Workers are taking more mental health leaves now than they were in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic started.
According to data collected by behavioral health services provider ComPsych, the percentage of workers taking a leave of absence increased by 30% from 2019 to 2024, while mental health leaves increased by 300% in the same time frame. ComPsych analyzed data from over six million global employees.
ComPsych’s Chief Clinical Officer Jennifer Birdsall told CNBC that mental health leaves have increased “so tremendously” due to factors like uncertain economic conditions. In addition, the pandemic lessened the stigma around asking for mental health support and allowed people to understand their options better, she explained.
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The data showed that employers should rethink how they approach managing absences and handling employee well-being, said ComPsych CEO Paul Posey.
“The pandemic fundamentally reset norms in absence management for employers,” Posey said in a press release.
The data shows that the levels of employees taking a leave of absence have begun to stabilize in recent years, indicating a “new normal,” Posey stated. Numbers were up 33% from 2022 to 2023, but then flattened out from 2023 to 2024. The number of leaves of absence in general was also flat from 2023 to 2024.
A survey from business consulting firm Mercer, released earlier this year, asked more than 500 organizations what they were doing to support employee behavioral health. Nearly 80% said they have taken action or plan to take action in 2026 to provide digital resources for stress management, and 20% said they conducted anti-stigma campaigns for mental health.
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Workers are taking more mental health leaves now than they were in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic started.
According to data collected by behavioral health services provider ComPsych, the percentage of workers taking a leave of absence increased by 30% from 2019 to 2024, while mental health leaves increased by 300% in the same time frame. ComPsych analyzed data from over six million global employees.
ComPsych’s Chief Clinical Officer Jennifer Birdsall told CNBC that mental health leaves have increased “so tremendously” due to factors like uncertain economic conditions. In addition, the pandemic lessened the stigma around asking for mental health support and allowed people to understand their options better, she explained.
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Sherin Shibu
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