In Case You Haven't Heard…

Abstract

Mental health-related employee leaves continue to skyrocket among U.S. workers, according to new data released by ComPsych Corporation, the world's largest provider of mental health and absence management services, online news agency businesswire reported on Aug. 1. A sample analysis of ComPsych's absence book of business, which covers more than six million people, found that in the first quarter of 2024, more than one in 10 (11%) of all leaves of absence were due to mental health. This represents a 22% increase in mental health leaves versus those taken in the first quarter of 2023. This trend is being driven by female workers, who accounted for 69% of all mental health leaves of absence in 2023, and 71% of all mental health leaves in the first quarter of 2024. “Working women — especially moms and other caregivers — often neglect their self-care until they hit the point of being so burnt out, they need to take a leave of absence,” said Dr. Jennifer Birdsall, clinical director of ComPsych. “The more [that] organizations can support resiliency-building, teach self-care and [ways of] prioritizing work-life balance before things escalate into significant symptoms with functional impacts, the better. This is where the continuum of care, which includes prevention, comes into play.”