Mental health has become a permanent pillar of employer wellbeing strategy. Since 2020, organizations have expanded access at record speed, adding therapy, apps, coaching, and specialized support programs to meet employee needs.

But in 2026, a sobering question remains: Is it actually working?

Findings from Sequoia’s 2026 Wellbeing Trends Report suggest a growing disconnect between investment and confidence. Employers are spending more and offering more, but most still aren’t sure whether employee mental health has improved.

To help answer this, we’ll look at Sequoia’s latest data. Below are the top mental health insights shaping employer strategy this year and what they signal for the road ahead.

The Confidence Problem No One Planned For

When we asked employers whether overall employee mental health at their organization has improved in the last year, the dominant response was uncertainty.

Nearly three-quarters of employers say they aren’t sure whether their mental health strategy is working.

This isn’t due to a lack of action. Most organizations have invested heavily since the pandemic, layering programs on top of existing benefits to meet urgent and evolving needs. What many didn’t have was the time or the infrastructure to step back and design a cohesive strategy or define what success should look like.

Now, several years later, that early momentum has given way to doubt. Employers know whether what they’re providing is enough, or whether it’s effective.

That uncertainty is closely tied to how mental health benefits have evolved.

When More Solutions Create Less Clarity

Today’s mental health ecosystem at most companies is crowded. Most employers now offer multiple mental health solutions inclusive of enhanced EAP-sponsored therapy sessions, mindfulness and meditation apps, and digital coaching platforms. In fact, 63% of employers offer two to three different mental health vendors, and 5% offer four or more.

For employees, this often shows up as confusion: multiple apps, unclear distinctions between programs, and uncertainty about where to start. For employers, it shows up as fragmented data and a limited ability to see how all these solutions add up.

The result is paradoxical. As mental health offerings have expanded, confidence in their collective impact has eroded.

The Limits of Measuring What’s Easy

Measurement plays a central role in this confidence gap.

Most employers track mental health utilization — registrations, logins, session counts — largely because vendors make this data readily available. But utilization alone offers a narrow view. It shows that something was used, not whether it helped.

Nearly half of employers admit they aren’t tracking mental health metrics beyond basic usage. Very few are measuring clinical outcomes, claims, or broader indicators like absenteeism and productivity.

What stands out in the data is that employers who do look beyond utilization — measuring outcomes or claims patterns — are far more likely to believe employee mental health is improving. Insight, it turns out, precedes confidence.

Why 2026 Feels Like a Turning Point

As employers plan for the year ahead, many are pausing rather than pushing forward aggressively. Almost half report no specific mental health priorities for 2026. Among those who do, the focus is telling: stigma reduction, manager enablement, and stronger demands for outcome data.

These priorities reflect the broader reality employers are navigating, including economic uncertainty, rising medical costs, and increased pressure to demonstrate ROI. Mental health still matters deeply, but leaders are being asked to justify how investments translate into meaningful impact.

Increasingly, the path forward looks less like adding something new and more like making what already exists work better together.

Explore the Full Data Behind the Shift

This narrative is just one slice of the insights in Sequoia’s 2026 Wellbeing Trends Report. The report also examines how employers are navigating GLP‑1 coverage, responding to a challenging renewal environment, and approaching AI in wellbeing.

Download the full report to explore what employers are doing and where wellbeing strategies are headed next.

Shannon Arens — Shannon is Director of Wellbeing at Sequoia, specializing in market insights, industry trends, and strategic initiatives to enhance employee wellbeing for clients. With a keen eye on the ever-changing wellbeing landscape, Shannon is focused on helping employers prioritize what will best address the needs of their people. Outside of work, Shannon enjoys spending quality time with family, staying active through exercise, and connecting with friends.