It's All About People - 12th June 2025

READ TIME - 3 minute read

A few weeks ago, I shared some thoughts on mental health at work—and had some brilliant responses.

Several of you said you’re actively trying to shift from surface-level awareness to real, lasting support. So I wanted to follow up with some practical ways to build a culture where people feel safe to say, “I’m struggling.”

Let’s start with a reminder why it matters:
📉 Mind reports that 1 in 5 employees have taken time off due to stress—but over 90% gave a different reason when calling in.
💬 Many say they don’t feel comfortable talking about mental health with their manager or even their team.
📈 The result? Presenteeism, disengagement, burnout—and often, people leaving quietly or suddenly.

And the business case?
📊 Deloitte found that poor mental health at work costs UK employers up to £56 billion a year.
💷 But for every £1 invested in mental health, employers see an average £5 return—through improved retention, engagement, and performance.

So how do you turn good intentions into something people actually feel?

Here are five approaches we’ve seen work across different organisations:

1️⃣ Offer multiple ways to raise a concern—not everyone feels safe talking to their line manager. Anonymous options or clearly signposted alternatives help.
2️⃣ Make mental health part of team check-ins—simple prompts like “What’s felt heavy this week?” normalise open conversations.
3️⃣ Train managers to listen, not solve—they don’t need to be experts, just approachable and clear on next steps.
4️⃣ Give permission to pause—from encouraging screen breaks to setting expectations about out-of-hours replies.
5️⃣ Equip trusted team members as Mental Health Champions—people often open up to a peer before they’ll speak to a manager.

If you’re thinking about training someone in your team to take on that Champion role, we’ve got a few places left on our in-person AQA Level 2 Mental Health Champions course, running on 26th June (full day) and 31st July (AM only)
📅 You can find all the details and book here

Because creating a mentally healthy culture doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be real.

Until next week…

Best wishes,
Emma

P.S. We have LOTS of resources to support mental health and wellbeing in our HR Hub. Why not try the HR Hub free for a month here.

P.P.S. Need some extra help with your HR? Why not try our Peace of Mind service for a one month trial, you can sign up here.

Events to Join in the coming weeks

🎥  Free Webinar- Managing Sickness Absence - — understanding the real costs, reducing absenteeism, and preparing for the 2026 changes. Click here to access the webinar.

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