Mental Health Awareness Week: A Chief People Officer’s perspective

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and one thing I’ve noticed this year is that many people seem to be quietly trying to keep everything together. Employees are showing up, doing their jobs and trying to keep going but behind closed doors, many are struggling with stress, anxiety, financial pressure, burnout or challenges outside work.

As a Chief People Officer, I’m seeing mental health challenges show up everywhere. Not always in obvious ways, and not always in the data first. And my fellow HR peers are seeing the same. 

More often, it’s in the quieter moments. A manager worried about a normally reliable employee who suddenly seems withdrawn. Someone saying they’re “fine” while clearly running on empty. HR teams trying to support employees who are juggling work alongside financial pressure, caring responsibilities, burnout, anxiety, or simply the exhaustion that comes from feeling like life has become relentlessly hard work. And what strikes me is that most people don’t actually want to stop working. They want support early enough to keep going.

That’s why the findings from the Keep Britain Working review resonate so strongly with so many of us in HR. It puts evidence and structure around what we’re already seeing in workplaces every day: mental health is now one of the biggest drivers of long-term absence and people leaving work altogether.

Once someone falls out of work because of their mental health, the road back can be incredibly difficult.

What also worries me is that the impact isn’t evenly spread. Frontline workers, shift-based teams and lower-paid employees are often the least likely to access support early. Yet they’re frequently the people under the greatest pressure. In many workplaces, the support exists but it doesn’t always reach the people who need it most.

Over the years, and especially recently, I’ve seen a few things consistently make a real difference: practical, human actions that can help people feel supported before they reach crisis point.

One thing I’ve learned is that people open up earlier when conversations about wellbeing feel ‘normal’. The best managers I’ve worked with don’t force “mental health conversations”. They create environments where people feel safe saying, “I’m struggling a bit at the moment.”

That starts with leaders modelling it themselves. Talking honestly about pressure, stress, difficult periods or competing demands. Especially in HR, we know employees take their cues from leadership behaviour far more than they do from posters or campaigns.

Simple things really matter:

• Asking “How’s your workload really feeling this week?” 

• Talking openly about busy or difficult periods 

• Making it clear that asking for help early is seen as responsible - not weak 

And critically, employees need confidence that if they do speak up, something helpful will happen next.

I’ve seen first-hand how much difference a supportive line manager can make during difficult periods. But I also think we sometimes ask too much of them without always giving them enough support.

Throughout my career, I’ve heard many managers say: “I want to help but I don’t know what to say.” Most managers aren’t mental health experts, and they shouldn’t be expected to be. What they need is practical guidance and confidence. 

That can include:

• Helping managers recognise small but meaningful changes in their team’s behaviour

• Giving them simple language and tools to start wellbeing conversations confidently

• Making signposting clear and easy – whether that’s HR, EAPs, occupational health, MHFAs or wellbeing support

I’ve also seen Mental Health First Aid England training work really well when it’s positioned properly. Not as a replacement for professional support, but as part of a wider support network that helps employees find the right help earlier.

Managers don’t need to have all the answers. But employees do need managers who feel approachable, calm and equipped to respond supportively.

One of the biggest frustrations I hear from employees is not necessarily that support doesn’t exist, it’s that they don’t know where it is, whether it’s confidential, or whether they’re “allowed” to use it unless things become severe.

In reality, services like Employee Assistance Programmes, virtual GPs and counselling support are often most effective when people access them early. But many employees still associate them with crisis point.

The organisations doing this well communicate support constantly and consistently, not just during awareness weeks or new joiner onboarding.

What helps:

• Regular reminders about the support available and how to access it 

• Real-life examples of when employees can use services 

• Clear reassurance around confidentiality 

• Communication that works for frontline and non-desk-based teams too 

With our Hapi platform, we’ve focused heavily on making support simpler and easier to access because when help feels visible and straightforward, employees are far more likely to use it before problems escalate.

For many employees, especially those balancing caring responsibilities, money worries or health concerns, even small amounts of flexibility can make the difference between coping and not coping. And flexibility doesn’t have to mean large-scale policy changes.

Often it’s practical things like:

• More predictable rotas 

• Temporary flexibility during difficult periods 

• Clarity around priorities 

• Being realistic about workloads when someone has too much on their plate 

I’ve seen relatively small adjustments prevent long absences simply because employees felt supported before they reached breaking point.

This is probably one of the most important conversations HR leaders need to have. Because in many organisations, the people most at risk are often those least likely to use the support available in the first place. Not because they don’t care. And not because employers don’t care either. In my experience, it’s because support feels:

• Difficult to access 

• Hard to trust 

• Too corporate 

• Not designed for people like them 

That’s why your data matters. It can show you what’s been used and also help you understand gaps.

• Which teams aren’t engaging with wellbeing and support services? 

• Are absence trends different across frontline and office-based employees? 

• Do your people actually understand what’s available? 

• Does support feel accessible to lower-paid or shift-based workers? 

The organisations making the biggest difference are the ones willing to challenge whether their wellbeing strategy genuinely works for everyone, not just the people most confident about asking for help.

Mental Health Awareness Week is important because it starts conversations. But the reality is that meaningful support isn’t built through one campaign or one week in May. It’s built consistently and compassionately through your everyday culture. 

The employers I’ve seen making the biggest difference are focused on the fundamentals:

• Early conversations 

• Confident managers 

• Clear signposting 

• Practical support people can actually access 

At Personal Group, we believe support should work for everyone and not just desk-based employees or people who already know how to navigate their workplace benefits.

Because keeping Britain working isn’t about asking people to push harder. It’s about helping people sooner, supporting them better, and making sure nobody slips through the cracks before we notice they’re struggling.