Untreated US Workplace Mental Health Costs $3.7 Trillion

According to a recent study by the health and wellness publisher HealthCanal, untreated workplace mental illness costs U.S. businesses US$3.7 trillion dollars each year, even though annual spending on mental health treatment in the United States is just 1.1% of that figure ($43 billion).

Lost working time alone costs companies $1 trillion, while treatment and employee turnover due to mental illness cost the remaining $2.7 trillion.

In the study, California led as the top state with companies bearing the greatest economic burden at more than $452 billion. However, the Golden State also ranked as the one that receives the highest returns from investing in workplace mental health treatment—$27 billion.

Washington D.C ranked as the worst U.S. location in failing to meet the needs of workplace mental help, closely followed by the state of Alabama. But the study found that no state in the Union invests enough in mental health care to completely offset the needs of workers who have mental illnesses.