On Culture: About that “Lower Value Human Capital” Comment
- Myste Wylde
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
The workplace is having a strange week to talk about human value.
Memorial Day asked us to honor sacrifice—including the burdens people carry after the visible duty ends. And Mental Health Awareness Month brings the larger workforce's struggles into focus: roughly 1 in 3 U.S. adults experience a mental health condition, 1 in 3 employees say they are in survival mode, 43% cite lack of time as a barrier to care and 42% cite cost, 58% have considered quitting because of their mental health, while veterans continue to name honesty, community, peer support, and stigma reduction as essential to healing. Simultaneously, companies are cutting headcount, debating HR’s value, and using phrases like “lower value human capital” as if people become less human when they become less economically convenient.
Sure, agents don’t take mental health days. They also don’t build trust, read grief in a colleague’s face, mentor the person coming up behind them, sit with a customer through ambiguity, make a judgment call when the data is incomplete, or hold a team together after a layoff email lands. Humans still matter because organizations still run on belief, context, courage, memory, care, and the willingness to keep showing up for one another. Mental health belongs in that conversation. The healthier the people, the stronger the system.
Have courage,
Myste Wylde, COO
An Employer’s Guide to Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace
ExtensisHR
Summary: Employee mental health shapes core workforce outcomes: engagement, productivity, retention, disability rates, healthcare costs, and culture. Roughly one in four U.S. adults experiences a mental health condition, while 25% of employees have considered leaving their jobs due to mental health concerns and 42% worry that disclosing those concerns could damage their careers. The business cost continues to climb, with anxiety and depression driving $12 billion lost working days and $1 trillion in lost productivity worldwide each year. Employers can respond through integrated benefits such as EAPs, telehealth access, flexible work, wellness spaces, manager empathy, stigma-reducing communication, and legally sound protections for mental health leave, parity, confidentiality, and accommodations. With more than 80% of employees saying mental healthcare benefits help build a positive workplace culture, mental health support has become a practical lever for trust, retention, and workforce performance. |
HR’s 5-Point Playbook for What’s Next: Inside the 2026 State of Workforce Mental Health Report
Lyra
Summary: Mental health benefits have expanded, yet employee outcomes continue to lag. Lyra’s global survey of 7,500 employees across six countries and 500 benefits leaders points to a widening execution gap: 68% of benefits leaders say mental health benefit use is rising, while 1 in 3 employees say they are in survival mode and 7 in 10 benefits leaders say mental health challenges are hurting performance. The pressure points now include more complex mental health needs, growing caregiving demands, AI-related uncertainty, and shifting expectations of work. The takeaway for HR and executive teams: access alone will no longer carry the strategy. Organizations need mental health benefits designed for measurable recovery, ease of use, clinical quality, family care complexity, and the real conditions shaping work in 2026. |
Mental Health Awareness: 5 Workplace Realities Employers Should Act On
Spring Health
Summary: Mental health benefits are now a workforce competitiveness issue, with 69% of employees saying they play a vital role in job decisions, rising to 83% among workers ages 18–34 and 78% among those ages 35–44. Yet many programs still fail at the point of use: 43% of employees cite lack of time as the biggest barrier to mental health care, followed by cost at 42%, difficulty finding the right provider at 30%, wait times at 29%, and stigma at 27%. Spring Health’s 2026 research also shows AI is adding pressure through information overload, loss of control over the future, financial stability concerns, and work-life stress, while 59% of employees say financial stress has increased over the past five years and 74% say it has affected their mental health. For employers, the opportunity is to reduce friction, make care easier to access, connect mental health to financial well-being, and train managers to recognize how stress shows up across different populations before it erodes retention, productivity, and trust. |
May Is Mental Health Month Toolkit
American Psychiatric Association Foundation
Summary: Workplace mental health challenges are widespread and costly, with more than 1 in 5 U.S. adults living with a mental health condition, mental illness ranking as the leading cause of worker disability worldwide, and anxiety, depression, and burnout costing the global economy an estimated $1 trillion in lost productivity each year. The Center for Workplace Mental Health adds sharper workforce signals: 42% of working adults report burnout, 48% struggle to disconnect from work, and 58% have considered quitting because of their mental health. The strongest lever may be culture-level capability building: employees offered mental health training are more likely to be engaged, passionate, and excited at work, while 44% of employed adults fear retaliation for taking mental health time and 39% fear consequences for seeking care. Employers can close that gap through manager training, peer support, ERGs, resilience practices, caregiver-friendly policies, and clear communication that makes support visible, credible, and safe to use. |
Army Veteran and Mental Health Professional Dr. Natesha Smith-Isabell Encourages Veterans to Break Mental Health Stigma
Texas Veterans Commission
Summary: Army veteran and mental health professional Dr. Natesha Smith-Isabell brings a human lens to Mental Health Awareness Month, connecting military trauma, civilian transition, stigma, and recovery through her own experience. After years of struggling with the effects of service and reintegration, she says healing began with honesty, community, and enough safety to speak openly about what she was carrying. Now co-founder of Arabella Wellness Center, she encourages veterans to treat mental wellness as part of overall health and to begin with accessible practices, even stepping outside for five minutes. The Military Veteran Peer Network also connects veterans with other veterans for support and Texas Veterans Commission training is available for suicide prevention, veteran homelessness, military cultural competency, military-related trauma, and peer support. Stigma breaks when people have trusted peers, visible resources, and cultures where asking for help feels safe. |
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