SHRM’s 2026 Mental Health Snapshot reports that 55% of surveyed US workers rarely or never used their organisation’s mental health benefits. The infographic also reports that 73% of workers and 87% of HR professionals agreed that organisations have a responsibility to support employee mental health.
The worker sample comprised 1,101 people surveyed on 11 February 2026. A separate sample of 1,022 HR professionals was surveyed from 5 February 2026 to 10 February 2026. Both datasets are unweighted. Low reported use should not be treated as proof of low need, poor clinical effectiveness or the same experience among every employer’s workforce.
Find out what employees can access This editor recommends that employers start with a practical inventory of services and communication. The review should identify eligibility, contact routes and the kind of support offered. An assistance programme, medical benefit and occupational health service may perform different functions. Employees should be able to understand which service addresses their question and where to go if the first contact cannot help.
The organisation can test whether information is easy to find and whether the referral process is clear. Feedback may identify an administrative obstacle or a confusing description without requiring an employee to disclose a clinical history to the employer. The review should have a defined purpose and an appropriate process for handling information supplied by participants.
Keep utilisation in context Reporting should explain what a usage measure counts. An initial contact, a completed referral and a continuing course of care are different events. This editor recommends agreeing definitions with providers and identifying the limits of each measure. A programme review can then distinguish access questions from questions about service quality or clinical outcomes.
Managers also need a clear support route when an employee raises a concern. Their role should focus on the appropriate workplace process and referral to qualified help. The employer should not expect managers to diagnose a condition or infer someone’s needs from an aggregate survey statistic.
The snapshot provides a reason to examine access and communication using the employer’s own evidence. A practical response is to identify a documented gap, assign responsibility for addressing it and arrange a follow-up review. That is more informative than treating participation alone as a complete verdict on the value of mental health benefits.
Sources: Source primaire ou référence du sujet [1] · Page primaire SHRM [2]
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