Career fears, embarrassment and doubts about confidentiality are preventing many UK employees from using workplace mental health support, despite 91% having access to it, new research reveals.
More than nine in 10 UK employees have access to employer-provided mental health support, yet only 37% say they would use it if they needed help, according to new research. The survey of 2,010 UK employees, commissioned by employee wellbeing service Kara Connect, also found that one in four do not know how to access the support available to them.
Rather than availability or waiting times, some of the biggest barriers appear to be trust, stigma and fear of career consequences. Nearly a third, 32%, worry that asking for help could affect their career or job security, while:
- 29% feel embarrassed about asking for help;
- 23% believe their problems are not serious enough;
- 22% doubt the confidentiality of their employer-provided service; and
- just 15% say waiting more than a week to see a therapist would deter them.
The findings suggest that offering mental health support is only part of the challenge. Employees also need to believe they can use it without damaging their reputation, progression or security at work.
AVAILABILITY DOES NOT EQUAL TRUST
The gap between provision and take-up is striking. Some 91% of employees surveyed have access to workplace mental health support, yet fewer than four in 10 say they would turn to it. This reluctance to disclose distress is not new. Fair Play Talks reported as far back as 2021 that younger workers worldwide feared revealing mental health issues to their bosses, highlighting longstanding concerns about stigma, judgement and career consequences.
More recent research suggests the same instinct to hide difficulties remains widespread. A multinational study found eight in 10 women have said “I’m fine” when they were not, while 72% regretted hiding how they really felt. The pattern is clear – support may exist, but people can still choose silence if they do not feel safe enough to use it.
SILENCE OVER VULNERABILITY
“It’s completely natural to hesitate when support is tied directly to the person who pays your salary,” shared Dr Alison Bishop, educator, researcher and coach practitioner in resilience. “Without genuine psychological safety, everyday office realities get in the way: Do I have to explain why I’m away from my desk for an hour? How do I walk back into a busy room if I’ve just been crying? When companies offer therapy but don’t clear up these small, practical details, employees feel stuck between an old-fashioned view that they are ‘weak’. To protect themselves, they choose silence over vulnerability.”
And the consequences “are damaging”, she added. “Employees still show up but struggle through their days, damaging psychological safety across the team, and any issues that could have been handled early with a quick chat or session eventually lead to long-term sick leave.”
The barrier is therefore not always whether support technically exists. It can be whether employees know how to step away from work, what they need to tell their manager, whether anyone will know they attended therapy and what happens when they return. Those seemingly small uncertainties can be enough to stop somebody seeking help.
CAREER FEARS ARE THE BIGGEST BARRIER
The most common deterrent identified in the research is the potential effect on someone’s career. Some 32% worry accessing employer-provided mental health support could affect their career or job security, while 22% specifically doubt whether the service is confidential.
Tobba Vigfúsdóttir, Founder and CEO of Kara Connect, told Fair Play Talks: “It goes back to trust. In our survey, 32% said career or job security concerns would deter them from seeking help, and 22% doubted the service’s confidentiality. Those fears are rational when people cannot see how the system works. So be specific, not reassuring. Tell employees exactly what the employer sees and what it does not. With us, employers receive anonymised insights into employee engagement, never who booked, with whom, or why. Put that in plain language and repeat it at onboarding, in manager training, and every time the service is mentioned.
“Let people go straight to a professional they choose, without passing through their line manager or HR. Every extra step is a moment where someone decides the risk is not worth it. We make sure that the practitioners build needed trust and safe spaces. On career impact, words are not enough. Employees watch what happens to colleagues who took sick leave or asked for adjustments. If those people come back to fair treatment and real support, trust follows. If they don’t, no confidentiality statement will fix it.”
Her comments point to an important distinction. Employers should not simply tell employees that a service is “confidential”. They need to explain what confidentiality actually means in practice. That includes:
- what information the employer receives;
- whether managers know somebody has accessed support;
- whether HR can identify individual users;
- how data is handled;
- what exceptional circumstances could require disclosure; and
- whether accessing support appears anywhere in employment or performance records.
TOO EMBARRASSED TO ASK FOR HELP
Career concerns are only part of the problem. Almost three in 10 employees, 29%, say they would feel embarrassed asking for help, while 23% believe their difficulties are not serious enough. That suggests employees may be screening themselves out before speaking to a professional. Waiting until somebody believes their situation has become sufficiently serious risks missing opportunities for early intervention.
What starts as stress, anxiety, poor sleep or difficulty coping can become harder to manage if people believe workplace mental health services are only for crisis situations. Employers therefore need to communicate that support can also be used for emerging problems, including:
- stress and burnout;
- anxiety;
- bereavement and loss;
- workplace conflict;
- bullying;
- relationship or family pressures; and
- periods when somebody simply feels they are struggling to cope.
WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
The research also reveals a sizeable gap between the mental health support employees expect employers to provide and what they believe is actually available. Some 80% expect support for anxiety or depression, but only 57% say their workplace service covers it. Similar gaps emerge elsewhere:
- 75% expect support for stress or burnout, compared with 49% who say it is covered;
- 69% expect support for bereavement or loss, compared with 48% who report access;
- 62% expect help with workplace conflict or bullying, compared with 42% who say it is covered; and
- 47% expect suicide-risk or crisis support, while only 30% say their service provides it.
Some of those gaps may reflect poor communication rather than an absolute lack of provision. But the result is effectively the same. Support people do not know about is support they are unlikely to use.
EAPS REMAIN HEAVILY UNDERUSED
The findings may also help explain persistently low use of Employee Assistance Programmes. Figures cited from the Employee Assistance Professionals Association UK suggest around 18 million employees have access to an EAP, yet only 568,000 use one –around 3%. Low utilisation does not necessarily mean a programme is failing. Many employees may never need to use it. The more important question is whether those who do need support:
- know it exists;
- know how to access it;
- understand what it covers;
- trust its confidentiality; and
- believe using it will not be held against them.
AVAILABILITY IS NOT THE SAME AS TRUST
“Most large employers now offer mental health support, and that is real progress. This survey shows that availability is not the same as trust,” Vigfúsdóttir said. “When one in three people worry that asking for help could affect their careers, and one in five doubt that their conversations will stay confidential, the job is not to buy more services. It is to make the first step feel safe: clear confidentiality, a real choice of practitioner, and managers who make asking for help normal.”
That distinction may be the central message from the research. The next stage of workplace mental health support may not be about adding another platform or wellbeing benefit. It may be about removing the social, practical and cultural barriers preventing employees from using what organisations already provide.
THE TRUST GAP
One finding particularly highlights the trust gap. Some 51% of senior managers say they would turn to their employer first for mental health support, compared with just 30% of non-managerial employees. Vigfúsdóttir said this should make leadership teams pay attention.
“Our research found a gap that should make every leadership team pause. 51% of senior managers would turn to their employer first, compared with 30% of non-managerial staff. The people who choose and buy the support are the ones who trust it most,” noted Vigfúsdóttir. “Managers are not counsellors and should not try to be. Their role is simpler: know the support that is available, and be honest about if you tried it or heard about it working well. Would you recommend a restaurant you have never been to? Best if you try the service yourself. See how fast you get an appointment, in which languages, what kind of practitioners are offered and with whom. Then you can tell your team exactly what to expect.”
When someone does open up, “the manager has three jobs,” shared Vigfúsdóttir. “Listen, point to the support, and adjust the work if needed. Not to diagnose, and not to follow up on what happens in therapy. That stays between the employee and their practitioner.”
Directors also appear much more able to bypass employer support altogether. Some 35% of directors say they would pay for a private therapist themselves, compared with only 8% of non-managerial staff. That raises questions about both trust and access. Senior employees may have more autonomy, greater familiarity with available benefits or simply more financial ability to seek help elsewhere. Less senior employees may have fewer alternatives if they do not trust employer-provided support.
DIGITAL ACCESS AND CHOICE COULD HELP
Convenience still matters. Some 26% of employees say digital access would make them more likely to seek help. That could help employees who work remotely, have caring responsibilities, cannot easily attend appointments during working hours or simply want greater privacy.
Choice also matters. Some 21% say they would only feel comfortable if they could choose their own therapist. Employees may understandably want a practitioner who understands their cultural background, identity, disability, caring responsibilities, circumstances or preferred therapeutic approach. The wider point is that access should be designed around the person seeking help, not around what is easiest for the employer to administer.
MANAGERS CAN MAKE OR BREAK ACCESS TO SUPPORT
Managers do not need to become mental health practitioners. But they can determine whether accessing professional support feels normal or risky. A manager who questions why somebody needs time away from their desk, asks intrusive questions or treats therapy as evidence that somebody cannot cope may undermine even a well-designed wellbeing programme. A supportive manager can instead:
- know what support is available;
- explain how employees access it;
- respect confidentiality;
- give people time and privacy to attend appointments;
- listen without trying to diagnose;
- adjust workloads where appropriate; and
- avoid asking employees to report back on what happens in therapy.
As experts highlighted for World Mental Health Day 2026, psychologically healthy workplaces require more than awareness campaigns. They depend on capable managers, manageable workloads, early intervention and cultures where employees feel able to speak honestly about how they are coping.
MAKE SUPPORT FEEL NORMAL, NOT EXCEPTIONAL
Bishop believes employers also need to change the way therapy and other forms of support are framed. She told Fair Play Talks: “Employers need to build a warm, supportive culture where therapy is seen as a normal space for both sorting out life’s tough moments and unlocking personal growth for peak performance. Leaders can lead by example here, when bosses talk openly about working with their own coaches or mentors, it normalizes getting a helping hand.
