If leaders want to build a workplace that better prioritizes mental health, the buck stops with them. At the Fast Company Innovation Festival, three executives - Elyse Cohen, executive vice president of social impact and inclusion at Rare Beauty; Andy Dunn, CEO at Pie; and Linus Karlsson, chief creative officer at Ikea - spoke transparently about their own experiences with and research about mental health at work.

All of us have heard guidelines about how to be physically healthy—eat well, exercise, wash your hands, get plenty of rest. But how many of us have thought seriously about our social lives—the strength of our relationships and our sense of belonging in a community—as key to staying healthy?

U.S. employees are increasingly struggling with mental health challenges tied to their jobs, such as depression, anxiety, and burnout. We’re professors who research how employees interact and workplace well-being. After noticing that research on mental health and work had not kept up with the increasing prevalence of mental health challenges, we reviewed existing findings on mental health and work to see how scholars can best investigate these issues going forward.

Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? Now is a good time for our professional community to raise awareness around mental health and wellness issues. When you do, you’re helping to support successful employees, workplaces, organizations and society at large.

When we got married, my husband had a “bachelor party” that consisted of five guys going out to dinner together. There was no heavy drinking or roasting the groom or naked women jumping out of a cake. Just guys sitting around talking about life. This group has been meeting regularly ever since, taking turns hosting brunch so they can chat for hours, sharing the joys and struggles of their lives.

Mental health is a topic of critical importance and front of mind for so many of us. My series on mental health has generated comments, ideas and recommendations—and it’s worth considering all the ways the collective thinking about mental health will shape responses from leaders and organizations.

Hundreds of readers shared in comments on LinkedIn and other social media about the pressures they feel as leaders, the risk of burnout, and how best to support themselves and their teams during difficult times.

As a psychiatrist and neuroscience researcher, I've spent 27 years studying the surprising connections between our mental health, physical health and brain health. I've also learned a lot from my personal journey. In my 20s, I was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, a combination of disorders that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

A client of Ron’s, “Kelsey,” a division general manager of a large food manufacturer, recently told him, “Everyone on my team seems tired…all the time. I ask them how they’re doing, and they tell me ‘fine.’ If someone asks for time off, I say yes. They get the work done, but it seems like they’re in a fog. I don’t know what to do.”

I recently moved to a new apartment, an occasion that calls for celebration—preferably outdoors in my brand-new backyard. But I didn’t expect how much being in a different space would disrupt my sense of safety. So I worried—about my cat escaping out the front door, how to protect my family from COVID, raccoon-transmitted diseases, and more.

The people who come to you for training have many reasons for doing so, but there is one thing they all need, and that is for you to be grounded, clear and fully present. When you are, that gives them the emotional and energetic space to tap into their own sense of psychological safety and truly absorb the lessons and learning you make available to them.