Working mothers and the mental load: what employers need to know

The Working Mom. She manages the children, runs the household, often has other family caregiving responsibilities, and shows up to work every morning on time. She feels like this is normal: everyone’s busy these days, who doesn’t have a lot on their plate? Her friends, family, and society tell her to just practice self-care. Why doesn’t she go for a massage soon? Her employer doesn’t fully recognize the amount of work she’s doing off the clock, and besides, they have benefit options if any employee is struggling.

“The mental load isn’t well defined, but it’s ongoing cognitive and emotional work: the planning, organizing, anticipating needs, and worrying about the well-being of others,” explains Dr. Khush Amaria, Director of Clinical Services at GreenShield Health. “It’s normalized, so women keep going. They try to manage day-to-day responsibilities without acknowledging that cumulative impact on sleep, concentration, and overall well-being.”

As a non-profit social enterprise, as well as a health care and insurance organization, GreenShield focuses on various equity-seeking categories of Canadians. “Women have always been important to GreenShield as a group that tends to be underserved in society,” says Nadim Kara, Executive Vice President, Head of People and Culture, but GreenShield wanted to know what that meant in practice.

“We wanted the facts around what women are experiencing and what they need when it comes to support,” Kara says. “Our research was designed to put data behind an experience many women already recognize in their own lives and better understand how that burden affects their mental health and well-being.”

Overwhelmed, burned out, and not asking for help

Conducted in partnership with Ipsos, GreenShield’s recent survey puts the scale of that mental load into perspective:  92 per cent of Canadian mothers carry it and many prioritize family needs over their own well-being, spending four times more time focused on their family’s needs than on their own mental health.

Sixty-five per cent of mothers report feeling overwhelmed, and more than half experience burnout or anxiety. Among millennial mothers, those juggling peak career years with school-aged children and mounting household demands, the burden is heaviest of all, with 70 per cent describing their load as high.

“Not only are women carrying the behind-the-scenes work for themselves, they bear the brunt of it for their family,” Kara says. “That has significant impacts for society, for workplace productivity, and for how women can show up to be their best in any sphere of social or economic activity.”

Despite the story the results tell, 71 per cent of respondents said they delay or avoid mental health support despite needing it. Barriers to seeking help include time, cost, and the challenge of finding the right therapist.

Low uptake isn’t low need: what utilization data isn’t telling you

There’s a common perception that professional mental health support is something to seek out once you’re in crisis, rather than a resource that can help when stress and overwhelm first begin to build. Amaria urges employers to do a better job of emphasizing that this isn’t something to overlook and that support is available. There are likely existing tools in the workplace already, without needing to wait for a breaking point. Then, employers must normalize their use. Breaking the stigma around accessing these tools can start with general education around the challenges working mothers face. For example, the start of the school year is a transition period full of heightened stress. Have a conversation with employees around it; name it and validate it. But Amaria cautions, it’s not “a one-and-done.”

“Think about how to revisit this and have those conversations, checking in with the workforce and understanding who might be at different and invisible risks,” she says.

Employers should also think about the difference between availability and accessibility. If benefit usage rates are low, don’t interpret that as indicating low need. We know now that mothers delay seeking help, so dig deeper: look at metrics beyond utilization wherever possible.

“That’s where we have to say, hold on. Have we reduced all the friction between having benefits available and actually accessing support? It's a good time to stop and ask: what are we doing to make our benefits more accessible?”

From awareness to action

The business case for bridging that gap is hard to argue with. For every dollar invested in integrated mental health coverage and care, GreenShield’s research found a $1.50 reduction in claims. Drilling down further, GreenShield’s recent Health Outcomes Report found that for every $1 invested in women specifically, employers receive $2 back. It’s a direct return on investment, but Kara argues that viewing integrated mental health coverage and care primarily as a cost or financial investment shouldn’t be the starting point. If employers think of it that way, “you’ve lost the thread,” he says.

Wellness should be viewed as strategic infrastructure, with leadership that champions its own mental health journey and a robust culture that monitors utilization without compromising confidentiality. GreenShield practices what it preaches: internally, salaried employees receive $10,000 in coverage for themselves and their dependents.

“It isn’t a perk; it’s an investment in your workforce. That’s the real conversation. Whether you realize it or not, you’re already paying costs in terms of fatigue, leadership focus, and errors.”

For HR leaders who don't know where to start, Kara recommends beginning with the data already on hand. Cut employee engagement, attrition, and short- and long-term disability figures by gender. Review exit interview data. Look for patterns. Then go qualitative: talk directly to women in the workplace about their experience of barriers to care.

“From my experience having done these exercises for over 30 years, it becomes pretty apparent that the GreenShield data is pretty bang on,” he says, adding that what the data surfaces is exactly what GreenShield has built.

Through its Women's Mental Health Signature Initiative, GreenShield is helping make that first step toward mental health support easier. With flexible virtual appointments and personalized matching, women can connect with a therapist who aligns with their language, culture, and preferences, often within 24 hours. Until November 30, 2026, the first hour of therapy is available at no cost, helping remove one more obstacle to accessing care.

"We do the legwork so that by the time someone sits down with a therapist, virtually or in person, they're ready to get started," Amaria says. "We want accessing care to be easy. That's the simplest way to put it."

Finding a better way

When William Wilkinson founded GreenShield in Windsor, Ontario, in 1957, he did so on the principle of health equity after a woman walked into his pharmacy with two prescriptions, one for herself and one for her daughter, with only enough money to cover one. She chose to pay for her daughter’s, but Wilkinson felt she shouldn’t have had to choose at all.

“He felt there had to be a better way for society to get access to the care that they need,” Kara says, noting that nearly 70 years later, it’s still much the same story. Many women are still putting their families needs ahead of their own.  Reading through the research, Kara thought of his own mother, who came to Canada from Uganda with her two young sons. What was that like for her, he wondered, and for the many women in workplaces across Canada in a similar situation today.

Amaria is clear that the solution isn’t just telling women to prioritize themselves – adding another to-do to the list. It’s about making the mental health support that can help lighten this load easier to access

“If we can do something that helps women get in front of it, I’m happy to be part of that solution,” Amaria says.

This article was made in partnership with GreenShield.