Beyond Symptoms: The Economic Value of Early Mental Health Interventions in Workplace Settings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.3607Keywords:
Mental Health, Economics, ROI, Depression, Anxiety, Intervention, Absenteeism, Presenteeism, Workplace, Cost effectiveness, Health PolicyAbstract
Mental health issues continue to grow in the workforce, significantly affecting individual well-being, work performance, and company profitability. Despite decades of rising prevalence of mental health issues, little action has been taken in the corporate sector to address them.
This review examines various early mental health workplace intervention programs to evaluate their economic and individual impacts.
A modified systematic review was conducted using modified PRISMA guidelines. The MeSH filters “Mental Health AND Economic Impacts AND Workplace” were applied. Relevant studies were limited to those published between January 1, 2003, and July 6th, 2025. Eligible research abstracts were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Relevant articles were then assessed via full text review.
After screening eligible articles, six were found to match the inclusion criteria. Included articles focused on interventions which embraced psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, cognitive-based therapy, wellness programs, physical activity, and digital screening tools. After assessing their impacts, it was found that at the individual level, interventions reduced mental health symptoms, improved quality of life, and enhanced cognitive skills. Economically, interventions yielded high ROIs for companies and reduced absenteeism and presenteeism. These benefits demonstrated that early workplace interventions may be effective in combating economic and individual impacts of mental health disorders.
The review demonstrates that early workplace mental health interventions effectively improve mental health in workplace settings and generate measurable economic benefits. Employers, policymakers, and researchers can use these findings to support, implement, and lead future research in mental health.
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