The 2026 Workplace Mental Health Report: 6 Risks HR Can’t Ignore

Name: The 2026 Workplace Mental Health Report: 6 Risks HR Can’t Ignore
Start: 2026-04-08T16:00:00.000Z

April 8, 2026

12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT

Join leading HR experts as they reveal new benchmarking data and the six workforce risk signals shaping 2026, plus how to build a strategy employees use and executives stand behind.

Presenters

Hebba Youssef

Chief People Officer, Workweek and Creator of 'I Hate it Here'

Sofya Cooper

Director, Health and Benefits, WTW

Karishma Patel Buford

Chief People Officer, Spring Health

Our new benchmarking data points to a growing reality: The hardest workforce risks aren’t always the loudest ones. Silent burnout shows up as presenteeism. Strain escalates before it becomes a leave. And many employees still aren’t sure what support they even have.

The credibility gap is also widening:

89% of HR leaders believe mental health benefits create a competitive advantage
Only 9% believe their current solution clearly reduces health plan spend

So what’s actually working? And what should HR leaders do next?

What You'll Learn

The six workforce risk signals shaping 2026
Where awareness gaps are quietly undermining your investment
How burnout turns into operational and cost risk
What to measure if you want credibility with your CFO
How to build a strategy employees use and executives stand behind

Plus, get early access to our new 2026 Workplace Mental Health Report before it’s released.

If you’re responsible for choosing programs and proving they work, this conversation is for you.

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About the presenters

Hebba Youssef

Chief People Officer, Workweek and Creator of 'I Hate it Here'

Hebba Youssef is the Chief People Officer at Workweek and founder and creator of “I Hate it Here.” Her weekly newsletter has over 170,000+ subscribers and focuses on how HR/People teams can build great work cultures. Hebba has led a global learning and development teams, ran talent management teams, and was most recently the Head of People at a fintech startup. She's built People Ops teams from the ground up, scaled companies, and gained a few white hairs along the way. Hebba has worked across several industries like tech, fintech and media and was most recently at Axios and Lithic. In her free time, you can find her reading sci-fiction or fantasy novels and playing board games with her family.

Sofya Cooper

Director, Health and Benefits, WTW

Sofya Cooper is a Director in WTW’s Health and Benefits consulting practice in Boston. She has been with the firm since 2011.

Sofya has experience working in various aspects of employee health and welfare benefits, including day-to-day client and project management, complex vendor procurements, self-insured pricing and budget development, retiree strategy, and pharmacy benefits. She enjoys working together with clients to solve complex benefits problems and create innovative solutions. Her current clients include those in the defense contracting, pharmaceuticals, hospital, and financial industries.

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Sofya graduated from Brandeis University, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Economics.

Karishma Patel Buford

Chief People Officer, Spring Health

Karishma Patel Buford is the Chief People Officer at Spring Health, where she helps remove barriers to mental healthcare using personalized care plans. With over 15 years of talent management experience, she has previously led teams in People, Communications, and Customer Success at OppFi, focusing on HR infrastructure and business transformation. At Groupon, she managed talent development, DEI, employer brand, and recruiting across 15 countries. Earlier, she worked at BAE Systems on global talent management initiatives. Karishma holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and a Doctorate of Psychology from the Georgia School of Professional Psychology. She began her career in executive coaching and leadership development at PDI, laying the groundwork for her corporate HR roles.