Reducing Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and for our team at Berger HR Solutions, it’s a topic that hits close to home. Mental health matters, not just as a workplace issue, but as a human one. This month, we want to talk about something that doesn’t get enough attention: the stigma that still keeps too many employees from speaking up, asking for help, or feeling safe enough at work to do either.

Employers have more power to change that than they might think, through the resources they put in place, the tone leaders set, and the channels they make available to employees who need support.

The Stigma Is Still There, Even If We Don’t Talk About It

Many people assume that the stigma surrounding mental health is fading. In some ways, it is, but the data tells a more complicated story.

According to NAMI’s 2025 Workplace Mental Health Poll, three in four American workers feel it’s appropriate to discuss mental health at work. And yet, two in five say they worry about being judged if they actually do. That gap between what people believe is acceptable and what they feel safe doing is where stigma lives.

A separate report from Mind Share Partners found that 46% of workers would worry about losing their job if they talked about their mental health at work. Nearly half. That’s not a small number, and it’s a signal that workplaces still have significant work to do.

Mental Health Means Different Things to Different People

Right now, multiple generations are working side by side, and they don’t always see mental health the same way. For many younger employees, talking openly about anxiety, burnout, or depression feels normal. For some older colleagues, those same conversations may feel uncomfortable, overly personal, or simply outside the bounds of what belongs at work. Both groups are sitting in the same meetings, working on the same teams, and reporting to the same managers.

Employers can’t control how every individual on their team thinks about mental health, and that’s not really the goal. What employers can do is make sure that the visibility is there, that mental health is acknowledged, that resources are clearly communicated, and that anyone who is struggling knows there is somewhere to turn, whether or not they want to talk about it openly at work.

What Employers Can Actually Do

De-stigmatizing mental health at work doesn’t mean requiring vulnerability or scheduling mandatory sharing sessions. It means making sure the visibility is there. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Model it from the top. When leaders are willing to acknowledge that mental health is something they take seriously, even personally, it signals to employees that it’s safe to do the same. You don’t have to share your own story to make this point. You just have to show that you’re not dismissing the topic.
• Create educational moments. Lunch-and-learns, guest speakers, or brief presentations during team meetings can normalize mental health conversations without putting anyone on the spot. NAMI’s StigmaFree workplace resources are a great starting point for employers looking for programming and tools.
• Train managers to recognize the signs. Mental health challenges often show up first in changes to performance, engagement, or behavior. Managers who know what to look for, and how to respond with care rather than judgment, can make a meaningful difference early on.
• Make sure private channels exist. Not everyone wants to raise their hand in a team meeting or walk into their manager’s office. Employees should know there are confidential options available to them, whether that’s an EAP, an HR partner, or an outside resource. The key is that people know those options exist before they need them.

The Role of HR and Why Outside Support Matters

Many employees are more comfortable talking to someone outside their immediate workplace. That’s not a reflection of bad culture. It’s just human nature. Knowing there’s a confidential resource available that isn’t their direct manager or internal HR team can be the difference between someone getting help and someone suffering in silence.

This is an area where Berger HR Solutions can help. We work with employers to make sure the right channels are in place, that managers are equipped to have supportive conversations, and that employees know what resources are available to them. Sometimes people just need to talk to someone, and knowing that option exists, privately and without judgment, matters more than most employers realize.

For more information, contact us and see our post on supporting employee mental health.

A More Open Workplace Benefits Everyone

When employees feel psychologically safe, they perform better, stay longer, and show up more fully. Workplaces that support mental health see lower burnout and lower turnover, according to Mind Share Partners’ research, and employees at those companies are twice as likely to report no burnout or depression.

Mental Health Awareness Month is a good time to take stock of where your workplace stands. Not to overhaul everything at once, but to ask: do our employees know we take this seriously? Do they know where to turn if they’re struggling? Is there space in our culture for this conversation?

If you’re not sure, that’s a place to start.

Let’s Talk

Supporting employee mental health doesn’t have to be complicated. It starts with visibility, consistency, and making sure no one has to figure it out alone.

If you’d like help assessing your current culture, training your managers, or connecting your team with the right resources, we’re here to help. Contact us at info@bergerhrsolutions.com or 410-695-9888 to start the conversation.