Realizing the positive ROI of supporting employees’ mental health

Poor mental health among the workforce imposes tremendous costs on Canadian employers. Yet barriers to investment in workplace mental health remain, including a lack of knowledge of best practices, as well as a lack of evidence that such investments can have a positive impact on the bottom line.

In this report, we take a look at historical data from seven Canadian companies at various stages of their mental health investment journey and interviews with subject matter experts and leaders from 10 companies to better understand common challenges and enablers of program success.

Key takeaways include:

• Investment in workplace mental health programs can mitigate the rising costs of doing nothing
• Investing in high-impact areas to better support employees can boost ROI
• Performance measurement is a critical element in implementation, but is often overlooked
• It isn’t necessary to start building a mental health program from scratch

Regardless of the organization’s sector and size, employers can take steps to understand where attention is needed, build on existing activities, and monitor program outcomes to build a solid foundation for a mentally healthy workforce.

Key contact

Gillian Salazar
Senior Manager, Corporate Responsibility
gsalazar@deloitte.ca
416-601-6243