Mental Health Awareness Week: Mental Health at Work is a priority

Global employee wellbeing levels often make for a sobering read, having been on a predominantly downward trend for the past several years. This can be seen most prominently across many European countries, and in the US – where only one in four employees believe that their employer genuinely cares about their wellbeing.

Putting aside the implications such a wellbeing disconnect has on employee happiness and morale, this perceived lack of care is also likely to be having a significant impact on performance, with disengaged employees unhappier at work, often less productive and more likely to take time off – the effects of which run the risk of damaging company output, bottom line and stakeholder reputation.

Mental Health Awareness Week

Particularly as modern workplace trends, such as hybrid work, continue to blur the boundaries between personal and professional life, fostering and nurturing positive mental health at work must no longer be viewed as optional, but rather as a strategic imperative.

So, how can businesses move beyond awareness and create environments where mental wellbeing genuinely thrives?

Change begins at the top

As in so many areas of the business, company leaders are critical in setting a positive example that filters down throughout the organisation, such as their capacity to set and adhere to a healthy work-life balance. Sending a quick email late at night might seem harmless, but it signals blurred boundaries, says Nik Kinley, leadership coach and author of The Power Trap: How Leadership Changes People and What To Do About It.

“Every time you email someone a quick question at 10pm, you’re effectively saying that personal boundaries are optional.”

“People need time away to recharge their batteries and be fully productive. So, lead by example and cut the out-of-hours emails… schedule all but the most urgent to be sent early the next day. If you see others sending non-urgent emails out of hours, ask them to schedule them, too. Publicly lay down the ground rules.”

“This isn’t just about mental health; it’s about people sustaining high productivity and performance levels through extended periods of pressure.”

If mental health in the workplace is to become ingrained in company culture, leaders must also model this change through opening these conversations and expressing their own vulnerability. Zoe Sinclair, founder of the workplace mental wellbeing consultancy This Can Happen, emphasises the critical role leaders play in normalising mental health discussions.

“As leaders, the most important role that you can play in creating a mentally healthy workforce is to tackle stigma by having conversations in the workplace around mental wellbeing,” she advises.

“Leaders have the power to create change directly from the top-down. Ensure that you’re consistent in your approach and that mental health is regularly a part of your conversations in the workplace,” she adds. “This will truly help to tackle the taboo.”

Rethink what productivity really means

Busy doesn’t always mean effective, argues Philip Atkinson, organisational coach and author of Bee Wise: 12 Leadership Lessons from Inside a Hive.

“Ask someone how they are, and the answer is often, ‘Good, thanks. Busy.’ We’ve bought into the idea that being constantly busy is success. We’re always ON, always available. It’s become a badge of honour.”

Atkinson argues that we need to prioritise ruthlessly and focus more on true productivity – not just busyness: “Our competitive advantage, in the age of AI, doesn’t come from doing more but thinking harder. Instead of a ‘to do list’, let’s try making a ‘to don’t list’.”

Be mindful of workplace communications – positive and negative

Leadership experts David Pullan and Sarah Jane McKechnie, authors of The DNA of Engagement: A story-based approach to building trust and influencing change, propose also reframing how workplace discussions unfold – particularly during potentially challenging conversations.

“Most workplace conversations start with problems or the nightmare, ‘we’ve missed our targets for the second quarter’. But this approach triggers our brains’ defense mechanism,”

A small shift in the structure of how we communicate can significantly improve psychological safety, which can be achieved via Pullan and McKechnie’s innovative DNA model – Dream-Nightmare-Action. This model starts with leaders acknowledging the Dream (a team’s aspirations), then addressing the Nightmare (challenges), and finally moving to Action (the solution).

“This sequence creates psychological safety because people feel understood before they feel challenged,” they add. “Collaborative conversations lead to engaged teams co-authoring innovative solutions (the actions). It’s practical neuroscience.”

“Connection before correction, as we always say.”

Leaders may also have to take the difficult role of addressing negative conflict and toxic behaviour – which can all too easily erode collective mental wellbeing if left unchecked. Reinvention coach and author of Uncaged, Katia Vlachos, urges leaders to be proactive in calling out toxic behaviour where it presents itself.

“One of the most powerful things a leader can do to support mental health at work is to name the dysfunction, and actively protect their people from it,”

To foster a mentally healthy workplace, Vlachos adds that leaders must “have the awareness and courage to say ‘This (toxic behavior) is not okay. And I won’t allow it on my watch.’”

“Protecting mental health means protecting people’s dignity”, but key to this is also “creating clear, safe channels for employees to speak up – without fear of facing retaliation or of being dismissed as ‘difficult.’”

“When people feel safe to be themselves at work, they don’t just survive; they thrive. And so do their organisations.”

Empathy is key

Under pressure to deliver results, many leaders may neglect forging genuine connections with their team which, often above all else, inspire loyalty, engagement and innovation.

Josephine McGrail, wellness coach and author of The Morning Miracle, Messages of Love, and Fall in Love with You, says workplaces thrive when people feel seen, heard, and valued. “What people truly need is human connection: A place to speak and be heard, not judged. not fixed. We need to remember our human element in the workplace.”

“People thrive when they feel included – like they matter and their input matters.”

“Fear and anxiety at work arise when we feel a deep sense of isolation and can’t relate to each other. Therefore, your team needs to see you present authentically as a leader.”

An integral part of empathetic, mentally healthy workplaces is also ensuring that they are inclusive and welcoming to all. Alex Partridge, neurodiversity advocate, founder of LADBible and author of Now It All Makes Sense, highlights the importance of making the workplace more inclusive for neurodiverse individuals.

“Being neurodiverse and trying to fit in isn’t always easy. For some people, the office can be a difficult place to focus and a sensory nightmare.”

Critically, Partridge highlights that often simple accommodations, such as remote work where possible, and setting meeting agendas ahead of time – can have a huge impact.

“Small accommodations in the workplace can make a huge difference, and they’re something that all neurodiverse employees are entitled to.”

“There are many times I have sat in meetings and been unable to think clearly enough to contribute,” he adds. “Time and time again, the outcome of the meeting was decided by the loudest and most confident voices, but often the best ideas were trapped inside anxious minds.”

To better help all employees get the best from meetings, Partridge suggests planning ahead wherever possible: “All the information to be presented in the meeting should be sent to attendees via email, then everyone has a deadline (24 hours works well) to put forward their solutions and ideas.”

EI and AI: How generative AI can also support mental health efforts

Artificial intelligence may not typically be associated with emotional safety – but it can be a powerful ally in creating happier, healthier workplaces, as argued by Michael Wade and Amit Joshi, professors at IMD and authors of GAIN: Demystifying GenAI for office and home.

In particular, AI-driven anonymous feedback tools can identify workplace trends and problems without attaching names, preventing defensive reactions and encouraging honesty.

“We believe that organisations and leaders can also leverage this technology to strengthen psychological safety within organisations when implemented thoughtfully.”

Wade and Joshi propose a GenAI-powered Anonymous Feedback System – a way of collecting, analysing and acting upon data or feedback from employees. “Advanced AI systems can collect employee feedback while completely disconnecting it from identifying information,” they explain.

“Rather than simply passing along potentially charged emotional language that might trigger defensive responses from leadership, AI can reframe feedback into actionable, solution-oriented recommendations while preserving the substance of concerns.”

Overall, it is clear that fostering and preserving employee wellbeing is a strategic imperative, not just a “nice to have”.

When organisations prioritise mental health, they don’t just support their people – they unlock higher engagement, deeper trust, and sustainable success. And as each expert reminds us, change starts with leadership choosing to lead differently.

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