Maureen Metcalf

expert panel

Mental health at work cannot be addressed through benefits alone. Members of the Senior Executive HR Think Tank explain how leaders can design workloads, management practices, autonomy, psychological safety and workplace systems to support sustainable performance.Workplace mental health is increasingly recognized as a business and organizational design issue—not simply an employee benefit. SHRM's 2026 research found that stress and anxiety remain significant concerns among U.S. workers, while companies continue to wrestle with employee burnout and the underuse of mental health benefits.That raises a more fundamental question: What if organizations stopped asking employees to cope better with unhealthy conditions and instead examined the conditions themselves? Members of the Senior Executive HR Think Tank bring expertise in psychology, HR, organizational design, leadership, culture and workforce strategy to that question.Their answers point toward a common idea: A mentally healthy workplace is not created by adding another program to the benefits portfolio. It is created by deliberately designing work so people can perform without continually sacrificing their psychological well-being.

expert panel

As labor markets, workplace models and technology continue to evolve, employers are rethinking traditional probationary periods alongside onboarding, performance expectations and early success. Members of the Senior Executive HR Think Tank explain how organizations can modernize these practices while maintaining accountability, fairness and trust.The first months of employment have always been critical, but the assumptions behind probationary periods, onboarding timelines and performance expectations are changing. Roles are becoming more complex, AI is reshaping workflows and employees are entering organizations with different expectations about flexibility, development and career growth.For employers, the challenge is finding the right balance: moving quickly enough to meet business demands while giving employees the clarity, support and resources needed to succeed. Rigid timelines that once worked may no longer reflect how work gets done today.To understand how leaders should approach this shift, we turned to members of the Senior Executive HR Think Tank, a curated group of human resources executives and advisors who examine the evolving challenges facing today’s workforce. Their insights reveal that the future of onboarding is not about lowering standards—it is about creating clearer expectations, stronger systems and more effective paths to performance.