The Role of Mental Health Support in a Productive Workplace
Publish Date:Posted 1 day ago
Author:by VANRATH
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, and if you’ve ever found yourself crying over an Excel sheet or hiding in the bathroom just to get five minutes of peace, this one’s for you.
Work can be a bit of a rollercoaster. Some days you’re smashing it, ticking off tasks like a machine. Other days? You’ve read the same email six times and still don’t know what it says.
It happens. But what makes a real difference to how people perform, stay engaged, and show up as their best selves at work? Mental health support.
We’re not just talking about a poster in the staff kitchen that says “It’s OK not to be OK.” We’re talking about actual, practical, ongoing support that helps people manage the stuff life throws at them—inside and outside the office.
Mental health isn’t something we should only talk about once a year—but this week is a good excuse to actually do something about it.
Each year, the Mental Health Foundation sets a theme for the week, and this year’s (2025) theme couldn’t be more relevant: Community.
Why “Community” Hits Home (and the Office)
In work and in life, we all need a support system. Whether that’s your work bestie, a manager who actually listens, or just knowing someone will notice when you’re having a rough week — it matters.
Community is about creating a culture where people genuinely feel they belong, where they can speak up, be themselves, and know they’ve got people in their corner.
When workplaces embrace community, the ripple effects are massive:
Isolation and burnout drop
Collaboration improves
Retention rises
People just enjoy coming in (or logging on)
If your team is bonded like a group of friends would be instead of a room full of strangers, they’re going to back each other, stick around longer, and lift each other up through the chaos.
Mental health isn't just a nice-to-have
For years, mental health at work was the elephant in the room. We talked about sick days and stress like they were purely physical things—“back pain,” “stomach bug,” “mystery cold” (also known as burnout, anxiety, or a complete loss of will to open your inbox).
Now, thankfully, we’re moving on. People are more open about their mental health, and employers are starting to realise it’s not just a wellbeing box to tick but that it’s tied directly to performance, retention, and culture.
So, what does good mental health support look like?
We love a perk. Fruit baskets and office yoga are lovely, but they’re not going to cut it on their own. If you want your team to thrive, you need more than surface-level perks. Especially when you’re talking about building community.
Here’s what actually helps:
Open conversations: Leaders talking openly about mental health makes it safer for everyone else to do the same. No more whispering about needing “a day off.” Encourage team check-ins that aren’t just about deadlines. Make space for “I’m not OK today” without judgment.
Proper policies: Mental health days, flexible working, phased returns—support that’s actually written down and backed up, not just “yeah, we’ll see what we can do.”
Give people flexibility: Building on the last point — everyone has stuff going on. Trust people to get the job done in a way that works for their life.
Access to professional help: EAPs, counselling, workshops, or simply signposting where to go when someone’s struggling.
Training for managers: Being a good leader includes spotting when your team’s running on empty and knowing what to do about it. They don't need to be therapists, but they do need to be approachable, understanding, and human.
Build informal networks: Coffee catch-ups, buddy systems, internal communities of interest — tiny things that help people feel connected.
Why should employers care?
Aside from, you know, being decent humans, there’s a very practical reason to care: happy, mentally healthy teams are more productive — and productivity starts with people, not pressure.
If you’re still clinging to the idea that pressure = productivity, let this be your wake-up call. People don’t do their best work when they’re fried. They do it when they feel supported, heard, and — here’s a radical one — happy.
Think about it: if someone feels isolated at work, overlooked, or burnt out, they’re not going to give their best — or stick around. But if they feel part of a community? If they’ve got people around them who notice when they’re off, who support them, check in, and lift them up? That’s gold.
People want to stay in jobs where they feel like actual humans, not just KPIs.
Here's a hard truth...
If you’re not looking after your people’s mental health, someone else will. Candidates are paying attention. They want to know how you treat your staff when things get tough, not just when they’re performing at 110%.
They’re asking:
Do you encourage time off when someone’s burnt out?
Is there real support, or just corporate platitudes?
Are mental health conversations welcomed or quietly brushed under the rug?
Mental health support isn’t about being soft. It’s about being smart.
If you want a team that shows up, performs, and sticks around, you’ve got to give them the support to do that.
It doesn’t mean running therapy sessions in the boardroom — but it does mean creating a culture where people feel safe, seen, and supported.
This year, use the theme of ‘community’ to take it a step further.
Ask your team:
Do you feel like you belong here?
Who do you turn to when work gets heavy?
How could we support each other more?
Start small. Start somewhere. And most importantly—keep it going long after the hashtags fade.
This Mental Health Week think about how you can make your workplace feel more like… well, a place where people actually want to be. It doesn’t take grand gestures. Just people, being people, with each other’s backs.
Start with your people’s wellbeing. Everything else will follow because when you build a community at work, you're creating a happier team AND a stronger business.
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