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The Hidden Costs of Ignoring Mental Health at Work
Tony Coder is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on reducing suicides in Ohio and across the Midwest. As CEO, Tony leads the charge to support community-based efforts in Ohio to reduce the stigma of suicide, promote education and awareness about suicide prevention, provide training and development, advocate for system improvement in the mental health field, and increase resources and programs that reduce the risk of lives lost to suicide.
Editor’s note: This article discusses suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”
Paul was working for a construction company when a foreman died by suicide. The foreman was the kind of person everyone liked working with: the one who checked in on people, made work feel manageable and had your back when things got hard.
When he died, the shock was overwhelming. The team didn’t just lose a co-worker; they lost their brother. Paul watched as grief moved through the workplace in real time, affecting morale, focus and the sense of safety people felt coming to work each day.
The company, like many other construction companies at the time, did not have a postvention plan in place. There was no policy, no training and no clear guidance for how leaders should respond. Managers were expected to support their teams while processing their own grief and keeping operations moving forward. Everyone was doing their best, but they were doing it without a roadmap.
People do not simply bounce back after a loss like this. Grief does not follow a timeline, and its effects ripple through the workplace, touching every team member, including leaders who must navigate their own grief while guiding others.
If you’re reading this and you believe this couldn’t happen at your company, the reality is, it could.
As organizations recognize Mental Health Awareness Month this May, it’s an opportunity to move beyond awareness and examine how workplace practices either support or strain employee wellbeing.
Mental health is a business imperative
Many organizations will highlight wellbeing initiatives, but sustained impact requires embedding mental health into core business strategy. Mental health is not a seasonal focus; it is central to workforce reliability, productivity, retention and a company’s ability to compete.
Untreated mental health challenges impact employers and the economy nationwide, driving lost productivity and increased costs across industries. In Ohio alone, a 2025 study by the Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Services Providers estimates the annual economic impact at nearly $300 billion. Workers with mild, untreated mental illness miss an average of 9.3 hours of work per week, and employees with depression miss an average of 4.8 workdays every three months, along with an additional 11.5 days of reduced productivity.
Evidence shows that when people can access mental health treatment, both individuals and organizations benefit. For every $1 associated with mental healthcare, employers see an estimated $4 return, and treatment access has been linked to increases in employment and workforce participation of up to 42%.
Organizations that prioritize mental health tend to see stronger leadership effectiveness, a more resilient employer brand and higher retention. In a competitive labor market, mental wellness is increasingly part of how candidates evaluate where they want to work. When mental health is not addressed as part of a workforce strategy, it becomes a clear operational risk.
When personal struggles show up at work
The average person spends roughly one-third of their life at work, and employees don’t leave personal challenges at the door. Family stress, financial pressure, caregiving responsibilities and mental health concerns often follow them into the workplace. Parents may miss work to care for children experiencing mental health challenges, and co-workers carry the emotional strain when someone on their team is struggling.
Suicide adds an even deeper layer of impact. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide disproportionately affects men, who account for nearly 80% of all suicide deaths in the United States. Research from the University of Kentucky estimates that each suicide death affects about 135 people, including co-workers, friends and family. Teams often feel the effects of changes in morale, safety and productivity.
In many workplaces, managers become first responders without training or clear guidance. Dave Rife, chief manufacturing officer at White Castle, whose son died by suicide, has emphasized the need to reframe mental illness in the workplace: “Mental illness is no different than any other disease. We need to understand it, embrace it as we have with cancer and respond in ways that allow people to talk openly without fear of being labeled.”
Supporting employees before a crisis
Research shows that when people experiencing suicidal thoughts have the chance to talk openly, they often feel relief and are more likely to seek help. Employers play a key role in creating conditions for those conversations.
Training is a practical starting point. Programs such as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), VitalCog and ASIST equip employees and managers to recognize warning signs and respond with confidence.
The Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation is piloting a workplace mental health program with AEP Ohio, an American Electric Power subsidiary that employs 1,430 Ohioans, more than 90% of whom work in operations roles, including lineworkers, engineers, assessors and others who respond to power outages and help prevent them. These are difficult positions, and our aim is to challenge outdated norms and demonstrate that caring about mental health is a sign of leadership, not weakness. In a pre-pilot survey of 300 AEP Ohio employees, more than half said workload can have a positive or negative effect on their mental health, highlighting the influence workplace conditions have on wellbeing, especially for jobs that bring people into the field and into direct contact with the public.
Policies and benefits also matter. Mental health coverage should be on par with physical health coverage. Employee Assistance Programs should be visible and promoted year-round. For workplaces without an EAP, awareness and education about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline should be part of the business culture.
Culture is built through everyday actions. Lunch-and-learns, educational resources and visible crisis information normalize help-seeking. Organizational assessments can reveal whether a workplace truly supports mental health or simply talks about it.
Leadership sets the tone, and when leaders act with empathy and consistency, they send a clear message that employees’ wellbeing matters, making it more likely that employees will seek support early, before a situation escalates into crisis.
Mental health is a leadership responsibility
Mental health is at the heart of how work gets done. It influences reliability, productivity and a company’s ability to succeed. When it is overlooked, the effects are wide-ranging, including safety risks, absenteeism, turnover and, above all, the profound loss of friends, family members and co-workers. Prioritizing mental health nurtures stronger teams and more resilient workplaces.
These challenges are immediate and real. During Mental Health Awareness Month and beyond, leaders have an opportunity to reflect on the role they play in shaping workplace culture, not just in May, but every day.
Leaders do not need to be clinicians, but they do need to recognize mental health as part of the environment they shape. They have a profound opportunity to be someone their teams can turn to on their hardest days.
Change does not require sweeping reforms. Training, supportive policies and empathetic leadership set the tone and make it safe for employees to seek help before a crisis occurs. A mentally healthy workplace is achievable, essential and, ultimately, a responsibility that cannot be ignored. |
