Mental health is a top issue in the U.S. and there is a growing need for support to allow communities, individuals, and businesses to thrive. That was the key message at the April Workforce Mental Health Summit in San Francisco championed by David Cordani, chairman and CEO of The Cigna Group^®, and panelists that included Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles.

Biles withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 due to a mental performance issue and subsequently took a two-year break from gymnastics, becoming an “unplanned” mental health advocate in the process. “I put myself first and that’s what opened up the topic of mental health,” she said. Biles talked about ways she prioritizes her mental health and what business and community leaders can do to address the mental health crisis.

Addressing mental health in the workforce is a key opportunity

With 75 percent of American workers having at least one symptom of a mental health concern,² it is critical for the business community to play a role in addressing the nation’s mental health crisis.

That’s why this summit, which was part of the Business Roundtable Mental Health Initiative, was convened. It engaged business executives and health care industry thought leaders, who discussed the importance of promoting and supporting employee mental health, as well as strategies to address these issues within the U.S. workforce.

Topics included:

• How employers play a role in addressing the mental health crisis.
• How taking a data-driven approach is key.
• The power of empathy and leadership.

Joining Cordani and Biles among the featured speakers were:

• Diane Brady, executive editor at Fortune, who shared her personal experience with mental health, recounting the sudden death of her husband and the support she received from her employer.
• Eva Borden, president of Behavioral Health at Evernorth^®, who discussed her personal and professional connections to mental health, sharing her daughter’s struggles and noting the widespread impact of mental health issues in the workforce.
• Dane Linn, senior vice president of the Business Roundtable, who emphasized the importance of companies looking at data to address mental health issues and starting small to build successes.

Learn more

Read the full article: “Leaders champion workforce mental health at San Francisco summit.”

1  Rachel Green. “The Connection Between Mental Health and Physical Health.” Verywell Mind. 19 May 2023. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/the-mental-and-physical-health-connection-7255857.

2  “U.S. Workers Facing Increasing Mental Health Challenges.” LIMRA. 08 May 2024. Retrieved from https://www.limra.com/en/newsroom/industry-trends/2024/u.s.-workers-facing-increasing-mental-health-challenges.