Leaving SHRM, I felt full. Full of gratitude. Full of appreciation. Full of hope. And honestly, full of even more conviction that this work matters.
"Mental health is not a perk, a trend, or a box to check."
It is a workplace priority because people bring their minds, bodies, grief, stress, caregiving responsibilities, financial fears, trauma, ambition, exhaustion, and hope to work every day.
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I had the absolute joy of presenting at SHRM’s Annual Conference, and I am still sitting in the gratitude of it all.
With 20,000 people in attendance, the conference felt less like a typical professional event and more like a village. A very large, very caffeinated, badge-wearing village of HR professionals, business leaders, vendors, authors, speakers, supporters, and people who care deeply about the future of work.
This year’s conference brought some incredible voices to the stage, including Simon Sinek, James Marsden, Terry Crews, and Oprah Winfrey. Yes, Oprah. And yes, the HR crowd was appropriately excited.
My session, “Mental Health Isn’t A Perk, It’s A Workplace Priority,” was one of those moments that reminded me why I do this work.
I had the opportunity to share why mental health advocacy has become such a personal passion for me, and why this conversation belongs in the workplace. Not hidden in the benefits folder. Not mentioned once during open enrollment. Not reduced to a poster in the breakroom. Mental health affects how people communicate, perform, lead, recover, problem-solve, show up, and sometimes, how they survive the day. That does not mean HR has to become a therapist. In fact, please do not.
HR’s role is not to diagnose, counsel, or carry the full weight of someone’s pain. HR’s role is to help create a workplace where people know what resources are available, where leaders are trained to respond appropriately, and where employees do not have to fall apart before someone notices they are struggling.
After my presentation, I spent time in the SHRM Store meeting attendees and signing copies of my book, “By The Time You Read This: The Space Between Cheslie’s Smile And Mental Illness.” Those conversations were tender, honest, and deeply meaningful. People shared stories about their workplaces, their families, their employees, and themselves.
That is the part that stays with me.
Because behind every policy conversation is a person. Behind every accommodation request is a person.
Behind every performance concern, attendance issue, withdrawal, conflict, or sudden change in behavior, there may be a person who is taxed, affected, or both.
Takeaway 1:
Employees want mental health to be discussable at work, but stigma still gets in the way.
The 2025 NAMI Workplace Mental Health Poll found that three in four American workers believe it is appropriate to discuss mental health concerns at work. That tells us the door is opening.
But the same data shows that many employees still worry about being judged, losing opportunities, appearing weak, or having their career negatively impacted if they speak up. In other words, people may believe the conversation belongs at work, but they are still unsure whether their workplace is safe enough to have it.
That is where leaders matter.
Culture is not created by a statement on the website. It is created in the everyday moments when a manager responds with care instead of irritation, when HR provides resources without making someone feel like a problem, and when senior leaders model the behavior they say they support.
Takeaway 2:
Mental wellness affects retention.
The NAMI poll found that one in four employees have considered quitting their jobs due to mental health concerns, and 7% reported that they actually did quit because of those challenges.
Gallup has also reported that employees, especially younger workers, place a high value on employers that care about employee well-being. For millennials and Gen Z, “the organization cares about employees’ wellbeing” ranked as their number one workplace want.
That is not soft. That is a workforce issue.
Employees are paying attention to whether leaders respect boundaries, whether mental health resources are clear and accessible, whether workloads are sustainable, and whether the workplace gives them room to be human without being penalized for it.
A workplace that ignores mental wellness may not lose people all at once. It may lose them slowly. First in engagement. Then in trust. Then in performance. Then in resignation letters.
Takeaway 3:
HR should be supportive, resourceful, and maintain clear boundaries.
This may be the most important message I shared. HR is not the therapist. HR is the connector, the policy guide, the resource sharer, the trainer, the documenter, and sometimes the calm person in the room who helps others slow down and respond appropriately.
That means HR can normalize PTO and recovery. HR can train managers to listen, respond, document, refer, and avoid becoming fixers. HR can make resources visible, including EAPs, leave options, accommodation processes, crisis resources, community support, and mental health education.
HR can also help leaders understand that support and accountability can coexist.
We can care about people and still care about deadlines. We can protect dignity and still address performance. We can respect confidentiality and still act when safety is at risk.
We can be compassionate without taking over someone’s life or pretending to have clinical expertise we do not have.
That is the balance.