Coming up behind the millennials is another generation, even more tech-savvy, with even more mental health awareness. "Youth are taking over the conversation," says Connie Coniglio, the executive director of BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services.

he argues there's an ethical concern also at stake, beyond the economic case for business. "We have to make mental health truly accessible. It can't be a service for the wealthy."

view around therapy has shifted for his peers, including among men, who have traditionally been more resistant to seeking help.

"If companies want a healthy workforce," he says, "[covering therapy] is probably one of the most important things to provide.

the individuals who control benefits tend to be baby boomers, and those who are entering the work force are saying, 'you can't have the same expectations.' " In his parents' day, he suggests, there was no mental-health awareness - an employee complaining of depression or anxiety would be more likely told to get over it and work harder.

"If I have an employee who is willing to come forward and share that kind of information with me," Casselman observes, "I better be well-equipped to respond to that as a manager."

looks good on paper,

But coverage is only available to Starbucks employees who work more than 20 hours a week, which is about two-thirds of their 19,000 Canadian employees, according to company estimates.

But companies are only patching up - not fixing - a big hole in Canada's mental-health-care system

"We can learn a lot from what they have been accustomed to - being more transparent, more self-aware. Because of that, we are seeing more of a reduction in the stigma around talking about mental health."

Wellness programs pay for themselves in productivity

Ottawa will have to kick in much more than it's promising just to keep hospitals running properly - let alone expand areas such as home care and mental health.

And yet, as provincial health ministers meet with their federal counterpart Jane Philpott to haggle more money out of Ottawa in health-care transfers, we should not expect a golden pot of cash to add new services for mental health. The government farthest along in creating a publicly-funded program for therapy is Quebec.

to seek help when they need it.

they care about their employees

Not providing these services seems outdated, conservative and regressive,"

good deal for everyone.

At ATB

those employees in their mid-20s and 30s - are contributing to a pro-active conversation on workplace health in general

increase in coverage of psychotherapy to $5,000, one of the largest amounts of coverage in the country.

Last summer, when Starbucks began hearing from employees at five forums across the country, the company didn't expect mental health to become the top talking point.

expanding employee assistance plans, creating more holistic benefits around fitness, providing advice to reduce stress around debt and adding digital mental-health services

promote mental health and awareness may not prevent people from becoming mentally ill, they can be effective in improving employee wellbeing

stigma and discrimination experienced by people with a diagnosis is high and rising. Although for the most part unintentional, it permeates mundane social interaction to such a degree that he likened it to institutional racism.

Identify and respond to mental distress sooner rather than later

try very hard to keep quiet about mental ill health

half of the respondents thought that no-one in their workforce would ever have a mental illness.

The first step towards dealing with a problem is recognising that it exists.

costs every employer just over [pounds sterling]1,000 per employee per year

The reasons why change is needed are both humanitarian and financial

productivity