Mental Health Awareness for Employers: Time to Step Up

Do you know the best way to support people at work when they're struggling with their mental health? More importantly, are you actually doing anything about it?

Here's a number that should make every employer sit up and pay attention: stress, depression and anxiety account for 16.4 million working days lost in the UK (2023/24) - that's nearly half of all days lost to work-related illness. To put that in perspective, that's equivalent to every working person in the UK taking an extra week off on top of their annual holiday entitlement - just to cope with workplace stress!

Yet despite these staggering figures, managers and business owners still seem paralysed when it comes to taking action. They're scared to start conversations, worried about saying the wrong thing, and hesitant to initiate any kind of cultural change.

Here's the thing: all managers have a duty of care to their employees. But it's hard to fulfil that duty when you're tiptoeing around the subject like it's made of glass.

The Elephant in the Office

Mental health awareness has exploded into the mainstream. We have awareness days, weeks, months, high-profile campaigns, and charities for every conceivable mental health condition. The pandemic was a massive wake-up call about the importance of looking after our psychological wellbeing.

And yet we're still nowhere near where we need to be.

Stigma, while much better than even five years ago, is still alive and kicking in workplaces across the country. Employees are still suffering in silence, productivity is taking a hit, and businesses are haemorrhaging money through sickness absence and staff turnover.

But here's the opportunity: employers have the power to change this narrative. You can create cultures that build resilience, improve mental health, and encourage the kind of open conversations that actually prevent problems from escalating.

Imagine if every employer took this seriously. The transformation would be enormous - not just for individual businesses, but for society as a whole.

The Three-Step Solution: Educate, Encourage, Embed

Educate: Knowledge is Power

You can't solve a problem you don't understand. Start with the basics - what is mental health? How does it affect people? What are the warning signs?

This isn't about turning your managers into therapists. It's about giving them the knowledge to spot when someone might be struggling and the confidence to respond appropriately.

Consider training sessions on general mental health awareness, workshops on stress management, or coaching on how to have supportive conversations. The more your people know, the better equipped they are to help themselves and support their colleagues.

Encourage: Create Safe Spaces

Sometimes people just need permission to speak up. Yes, encouraging someone to talk about their struggles might feel like opening a can of worms, but here's the reality: talking early is one of the most effective ways to prevent mental health problems from spiralling out of control.

They don't have to talk to you directly. Encourage them to use their GP, point them toward helplines like the Samaritans, or offer counselling and/or coaching as an employee benefit.

But don't stop there. Create opportunities for connection and wellbeing. Lunchtime mindfulness sessions, team walks, or even the occasional afternoon off for group activities can work wonders. Better yet, ask your employees what they'd find helpful - having their ideas acted upon can be a real boost to morale.

Embed: Make it Part of Your DNA

Any strategy worth implementing needs to become part of your company culture, not just a nice-to-have add-on.

Create boundaries that protect your people's wellbeing. No emails after 6pm. No eating lunch at desks, 15 mins minimum between all meetings. Proper breaks aren't a luxury - they're essential.

Make sure your policies support these strategies. Include wellbeing discussions in annual reviews. Offer flexible or remote working where appropriate. These aren't just nice gestures - they're smart business practices that protect your most valuable asset: your people.

The Bottom Line

With 776,000 workers currently suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety, mental health in the workplace isn't a future problem - it's happening right now, in every kind of workplace across the country.

The question isn't whether you can afford to address mental health in your workplace. The question is whether you can afford not to.

Your employees are waiting for you to step up. Your business depends on it. And frankly, it's the right thing to do.

So what are you waiting for?