Workplace Culture and Employee Mental Health Are Tightly Linked

Spring Health, a global mental health company built on one AI-native platform, was cited in a Forbes contributed article by Christine Muldoon, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at WebMD Health Services, examining why expanded mental health benefits alone aren't improving employee outcomes — and what organizations need to change about workplace culture to move the needle.

Muldoon draws on multiple sources to make the case that the mental health crisis in the workplace runs deeper than benefits access. Among the data points cited: Spring Health's 2026 Workplace Mental Health Report found that 61% of HR leaders surveyed had seen an increase in mental health leaves over the past year, and 40% identified the rise in mental health-related disability or leave claims as a top concern. The piece frames these findings as evidence of a fundamental disconnect between employer investment and employee experience.

The article argues that organizations serious about improving mental health outcomes must examine the day-to-day culture that shapes the employee experience — how work gets done, whether managers are trained to lead with empathy, and whether leaders model the healthy behaviors they ask of their teams.

Read the full article at forbes.com