The Business of Benefits: Onsite therapy at AT&T

Welcome to the inaugural edition of our Business of Benefits series, where we’ll spotlight benefits that are driving value for HR leaders, digging into their design and ROI.

If you’re interested in talking about a workplace benefit you love for an upcoming edition, click here to get in touch. You can also reach out directly to HR Brew’s total rewards reporter, Courtney Vinopal: [email protected]

Since 2022, employees at AT&T’s Dallas headquarters have had access to a full-time, onsite therapist through a third-party provider.

The benefit became so popular that AT&T decided to add another therapist to serve Dallas workers, and expanded the service to additional locations like El Segundo, California, and Bedminster, New Jersey. AT&T currently has 10 onsite therapy clinics at offices and call centers across the US, and hopes to open 20 by the end of the year.

Ben Jackson, VP of global benefits for AT&T, recently told us how he and his colleagues pitched the benefit to leadership. He also provided details about how AT&T is measuring the return-on-investment of onsite therapy.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Explain the business case for this benefit.

At a time when some companies are pulling back on their benefits, we’re investing more because well-being is key to keeping and attracting great talent. We wanted a model that fits the needs of our employees’ lives, and onsite mental health support allows us to scale access to care in a focused way that can expand to more service offerings over time.

In today’s competitive job market, strong well-being and healthcare benefits really matter when retaining top talent. We understand this from listening closely to our employee feedback and following up with action. By bringing care onsite, we’re making it easier and more convenient for employees to access expert, confidential support for their mental and emotional needs.

What level of investment does this benefit represent for your organization?

This is a strategic investment we’re making in our people, and it builds on our existing benefits rather than replacing them. We are able to do this, in part, by streamlining our benefits vendor ecosystem and using the savings from recent [request for proposals]. While I can’t share exact dollar amounts, this program is designed to work seamlessly with our existing employee assistance program. Employees are eligible for up to 16 no‑cost therapy sessions, depending on their plan. If they need more support, those enrolled in an AT&T medical plan can continue with the same therapist at a $20 in‑network rate, which helps keep care affordable.

Our AT&T Health & Wellbeing Centers are staffed with full-time, licensed therapists who are available to guide employees to the right AT&T well-being resources and provide therapy and coaching for issues like stress management, anxiety, ADHD, life transitions, and more.

How are you measuring the ROI of this benefit?

We look at a few clear signals, like how many employees are using the service, how quickly they can get an appointment, and what they tell us about their experience.

While it’s still early for other centers, our Dallas numbers are strong and proof that employees will engage with onsite resources when it’s provided to them. Onsite therapy here is averaging over 11 visits a day. Employees made more than 2,100 therapy visits in 2025, which tells us people are using the service when it’s easy to access and built into their workday. We’ve also seen that employees who use behavioral health services often engage with other health services we offer just at our Dallas center. This is an indicator of how important integrated care can be for our employee population.

Having confidential, no-cost access makes it easier for employees to actually use the service when they need it. Knowing their care is private and handled by licensed therapists outside the company helps employees feel comfortable reaching out, which is important to the culture we’re building.