The Hidden Productivity Gap: Why Specialized Mental Health Support Matters

In 2026, the workplace mental health landscape is fundamentally shifting. In this piece, I’ll share how what once required simple interventions now demands sophisticated, multi-layered support systems capable of addressing increasingly complex employee needs. 

As claims rise across the spectrum of mental health needs: depression, anxiety, and neurodevelopmental conditions like ADHD, employers and plan sponsors are discovering that fragmented point solutions simply cannot deliver the coordinated care their workforce requires.

The challenge isn’t just volume, it’s providing more personalized care that’s appropriate to a patient’s specific needs, since individuals rarely present with isolated mental health conditions. 

Without more robust care pathways, patients can bounce between disconnected services, receiving treatments that address symptoms rather than root causes. 

The result for employers? Prolonged absenteeism, escalating costs, and frustrated HR teams watching their mental health investments not deliver meaningful outcomes.

Maple’s Strong Foundation: Built to Excel in Mental Health Support

We’ve proudly built one of the most robust and diverse mental health ecosystems in Canada, delivering a smooth and reliable experience for plan members across a wide range of mental health needs.

• EAP offers quick access and early intervention for short-term care, solution focused support
• Headspace provides preventive tools and self-guided support at scale
• Mental Health Therapists deliver long term support for ongoing concerns 
• Primary Care GPs are able to diagnose and treat a wide spectrum of mental health conditions

Our suite of services works exceptionally well for employees giving them timely support and clear next steps.

Identifying Mental Health Care Gaps in the Workplace

With over 10 years of experience supporting the mental health of Canadians, we continue to learn, evolve, and deepen our understanding of what they truly need. Through this experience of helping millions of individuals access care, we identified a critical gap that still remained. 

Many mental health conditions are often layered and interconnected —  yet they’re treated individually without a broader picture in mind, often leaving patients with inadequate care that may unintentionally create undesired health outcomes. 

ADHD is one of the most overlooked drivers of the mental health gap in today’s workplaces. While an estimated 3.5% of employees have ADHD, many remain undiagnosed or unsupported — yet the impact is anything but invisible. 

For example, an employee might receive antidepressants for focus issues or anxiety medications for hyperactivity, experiencing minimal improvement while their core ADHD remains unaddressed, leading to negative long term health outcomes for the patients, as well as your organization. 

Adults with ADHD lose an average of 22 days of productivity each year, contributing to higher absenteeism, presenteeism, and significant lost human capital. 

Employers also face rising disability and benefits costs, greater health and safety risks, and increased liability when ADHD isn’t properly addressed. The result is a ripple effect across culture, engagement, and retention. Without specialized mental health care that includes ADHD support, organizations shoulder hidden costs while employees struggle in silence.

Bridging the ADHD Gap at Work: Maple’s Acquisition of Beyond ADHD 

Employees who need ADHD support require more integrated approaches to manage their condition. To truly succeed, employees need more personalized and adapted care journeys that help them navigate uncertainty, understand what they’re experiencing, and feel the benefit of ongoing care. This shift in perspective is essential to improving outcomes and reducing impairment attributed to mental health felt by employees and employers. 

Our acquisition of Beyond ADHD strengthens our ability to coordinate more nuanced journeys for employees managing ADHD by adding:

• Holistic, upfront screening to identify ADHD and comorbidities early
• A structured treatment pathway that streamlines medication titration
• Continuous follow-up to ensure employees feel their best

This represents a major step forward in Maple’s evolution — from supporting everyday mental health concerns to confidently guiding employees through the personalized mental health pathway they need.

For employers, this translates to measurable benefits: 

• Reduced absenteeism through early intervention
• Lower overall healthcare costs through appropriate care matching, and
• Improved retention as your employees experience genuine support for their mental health challenges

Mental Health and Your Longterm Success

Our team is dedicated to helping you elevate your mental health offering to help you reach your organizational goals. Whether you’re working to reduce disability claims, improve employee engagement, or build competitive advantage through superior benefits, comprehensive mental health support should be at the core of your long-term strategy that creates measurable and tangible value.