How Employers Can Support Employees in the Age of Chronic Stress
As the CEO of Calm and having spent years in high-pressure environments like Wall Street or creating startups, I’ve come to understand that stress isn’t just a fleeting challenge. Instead, for many, it’s a relentless, low-intensity hum that can lead to profound emotional depletion and burnout. Our mental health batteries are running low. I personally learned the hard way how toxic that ongoing stress can be. My focus now is squarely on how employers can proactively design and implement robust mental health and wellness plans that truly support our employees in preventing this chronic stress from escalating into severe burnout. A focus on prevention is better for the employee, and the company’s productivity and bottom line.
Today’s workforce faces a unique cocktail of pressures. The “always-on” mentality, where employees are constantly interrupted by emails, Slack, and a tidal wave of notifications even outside traditional hours, creates an ongoing sense of overwhelm. Add external pressures we all face. For example, more than 20 percent of the U.S. population is a caregiver for an elderly relative or a special needs family member.[1] A full 77 percent of us worry about our finances.[2] This accumulation of seemingly small pressures from all areas of life is the essence of chronic stress.
My own experience taught me that true resilience isn’t about endlessly “powering through.” Understanding that is essential when building effective mental health recovery plans. The cost of ignoring mental health is staggering: For example, U.S. companies lose over $47 billion annually in lost productivity due to mental health.[3] A healthy workforce is truly the foundation for thriving organizations.
So, what do effective mental health recovery plans look like in practice?
- Prioritize Quality, Not Quantity, in Support Programs: Many employers offer a “Chinese food menu” of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) that go unused because employees find them hard to navigate or irrelevant. Instead, focus on a few high-quality, genuinely valuable programs. Companies should actively engage employees to understand what resources they truly need and will use.
- Leadership Must Model the Behavior: It’s not enough to offer resources; leaders must visibly use and advocate for them to destigmatize mental health support. At Calm, we start all-hands meetings with meditation, demonstrating that mental well-being is integral to our culture. Leaders showing their own vulnerability can encourage employees to seek help without fear of judgment.
- Embrace a Holistic Approach to Well-being: Mental health cannot be siloed. It is so important to recognize that. I’ll also add that mental health care is healthcare. Effective plans integrate mental health support with physical health, nutrition, and even financial wellness programs. Our Calm Health product, for instance, offers confidential screenings that consider both mental and physical health concerns, guiding users to personalized resources, including referrals to therapists or crisis hotlines when needed.
- Implement Proactive Workload Management and Transparency: Workload stacking is a primary driver of employee burnout. Leaders need to take this seriously. Leaders must actively ask, “What else is on your plate?” before assigning new tasks, ensuring reasonable workloads and clear priorities. Transparency about company goals helps employees understand the “why” behind their work—we all want to feel valued.
- Cultivate Connection and Community: In an increasingly remote or hybrid world, loneliness is a significant stressor contributing to chronic stress. Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, in fact, said the U.S. is facing an “epidemic” of loneliness.[4] Employers should actively foster moments and interactions to help employees build genuine connections. At Calm, when we returned to the office after the pandemic, we went with a “hub” system with offices near our talent from London to San Francisco. We have found that connecting in person—with flexibility—works best for us.
- Empower Daily Recovery Routines and Micro-breaks: Many of us carry “mental health debt.” Encourage employees to take short, consistent breaks throughout the day. Even a few minutes to step away from the screen can help.
Ultimately, supporting employees through chronic stress and burnout is a continuous journey. By proactively designing and implementing comprehensive mental health recovery plans that prioritize quality resources, transparent communication, holistic well-being, thoughtful workload management, and genuine human connection, leaders can build a resilient, productive, and truly thriving workforce. It’s about ensuring every employee has a fully charged mental battery, not just to survive but to truly flourish.
[1] AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving, Caregiving in the United States 2020 (Washington, DC: AARP Public Policy Institute, May 2020), https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/ltss/family-caregiving/caregiving-in-the-united-states/. (aarp.org)
[2] “How to Take Control of Your Finances,” CNBC Select, accessed July 1, 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/select/how-to-take-control-of-your-finances/.
[3] Dan Witters and Sangeeta Agrawal, “The Economic Cost of Poor Employee Mental Health,” Gallup, November 3, 2022, https://www.gallup.com/workplace/404174/economic-cost-poor-employee‑mental-health.aspx.
[4] Elizabeth M. Ross, “What Is Causing Our Epidemic of Loneliness and How Can We Fix It?,” Usable Knowledge (blog), Harvard Graduate School of Education, October 24, 2024, https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/24/10/what-causing-our-epidemic-loneliness-and-how-can-we-fix-it.
