UpTrajectory Review
This piece reflects on the profound impact of mental health challenges in the workplace, particularly in light of the pandemic's long-lasting effects on younger generations. The author shares a personal story of loss and how it spurred the creation of The Polina Fund, aimed at supporting young women facing mental health issues. The narrative emphasizes the need for leaders to recognize and address the mental health struggles of their employees, especially as many young workers grapple with unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression.
For small business owners, this message is particularly urgent. As the workforce evolves, understanding the mental health landscape is crucial for fostering a supportive work environment. The statistics presented highlight that a significant portion of employees are struggling, which can directly affect productivity and morale. Leaders should consider implementing mental health resources and open dialogues about well-being to create a more resilient workplace culture. Ignoring these issues could lead to higher turnover and decreased employee engagement.
“When researchers surveyed 1,000 full-time U.S. employees in early 2025, they found that 75% reported experiencing persistent low mood driven largely by politics and current events.” — Fast Company
Takeaway: Prioritize mental health initiatives in your workplace to support employees and enhance overall productivity.
From the original item — Fast Company:
On April 15, we should have marked Polina’s 23rd birthday. But her 18th birthday was the last one we celebrated together. In September 2021, after years of struggling with her mental health, my niece died tragically.
No family emerges unchanged from a loss like that. Nearly five years later, ours is still grieving. But grief can also become action. Shortly after Po’s death, we founded The Polina Fund, through which our family and community work to support young women facing mental health and substance abuse challenges, and to help destigmatize these struggles before more lives are lost.
Polina’s too-short life taught me things I have tried to carry into every decision I make as a leader. That includes how we structure work, how we treat people, and what we owe one another in a world growing harder to navigate by the day.
Young people entering today’s workforce are carrying burdens that previous generations did not face in the same way: prolonged social isolation from the pandemic, economic instability, political polarization, climate anxiety, and constant digital overstimulation.
The toll on our collective mental health is not metaphorical. It is measurable. When researchers surveyed 1,000 full-time U.S. employees in early 2025, they found that 75% reported experiencing persistent low mood driven largely by politics and current events. Nearly half said life was easier during the COVID-19 pandemic than it is today.
The pandemic did something particular and lasting to an entire generation. It shifted learning online, intensified isolation, shuttered community programs, disrupted employment and education, and destabilized the economy. The damage was not temporary. Youth anxiety and depression doubled globally during the pandemic, and among Gen Z workers in that survey, 54% said their mental health has never fully recovered.
These are not abstract statistics. These are the people sitting in our conference rooms, on our Zoom calls, managing our projects, and serving our clients.
Into that already-fragile landscape came the social media accelerant. For years, researchers, parents, and advocates warned about what algorithmic platforms were doing to children and teenagers, particularly young women. This past March, California jurors found Meta and Google liable in a landmark case involving a young woman whose compulsive social media use began in childhood. The ruling marked a watershed moment: For the first time, a jury concluded that these platforms were designed in ways that harmed developing minds.
I am not in the business of judging Silicon Valley. I am in the business of asking what choices the rest of us are making.
Because here is the uncomfortable truth every business leader needs to sit with: Mental health is not a personal problem employees bring to work. It is something workplaces actively shape, for better or worse.
The economic consequences alone are staggering. Depression and anxiety account for an estimated 12 billion lost working days each year, costing the global economy roughly $1 trillion in lost productivity. Employees with unresolved depression experience a 35% drop in productivity, costing U.S. organizations $210 billion annually in absenteeism, reduced output, and medical expenses.
And yet the response from many organizations remains inadequate. Only 53% of employees know how to access mental healthcare through their employer. About 46% say they would worry about losing their job if they talked openly about their mental health at work.
The good news is that the opposite is also true. Employees who work at companies that actively support mental health are significantly less likely to experience burnout or depression. Supporting mental health is compassionate, but it is also smart organizational leadership.
At Pyxera Global, when COVID arrived, we used it as an opportunity to question what kind of organization we wanted to be. That led to structural changes:
We are certainly not flawless at Pyxera Global. But we have tried to create a foundation that supports employee wellbeing because it is the right thing to do and because healthier employees create healthier organizations.
At The Polina Fund, we are also working to normalize conversations around mental health and substance use. In addition to providing financial support for women from underserved communities seeking sober living and mental health resources, we strongly advocate for Mental Health First Aid training. Like traditional first aid, MHFA does not make someone an expert. But it gives people practical skills that may help save a life.
We just finished Mental Health Awareness Month in May, but awareness is only the first step. I want to speak directly to fellow leaders—the people who shape workplace culture, design benefits, and decide whether managers are trained to recognize when someone is struggling.
Here is the challenge I put to you, and to myself: Move from awareness to action.
The people in our care—our employees, our colleagues, and the young people inheriting the world we are building—deserve more than an Employee Assistance Program phone number buried in an HR handbook.
They deserve leaders who take their wellbeing as seriously as their output.
The future of work is about whether people can survive and thrive within the systems we build.
Deirdre White is the CEO of Pyxera Global and a board member of The Polina Fund.