HR News Article
Great Leaders Are Finally Starting to Understand This about Mental Health
In this article, Michael Beck, Director of L&D, Omny Group, discusses how business leaders can influence employee mental health in the workplace, offering practical guidance on how healthier leadership behaviours and more open workplace cultures can better support teams.
Mental health has climbed the corporate agenda to become one of the biggest workplace challenges of our time – and rightly so. Mental ill health is now the most common cause of work-limiting conditions among those aged 44 years and younger (Mental Health Foundation). Therefore, it is about time mental health and staff wellbeing claimed their place as one of the most talked about issues.
While this is a positive step, too many organisations are still confusing awareness for action. Posters, participation in awareness weeks and motivational speeches from senior leaders show that companies are willing. Yet behind the scenes, many workers are struggling and suffering from burn out. They are either disengaged or afraid to speak up when feeling overwhelmed.
There is still a gap between company values and workplace culture. Rather than through corporate messaging, employees experience culture via communications with their Line Manager, their workload, daily interactions with colleagues and how they feel they are treated. This is where the real mental health support either succeeds or fails.
Working with a variety of organisations across different sectors, it is abundantly clear that the businesses getting mental health support right are not necessarily those shelling out the most money on wellbeing initiatives. Instead, it is the organisations creating healthier leadership behaviours and open, transparent workplace cultures. This underlines that supporting mental health isn’t a box ticking exercise but comes down to leadership.
Why Does Support Fall Short?
Too many organisations wait to react and only offer support when crisis is reached. This may be when an individual has already taken time off, burnt out or resigned. The best leaders operate proactively, understanding that prevention is just as important as support.
These leaders cultivate environments where people feel comfortable to communicate openly and managers regularly check in with their teams. They also ensure workloads and expectations are realistic and that pressure points are identified before they can cause damage.
The Conversations That Leaders Should Be Having
To best support mental health at work, leaders must understand that mental health conversations can start simply. Many leaders shy away from difficult or sensitive discussions, however opening the dialogue is often the most effective way a leader can offer support. Simple conversations starters include:
“Are you okay?”
“How are things outside of work?”
“What support do you need from me?”
This should not be a scripted exercise, but a genuine human conversation.
The Role of Line Managers on Employee Wellbeing
Mental health is not solely the remit of HR; this attitude can be extremely damaging. Culture lives with line managers, their behaviours and their daily interactions with the team.
A manager who lacks empathy, communication skills or emotional intelligence can undo the most progressive and impressive wellbeing policies. Often described as “soft skills”, these qualities have become absolute leadership essentials. Bad managers mean that employees’ day-to-day experiences will suffer and they will feel disillusioned, unseen and potentially under-valued.
To strengthen Line Managers’ abilities to support their team, organisations should invest in proper education and development. This includes:
- How to spot early signs of stress or burnout
- How to have supportive conversations confidently
- How to manage performance without damaging wellbeing
- How to create psychologically safe teams
Cultivating a Culture of Support
Employees value honesty above polished corporate messaging. While workers don’t expect leaders to have all the answers, they do expect them to be authentic. When it comes to culture, leaders must do as they say and lead by example. If leaders talk about wellbeing while sending emails at midnight, rewarding overwork, and glorifying stress, employees may not feel safe to call it out or voice their own stresses.
The best leaders set boundaries, communicate openly and normalise taking breaks. They also recognise when pressure is building in themselves and the people around them. This behaviour creates trust, which is the foundation of every mentally healthy workplace.
The Role of Awareness Initiatives
Events such as Mental Health Awareness Week and Stress Awareness Month can help to initiate important conversations. However, an organisation’s activity around mental wellbeing is year round. Meaningful change only happens when leaders move beyond awareness and invest time and resource into education, leadership capability and long-term cultural change.
That’s where many businesses are now seeking practical support, not just to “do something” around mental health, but to genuinely equip their leaders and teams with the confidence, understanding, and tools to support one another effectively.
Ultimately, mentally healthy workplaces are not built through one-off campaigns. They are built through better leadership, genuine conversations, and cultures where people feel supported to perform at their best. The organisations that understand that now will be the ones that retain, engage, and develop the strongest people in the years ahead.