I was speaking with a Head of People and Culture recently, and she shared how different Gen Z and Gen X are in their openness to using mental health support.
Her younger employees were quick to engage in anything related to mental health, signing up for sessions, using their therapists, and even going on short-term disability more.
Her more senior employees were much quieter, less visible, more selective, and far less likely to engage in anything that felt too personal or exposing.
Of course, this makes sense. Gen Z has grown up in a culture where mental health is part of everyday language, where therapy is normalized, and where asking for help does not carry the same weight it once did, which changes how quickly someone is willing to engage.
For many Gen X employees, the conditioning was different, where pushing through, keeping things private, and not letting their personal life show up at work was often the expectation, and for a lot of people, that is still how they operate today.
Not always, but often, Gen X employees are also in more senior positions, which means that in many organizations, the people carrying the most responsibility, making the highest impact decisions, and setting the tone for their teams are also the ones least likely to access support.
You don’t always see it right away, but over time it starts to show up in small, everyday ways, where decisions feel heavier than they should, reactions become a bit quicker and less measured, and it gets harder to step back and think strategically, especially in environments that are already high-pressure and fast-moving. It often comes through as shorter patience, more friction in communication, and a pattern of staying in a constant problem-solving mode, where everything is about getting through what is right in front of you, with very little space left for bigger picture thinking.
Over time, it also impacts how teams experience leadership, because employees take their cues from the top. When leaders are running on empty or quietly burned out, it shapes the culture in a way that is hard to measure but easy to feel, where stress becomes normalized, and recovery is deprioritized. People are less likely to speak up or ask for support themselves.
From a business standpoint, this often translates into higher turnover at both the leadership and team level, increased short-term disability claims, lower engagement, and a gradual erosion of performance that is not tied to one clear issue, but rather a sustained lack of capacity at the top.
Because it is happening at the leadership level, it tends to ripple outward, influencing not just individual well-being, but team dynamics, productivity, and ultimately the overall health of the organization.
What we are seeing across clients is that the issue is rarely a complete lack of resources, most organizations do have something in place, but that does not necessarily mean those resources are being used in a meaningful way, or that they feel accessible to different types of employees.
In many cases, the gap is not about adding more, it is about rethinking how support shows up day to day, because if it feels too exposed, too formal, or too far outside someone’s comfort zone, people quietly opt out. At the core of this is psychological safety, where employees need to feel that they can engage without judgment, without risk, and without it impacting how they are perceived at work.
The shift that is working is not about pushing everyone into the same conversation, it is about creating multiple ways in and meeting employees where they are, so that support actually gets used, not just offered.
Not everyone is going to start with therapy, but many people will engage with something that feels lighter, more approachable, and more connected to their day-to-day habits.
This is where wellness challenges become a powerful starting point, because they allow employees to engage in areas like movement, sleep, stress, or energy in a way that feels practical and non-invasive, while still creating a meaningful impact on mental well-being. (We know in some scenarios exercise can be as impactful as anti-anxiety meditation).
We consistently see employees who would never sign up for a mental health therapy appointment actively participating in a four-week challenge, building momentum through small daily actions, and gradually becoming more open to deeper layers of support.
It is often the first step, not the final destination, but it is a critical one.
One of the biggest gaps in workplace mental health support is inconsistency, where efforts are often concentrated around awareness months or single events, and then drop off.
What works better is creating a full-year calendar that weaves mental health into the broader employee experience, connecting topics like stress, burnout, resilience, sleep, and energy in a way that feels continuous rather than episodic.
This approach allows employees to engage at different times throughout the year, depending on what is relevant for them, and it removes the pressure to participate in one specific moment.
Over time, it builds familiarity, trust, and a sense that support is always there, not just when it is being promoted.
In most organizations, the first place an employee turns is not HR or a formal resource, it is their direct manager.
That makes managers one of the most important touchpoints when it comes to mental health, and also one of the most under-supported.
What we see work well is giving managers simple, practical tools to recognize when someone might be struggling, how to respond in a way that feels supportive without overstepping, and how to guide employees toward the right resources.
A focused mental health training session like “Mental Health Training For Leaders” can shift this significantly, not by turning managers into experts, but by helping them feel more confident if and when that conversation comes up.
There is a limit to how far any wellness initiative can go if it is not reflected at the leadership level, and this is where it often gets overlooked, because the same group that has the most influence on culture is also the least likely to actively seek out support on their own.
Leaders are often operating at full capacity, focused on performance, delivery, and their teams, and even when support is available, it tends to be deprioritized or quietly avoided.
At the same time, employees are paying close attention to what is modelled, not just what is communicated, and when leaders are running on empty or constantly pushing through, it sets an unspoken standard for the rest of the organization.
What we are seeing work much more effectively is when leadership support is built into the employee experience itself, not positioned as optional or something they have to opt into, but as a structured, expected part of how leaders are supported.
Programs like The Thrive Formula create that space, giving senior leaders the opportunity to build their own resilience, energy, and mental clarity in a way that feels practical and relevant to their role.
And when leaders start engaging in that work themselves, it shifts more than just their own capacity, it changes what feels acceptable across the organization, because employees can see that support is not only available, it is being used at the highest levels, which makes it feel safer for everyone else to do the same.
There is something important to keep in mind through all of this.
The goal is not to get everyone to engage in the same way, or to suddenly make every employee comfortable talking about mental health. It is to create an environment where someone who is ready to engage openly can do that, and someone who is not ready still has a way to participate without feeling pushed or exposed.
When that balance is there, the gap between generations starts to close naturally, because the environment is flexible enough to support both. People actually feel supported day in and day out.
If this is something you are seeing in your own organization, it is often less about starting from scratch and more about bringing the right structure to what already exists, in a way that actually reaches different types of employees and supports leaders at the same time.
This is exactly how we approach our work at HEAL, with fully customized, done-for-you wellness programs that combine challenges, education, leadership support, and a clear year-long strategy, all designed to meet your team where they are and drive meaningful engagement.
If you are thinking about what this could look like for your team, you can opt in below for a custom program outline, and we will map out an approach that aligns with your people, your priorities, and your goals.
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Take the guesswork out of employee wellness programs. Get a fully customized, done-for-you corporate wellness program plan tailored to your team's needs.
