16th July 2025
Mental health awareness in the workplace is important for everyone, regardless of which sector your business is in or an individual’s seniority level. It can improve awareness of poor mental wellbeing, reduce damaging stigmas and encourage an open and honest workplace culture.
As of 2018, all employers are encouraged to cover mental health first aid training, similar to the requirement for first aid at work training. (1). Workplaces also have a duty of care, which means they must do everything possible to support the health, wellbeing and safety of employees both physically and mentally. (2).
Some mental health issues may be more common in certain sectors, which is why it’s also important to consider how the context of your workplace might influence your approach to mental health awareness training. In the construction industry, for example, depression, anxiety and stress account for one-fifth of work-related illnesses (3), while stress and burnout account for the majority of work-related absences in manufacturing (4). These differences, alongside other business-specific needs, may change the way you approach mental health awareness training.
Mental health awareness training objectives
Outlining the goals of your mental health awareness training before implementing it in your workplace ensures key staff members are on the same page. A lack of clarity on these goals or jumping into the training without considering the outcomes could reduce its overall effectiveness, alongside making it difficult to track its success.
Objectives of your training may include:
• Raising awareness of mental health issues and their prevalence in your specific industry
• Encouraging early intervention to support employees before issues escalate
• Improving confidence in dealing with mental illness
• Reducing mental health stigma
• Fostering a culture of openness and honesty in the workplace
These can differ depending on several factors, including any existing training in place or specific mental health issues you may have identified in your workplace.
Mental health awareness training for employees: A guide
Building an effective mental health awareness training plan to provide proper support for employees requires education, understanding and sometimes even a culture shift. Here, we’ll explore some of the things to consider in more detail to ensure your training hits the objectives outlined and improves mental health awareness.
1. Understanding mental health and common disorders
Without a good foundation of knowledge about mental health disorders across the workforce, you risk leaving managers and colleagues in the dark about how to even begin supporting employees if they open up about any issues they’re dealing with.
A major focus of your mental health awareness training should be on levelling up the understanding each employee has of mental health and mental disorders. Higher quality education on these topics should make it easier to better understand employees and their needs.
Mental health awareness training should begin by running through some of the most common disorders and how they may affect people. This could include a summary of the following disorders:
• Anxiety: A frequent and persistent feeling of worry or fear, which can cause a person to feel tense, disconnected and unable to relax.
• Depression: A persistent low mood, which may lead to a loss of interest in activities, extreme sadness, hopelessness, and changes in sleep and appetite.
• Stress: The body’s natural response to pressure, which can range from moderate to severe. This can lead to difficulty sleeping, chest pains, irritability and a sense of dread.
• Panic disorder: A type of anxiety disorder in which a person experiences frequent and sudden panic attacks, alongside persistently worrying about future panic attacks. Symptoms may include a racing heart, chest pains, shakiness and dizziness.
It’s also particularly important to research industry-specific issues and highlight the most common disorders and issues within your sector, if there are any.
2. Recognising signs and symptoms
Once the team has a better understanding of mental health and common disorders, training can move on to the signs and symptoms. Being able to recognise the signs early on and offer relevant support can help prevent situations from worsening, encouraging early intervention.
The main areas to look out for changes in are (2):
• Appearance: Individuals may appear tired, anxious or withdrawn
• Behaviour: Increases in sickness absence, lateness or carelessness
• Mood: They might seem down more often or have a negative outlook on work or their personal life
• Thinking: Changes in thinking may lead to some people being less interested in tasks they previously enjoyed, or they might believe they’re doing a bad job
It’s also important to be aware that it can be more difficult to spot the signs if your workplace has hybrid or remote employees because you’re less likely to see their appearance and behaviour in person. Regular check-ins with employees can help ensure that changes never go unrecognised.
3. How to talk about mental health at work
Discussing the topic of mental health may be difficult for some people, especially in the workplace. Whether this is because they don’t know how to approach the topic without overstepping any boundaries or are unsure of the right terminology, providing employees with a framework for handling mental health conversations is a must.
Firstly, the appropriate language to use should be established. This may differ depending on the formality of your business and the closeness of relationships among the workforce, but you should remain aware that the language used can affect how people feel. Sensitivity is necessary when mental health is a topic of conversation, and words or phrases with negative or offensive connotations should be avoided. For example, phrases like ‘It’s all in your head’ or ‘try harder’ could be seen as minimising their experience and feelings. Instead, try to offer reassurance, listen carefully and thank them for opening up to you.
Line manager training should focus on identifying the cause of any issues, offering reassurance of ongoing support and being open about support options available.
4. How to support colleagues and seek help
Sometimes, it can be hard for managers to take the step from understanding mental health issues to taking the relevant action and offering support. Discussing tips for how managers or even other colleagues can support team members with various mental health problems or declining mental wellbeing is therefore crucial for awareness training. Not only can this help you support others in the workplace, but it can also help you recognise when you might need help and allow you to talk about it.
One way you could decide to support colleagues is by making accommodations or adjustments for employees, such as allowing them to work from home or offering more comfort breaks. Small changes to the workday may reduce the likelihood of employee burnout and stress, alongside preventing workers from needing to take time off.
Reassuring employees that conversations will remain confidential, unless there’s a reason it should be shared, can also be a way to show support. Training should show how employee information will be handled, who it may be shared with and examples of scenarios in which confidentiality will be kept.
5. Resources available
Managers shouldn’t be expected to become overnight experts in mental health. Their ability to support employees should rely on the resources available, which is why it’s necessary to understand what support is available, what it involves, how it can be used and when it’s the best time to offer it to an employee.
Support resources can include:
• EAPs: Employee Assistance Programmes aim to support employees in coping with personal problems and help prevent them from impacting their work. These are often used after a mental health problem is identified, rather than intervening early.
• Apps: Apps focused on improving mental health literacy, such as the On Wellbeing app, can provide employees with the tools and guidance they need to better understand mental health and access industry-relevant support.
• Hotlines: Phone numbers or chat services for specific issues or general mental health issues can be listed in key documentation and shared when required.
• Leave policies: A business’s leave policy, including mental health related sickness, should be made easily accessible to all employees and may reduce burnout.
These options are subject to the company’s access and availability. Knowing which resources are available can help workers get the support they need, so it’s important that these are accessible.
6. Creating a psychologically safe team culture
Creating a safe culture is the end goal to ensure all employees feel safe and supported. For businesses, this kind of culture can improve productivity, boost efficiency and lower staff turnover, while employees benefit from job satisfaction, better workplace relationships and a welcoming environment at work.
Training managers and employees to build this culture can involve several strategies, from traditional team building exercises to developing a better understanding of what makes a workplace feel safe. Fostering open and honest discussions, encouraging people to talk about their feelings, offering more comfort breaks and dedicating time to listen to employees can all help.
This type of change in a business usually happens gradually, so the main thing for managers to remember is that they should keep working towards this.
Resources can also be used at this stage to support a team in developing a positive culture. For example, the On Wellbeing app helps employees learn mental literacy, which is an excellent skill that can benefit team culture massively. With relevant, personalised tools, it allows employees to feel more confident in their understanding of mental wellbeing, which can lead to more educated conversations among team members.
Using these considerations, you can develop an effective mental health awareness plan to support employees and keep working towards a positive workplace culture.
Source links:
2. https://www.acas.org.uk/supporting-mental-health-workplace
3. https://www.matesinmind.org/news/mental-health-in-uk-construction-the-statistics
4. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mental-health-challenges-uk-manufacturing/
