, the question becomes, “What are the inputs we can control?”
1) Reduce costs by intervening earlier
Create a simple, trusted front door to care so employees can get matched to the right level of support before stress escalates into crisis. Give HR and managers a clearer process for identifying when someone may be able to stay at work with the right care and accommodations, versus when leave is clinically appropriate.
2) Simplify process and policy
Make it easier for employees to access evaluations, understand their options, and move through leave without unnecessary paperwork or confusion. Reduce friction for HR by coordinating documentation, communication, and support touchpoints more clearly across the leave journey.
- At LOA intake: Remind employees what care options exist (EAP, medical plan, therapy/coaching).
- During leave: Check-ins and re-share care pathways.
- On return: Normalize ongoing support so it’s not “welcome back … good luck.”
3) Chart the path to recovery
Treat leave as part of a broader care journey by making sure employees are connected to treatment and not left to navigate recovery alone. Support a more sustainable return to work with thoughtful re-entry planning and simple manager guidance so employees stay connected to care after they come back. Manager mental health training is a must-have in today’s workplace.
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