To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Belonging Base’s Sophie Wood explains why training managers may be one of the most important investments organisations can make to improve workplace mental health.
One in five UK workers took time off in the past year due to stress-related poor mental health, according to Mental Health UK’s Burnout Report. Among younger employees, that figure rises to nearly two in five.
The scale of the issue is becoming impossible for employers to ignore. A recent report on workplace burnout and stress highlighted how burnout, financial pressure, AI anxiety and job insecurity are creating a sustained wellbeing crisis across UK and US workplaces.
At the same time, organisations continue to lose employees to stress, disengagement and poor workplace culture. These are not isolated cases happening behind closed doors, they are widespread challenges affecting teams across every sector. Yet despite growing awareness, many managers are still being left to “figure it out” on their own.
WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATIONS
While workplace conversations around mental health have improved significantly over recent years, awareness alone does not change someone’s everyday experience at work. The factor that often makes the biggest difference is conversation. And in most workplaces, those conversations begin with a manager.
In the sessions I run, I often ask managers how confident they feel having a mental health conversation with someone in their team. The responses are usually strikingly honest:
- “I don’t want to say the wrong thing.”
- “What if I make it worse?”
- “I wouldn’t know where to start.”
So instead, many managers check in superficially or avoid the conversation altogether, hoping things improve naturally. But when someone is struggling, silence can feel louder than anything else.
This leadership confidence gap is becoming increasingly visible. Recent research on leadership and workplace mental health found that while many organisations publicly prioritise wellbeing, relatively few managers feel equipped to support employees effectively in practice.
HIDDEN SIGNS OF POOR WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH
One of the challenges with poor mental health is that people often mask what they are experiencing. Many employees continue to perform, socialise and appear “fine” while privately struggling.
However, mental ill health often leaks out through visual, behavioural or emotional changes. These signs are often only recognised in hindsight. Because every individual is different, those warning signs can vary significantly. But the common thread is usually a noticeable change from someone’s normal behaviour.
For people suppressing stress, anxiety or low mood internally, thoughts and emotions can intensify over time. These experiences are often complex and multi-faceted, sometimes requiring clinical support, medication, therapy or social prescribing. Managers are not expected to provide those interventions.
HOW MANAGERS CAN BETTER SUPPORT STAFF STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
When we talk about managers supporting mental health, we are not talking about managers becoming therapists. We are talking about managers learning how to:
- notice changes in behaviour
- show care and attention
- listen without judgement
- create psychological safety
- signpost people towards support
Those seemingly small interactions can have an enormous impact. If employees feel safe discussing what is on their mind, they become less likely to continue masking distress or withdrawing emotionally. Simply saying difficult thoughts out loud can help move someone from emotional overwhelm towards clearer cognition and perspective. This is where management capability matters.
PRACTICAL MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATIONS
The skills required to have supportive workplace conversations are not specialised or mythical. They are practical, learnable and accessible. Yet many managers still feel completely out of their depth.
This gap between caring about people and knowing how to support them is where many organisations are getting stuck. One manager I worked with described a team member who had gradually become quieter over several weeks – less engaged, missing small deadlines and withdrawing socially. He noticed the changes but hesitated to say anything because he did not want to intrude.
When he finally asked gently whether everything was okay, the response was immediate: “I’m really glad you asked. I didn’t know how to bring it up.”
That conversation did not solve everything overnight. But it opened the door to support, perspective and future-focused thinking. That is the power of a confident, human conversation.
ESSENTIAL TRAINING TO TACKLE WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH
Increasingly, organisations are recognising that manager capability is directly linked to wellbeing, retention and culture. As previously reported, on employer wellbeing priorities, more employers are now investing in mental health training for managers, leaders and HR teams as part of broader wellbeing strategies.
The reason is simple: when managers feel more confident, supportive conversations happen earlier. Employees feel seen rather than ignored. Support becomes practical rather than performative. Workplace wellbeing moves beyond policy documents and becomes part of everyday culture.
And when organisations get this right, the impact extends far beyond wellbeing alone. Research consistently links psychologically safe workplaces with stronger engagement, retention, productivity and trust.
THE POWER OF HUMAN CONNECTION
A recently accredited Mental Health First Aider shared this reflection after completing training: “I wasn’t sure what to say the first time a colleague came to me. But I went back through the resources, and that gave me the confidence to just listen. That turned out to be exactly what they needed. It reminded me that being a Mental Health First Aider isn’t about fixing things; it’s about showing up.”
That insight captures something many organisations still overlook. Workplace mental health does not improve through policies alone. It improves through conversations, confidence and human connection. And in most organisations, that starts with a manager.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sophie Wood, Chief Belonging Officer at Belonging Base, is an experienced learning and development professional with over 25 years of delivering learning both in the UK and globally, in the private and public sectors, and across multiple industries. As a Trans Woman, Wood brings a one-of-a-kind perspective to the table. Living life as both male and female her personal journey fuels her deep understanding of the struggles faced by marginalised communities.
Whilst working for the UK Police Service, she became Vice-Chair of the National Trans Police Association, educating business leaders both within the Police Service and the NHS. She’s also been a Consultant for the BBC, advising on transgender content for drama. She even took a swing at negative trans reporting, ensuring the Leveson Enquiry got the facts.
Having moved to Spain in 2015, Wood mastered the ropes in the online gambling industry based in Gibraltar. She became an expert trainer in all aspects of operational delivery as well as leading global DEIB strategy for corporate giants like Entain and Lottoland.
Since 2023 She has specialised in Mental Health and wellbeing and is an accredited instructor for Mental Health England. Her training is informed by learnings from her own lived experience of mental ill health including experiences with suicide, self-harm behaviours, depression and anxiety as well as long periods of positive mental health and wellbeing.
You can find out more and connect with Sophie Wood here.
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