Finding the Intersection of Behavioral Health and Workplace Safety

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it serves as an important reminder that employee wellbeing extends far beyond physical health alone. Last week, Briotix Health behavioral health experts presented a webinar highlighting how employers today can improve workplace injury prevention and it starts with one thing: recognizing that behavioral health and workplace safety are deeply connected. Read on for an overview of the webinar with additional input from our speakers about behavioral health and injury prevention. 

Our Experts:

For decades, workplace safety programs focused almost entirely on physical hazards, ergonomics, equipment, and injury response. While those areas remain essential, employers are increasingly understanding that mental health can significantly influence workplace safety outcomes, productivity, employee retention, and return-to-work success.

Today, organizations are beginning to challenge traditional assumptions and take a more comprehensive approach to injury prevention by addressing both physical and behavioral health together.

Challenging Assumptions: Mental Health

One longstanding assumption in many workplaces is that employee mental health should not be discussed or addressed by employers. However, the growing prevalence of mental health challenges makes that approach unrealistic and ignores the real impact of mental health that has always existed in the workplace.

A national survey found that approximately 60 million American adults were living with a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. That translates to millions of employees navigating mental health challenges while still trying to perform safely and effectively at work.

Key Takeaways

• Mental health concerns can affect concentration, decision-making, and productivity.
• Employees who feel unsupported are more likely to seek employment elsewhere.
• Mental health remains one of the most common reasons for leave requests and workplace accommodations.
• Connecting employees to available support resources can improve engagement and productivity.

Employers are beginning to recognize that supporting behavioral health is not only beneficial for employees, but also important for operational performance and workforce stability.

Why Traditional Mental Health Resources Often Fall Short

Many organizations already offer behavioral health resources, but simply having benefits available does not guarantee employees will use them.

Communication remains one of the largest barriers. Employees may not fully understand what services are available, how to access them, or whether they can use them confidentially. Barriers can look like:

• Limited communication about available mental health benefits
• Employee concerns about confidentiality and privacy
• Mental health professional shortage areas reducing access to care
• High out-of-pocket costs and limited in-network provider availability
• Growing employee preference for in-person care options

These barriers can delay care and prevent employees from getting support before challenges begin affecting job performance or workplace safety.

The Growing Connection Between Mental Health and Workplace Safety

Historically, workplace injury research focused on mental health after an injury occurred. However, newer research suggests behavioral health concerns may increase injury risk before an incident ever happens.

Several studies have identified a connection between depressive symptoms, mental health treatment, and increased workplace injury risk. A National Occupational Injury Research Symposium article in 2018 suggested that mental health can be a precursor of occupational injury as well as a consequence.

Reflecting on the growing body of research pointing to mental health impacts on safety, Kevin Robertson LMFT, CEAP said, “It starts to make us think about which came first, right, ‘the chicken or the egg’. Was the mental health need there prior to injury? Did it impact the injury? Or was it a consequence of the injury? And I think this is one of those scenarios where both can potentially be true. But certainly, from an injury prevention standpoint, we want to make sure that we’re looking at things like mental health, psychosocial stressors, [and] what’s going on with this individual… so we can make sure that they are safe and focused when they’re in the workplace”.

How Behavioral Health Impacts Safety Performance

Behavioral health challenges can directly affect an employee’s ability to work safely. Stress, burnout, anxiety, and mental exhaustion can reduce attention span and impair decision-making.

“I think one of the really important pieces here is to make sure that we understand that behavioral health isn't just a diagnosable mental health disorder. It can be extreme stress. It can be someone on the verge of burnout. Someone who just experienced loss or is maybe going through a divorce, for example. Those are all important pieces that impact our ability to perform at a high level and reduce injury,” said Robertson.

In safety-sensitive environments, even small lapses in concentration can increase the risk of incidents involving machinery, slips and falls, or operational errors.

Behavioral Health Factors That Can Increase Safety Risk

• Mental fatigue reducing focus and awareness
• Burnout caused by high job demands
• Presenteeism, where employees are physically present but mentally disengaged
• Substance abuse connected to untreated mental health conditions
• Difficulty identifying or responding to workplace hazards

When organizations treat behavioral health as a core component of their safety strategy, they create an environment where teams are better equipped to stay focused, aware, and safe.

Cognitive Demands and Workplace Risk Reduction

Understanding how behavioral health affects safety is only part of the picture. To effectively address these risks, organizations must look beyond physical hazards and consider the cognitive demands placed on employees.

Cognitive demands assessments examine the mental requirements associated with essential job tasks, including concentration, memory, time pressure, social interactions, and workplace stressors.

Benefits of Cognitive Demands Evaluations

• Provide objective information about psychological and cognitive job requirements
• Support job matching and accommodation planning
• Help identify modified work opportunities
• Improve understanding of workplace stressors
• Assist employers in prioritizing health and safety concerns

By understanding both physical and cognitive job demands, employers can build safer and more supportive work environments.

Supporting Employees Through Accommodation and Return to Work

As organizations gain a clearer understanding of both behavioral health risks and cognitive job demands, the next step is applying that insight to support employees in the workplace, especially during periods of recovery or transition.

Effective accommodations and return-to-work (RTW) strategies help employees safely perform essential job functions while addressing temporary or ongoing limitations. This requires collaboration between employees, employers, and healthcare providers, grounded in a clear understanding of job demands and individual capacity.

An important consideration, said Crystal McWilliams, MSW, LCSW, CPDM, is that “many individuals living with behavioral health or neurocognitive conditions have experienced years of being misunderstood or mislabeled as lazy, unmotivated, careless, or not trying hard enough. Over time, these experiences can create significant shame and self-doubt which may become barriers for asking for help in the workplace... When employers approach concerns collaboratively rather than punitively, employees are often more willing to engage in support strategies, communicate openly, and participate in solutions that improve workplace functioning. Employees are more likely to succeed when support replaces shame”.