It's a responsibility that should be abdicated. Would it be better if Google could force people to attend therapy because the company decided they're unwell?

If employment at Google were the direct cause of mental health issues, then, yes, Google should take responsibility. That responsibility should include providing mental health care, not forcing it upon anyone. Don't strawman the issue.

It would be better if every employee had a regular check in with a mental health professional. Google don’t need to decide anything. “Forced” makes it sound very authoritarian, but yes, requiring such checkups as a condition of employment would be a good thing.

I respect the consistency of your viewpoint, but mandating that all employees undergo a specific regimen of prophylactic mental health treatment would be incredibly unpopular and probably illegal.

How so? I believe that police officers need to do this after particularly bad encounters, for example. (In fact if you search for "police psychological interview" you'll find hundreds of pages and even YouTube videos showing "how to pass your police psychological exam.") So it's definitely not illegal, at least not across the board.

I admit I had not thought about that. It does go against my case quite a bit.

Unpopular with who? Also more unpopular than offering no help to the moderators?

It is very much the nature of mental health that by the time you notice the deterioration you have already been possibly permanently harmed. What exactly will happen to someone who reports themselves as such to HR?

Let me repeat again for anyone who hasn’t figured it out yet: HR is not your friend.

Having been around the corporate block a few times. I agree and say as much to my younger coworkers.

You have a problem. You think, "I'll ask HR for help."

Now you have 2 problems.

Exactly why these employees should all be provided regular therapy sessions as part of their employment, regardless of whether they've noticed any issues.