September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to talk openly about an issue that is often difficult to talk about at all. For those working in customer experience (CX), it is also an opportunity to look inward.
CX has always been demanding. But the pressure facing CX leaders today feels different. Teams are navigating rapid artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, shifting customer expectations, economic uncertainty, constant pressure to do more with less, organizational change, and the very real questions about what the future of work looks like.
And behind every strategy, transformation, and performance metric are people trying to keep up with it all. The human cost of that pressure can be easy to overlook.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 2026 Workplace Mental Health Poll, 53% of employees say they have felt burned out because of their job, 39% have felt so overwhelmed that it was difficult to do their work, and 38% say their mental health has suffered because of demands at work. At the same time, only 30% say they feel comfortable discussing their mental health with senior or C-suite leadership.
That last number should make leaders pause.
Because you can have an organization with an excellent benefits package, an employee assistance program, and a thoughtful wellness initiative, and people still don’t feel safe saying, “I’m not okay.“
The pressure is real. So is the responsibility.
CX leaders spend a lot of time thinking about how to reduce friction for customers. We map journeys, identify pain points, and look for signals that tell us where an experience is breaking down. We should be applying some of that same thinking to the employee experience.
What are we asking of our teams? Where is the pressure accumulating? Are people being given enough support to navigate change? Are managers equipped to recognize when someone is struggling? And perhaps most importantly, have we created an environment where asking for help is viewed as a sign of trust rather than weakness?
NAMI’s research found that 75% of employees believe senior and C-suite leadership has a responsibility to cultivate an environment where people feel comfortable talking about mental health. Yet only 54% believe their company as a whole prioritizes mental health. That gap matters. Leadership doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means creating the conditions where people can be honest about what they need.
Sometimes that starts with something incredibly simple: asking someone how they’re doing and actually making space for the answer.
Why Leading with Impact matters
At Execs In The Know, we created Leading with Impact because we believe our responsibility to the CX community extends beyond business performance.
Our work is deeply human. So the way we show up for the people doing that work should be human, too.
Through our support of NAMI, we’re helping CX leaders create workplaces where mental health can be discussed openly, stigma can be challenged, and people can feel supported. Our Stigma-Free efforts provide leaders with practical resources, language, and frameworks to help make mental health part of the workplace conversation rather than something people feel they need to hide.
This isn’t about having the perfect program or saying the perfect thing. It’s about being willing to start the conversation. NAMI reminds us that one honest, caring conversation can be a turning point for someone who is struggling. September gives us a reason to have that conversation, but it shouldn’t be the only time we do it.
For CX leaders, that responsibility is particularly meaningful. We ask our teams to bring empathy to every customer interaction. We ask them to absorb frustration, solve complicated problems, and create moments of connection, often under tremendous pressure. They deserve that same empathy from us.
Leading with impact means remembering that the people behind the experience are part of the experience, too.
This September, let’s make room for the conversation. Let’s make it easier to ask for help. And let’s lead in a way that reminds our people they don’t have to carry everything alone.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.
Learn more about Leading with Impact and NAMI’s Suicide Prevention resources.