“Employers also need to sort out the practical side by offering flexible, ‘no-questions-asked’ scheduling and quiet spaces for private calls. Backing this up with clear confidentiality protocols that prove HR never tracks individual usage is vital. The risk of doing nothing is losing your best people to burnout and failing to meet the UK’s legal expectations around workplace mental health.”
The practical details matter. Employees may need somewhere private to take a call, freedom to attend appointments without explaining why, or confidence that taking an hour away from their desk will not attract questions. A benefit may exist on paper but remain effectively inaccessible if the surrounding working culture makes using it uncomfortable.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY MUST EXIST BEFORE SOMEBODY NEEDS HELP
Psychological safety cannot be created at the moment somebody reaches crisis. People need evidence beforehand that admitting difficulty will not lead to judgement, dismissal or career damage. Recent Fair Play Talks guidance on creating psychologically safe workplaces highlights the importance of trust, openness and consistency, including managers responding constructively when people disclose difficulties or request support.
“Trust changes everything when it comes to people asking for help. If an organisation doesn’t have a culture of psychological safety, opening up feels like a massive personal and professional risk, so people stay quiet until things reach breaking point. Employees are often worried about strict data boundaries. They wonder if their usage of therapy services is truly private, or if HR will see it and quietly view them as a ‘risk factor’ rather than a high performer,” Bishop explained.
“To feel psychologically safe a person needs to feel a physical and emotional sense that real threat is absent. They need to know that if they request this help that others will genuinely listen and take their experience seriously. Having your feelings and boundaries acknowledged rather than dismissed or belittled. There needs to be a culture that maintains clear accountability and high expectations, while treating errors as learning opportunities rather than failures.”
In practice, psychological safety is built through repeated experience. Employees notice whether colleagues who ask for help are treated fairly. They notice whether somebody returning from mental health leave continues to receive opportunities. They notice whether managers respect privacy. And they notice whether senior leaders behave as if mental health support is genuinely acceptable or merely something described in an employee benefits brochure.
OTHER HEALTH ISSUES SHOW THE SAME TRUST GAP
This pattern is not unique to mental health. Fair Play Talks’ World Menopause Day 2026 coverage highlighted a similar gap between employees knowing support exists and feeling comfortable enough to disclose what they are experiencing. Likewise, the recent “I’m Fine” study found women often conceal distress because they do not want to burden others, appear vulnerable or risk not being understood.
Younger workers face their own pressures too. One in five Gen Z men have taken mental health leave, reinforcing the importance of making support credible and accessible to people earlier in their careers. Together, these findings point to the same conclusion: workplace support only works when people believe using it is safe.
WHAT EMPLOYERS SHOULD DO
The research and expert comments suggest employers need to focus as much on trust, culture and usability as on the amount of support they provide. Organisations should:
- Explain confidentiality precisely, including exactly what information the employer receives and what remains private.
- Repeat that information at onboarding, in manager training and whenever wellbeing services are promoted.
- Allow employees to access professionals directly without unnecessary approval from HR or line managers.
- Give employees a genuine choice of practitioner where possible.
- Make access instructions simple and easy to find.
- Offer digital and in-person options where appropriate.
- Provide private spaces and flexible, no-questions-asked time for appointments.
- Ensure managers actually understand the service they are signposting.
- Consider asking managers and senior leaders to test the employee experience themselves.
- Train managers to listen, signpost and adjust work where necessary — not diagnose.
- Make clear that managers should not ask employees what happens in therapy.
- Treat accessing mental health support as routinely as accessing other healthcare.
- Ensure employees who take mental health leave or request adjustments continue to receive fair treatment and career opportunities.
- Review whether workload, bullying, poor management or job design are contributing to distress.
- Track trust and awareness as well as utilisation rates.
- Provide clear routes for crisis and suicide-risk support.
- Give senior leaders permission to talk appropriately about their own use of coaches, mentors or support.
- Make early intervention normal rather than waiting until employees reach crisis.
The practical principle is simple – make support easy to access, safe to use and normal to talk about.
FROM PROVISION TO TRUST
Workplace mental health provision has expanded significantly. The Kara Connect research suggests the next challenge is ensuring employees genuinely believe they can use it. When 91% have access but only 37% would seek support, the issue is no longer simply whether an employer offers mental health benefits. It is whether employees trust the system around them.
That trust is built through clear confidentiality, supportive managers, easy access and – perhaps most importantly – what employees see happen to colleagues who ask for help. The organisations making the greatest difference may therefore not be those with the longest list of wellbeing benefits. They may be those where employees genuinely believe, they can ask for help and it won’t be held against them.
Click here to download the full report.
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