Mental Health Awareness Week: Why action matters
Mental Health Awareness Week 2026, taking place from 11th to 17th May, is centred around one clear message: Action.
The Mental Health Foundation has chosen this year’s theme to highlight an important truth: while awareness matters, meaningful progress only happens when organisations take practical action to protect mental health at work. We’ve come a long way in opening up conversations around mental wellbeing, but without sustained action, that progress can quickly stall.
And the need for action has never been clearer. The latest figures show that 964,000 workers in the UK experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2024/25 (HSE), resulting in 22.1 million working days lost. Mental health-related ill health now accounts for more than half of all work-related ill health cases.
As one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem at some point (HSE), employers need to move beyond wellbeing conversations.
The most effective response isn’t a one-off awareness campaign or a wellbeing webinar in May. It’s building the systems, confidence and consistency that help prevent issues before they escalate. Here are five actions organisations can take to create healthier, more sustainable workplaces.
1. Equip managers to act early
Managers are often the first to notice when someone is struggling, but many still feel uncertain about what to say or how to respond.
Practical training gives managers the skills to spot early warning signs, start supportive conversations, and signpost employees to the right help. This isn’t about turning line managers into mental health specialists, but it’s about giving them the confidence to respond appropriately and consistently.
Our Group digital learning solutions help organisations turn awareness into practical capability through accessible, scenario-based learning that supports managers in real-world situations.
2. Build regular wellbeing check-ins into working life
Sometimes the most effective intervention is making space for regular, meaningful conversations. Structured one-to-ones give managers the opportunity to check in on workload, pressures and wellbeing before stress becomes burnout.
They also help normalise conversations around mental health, reducing stigma and making support easier to access because consistency matters far more than grand gestures.
3. Use data to identify pressure points
Mental health challenges rarely appear in isolation. Instead, they often show up first through patterns: rising absence, repeated employee relations cases, increased grievances or inconsistencies across teams.
Using ER data through empower® gives organisations visibility into where pressure may be building, allowing earlier intervention. When organisations can identify trends proactively, they can act before individual challenges become wider cultural issues.
4. Review your policies to enable action
If mental health policies are hard to find, unclear to managers or disconnected from day-to-day practice, they won’t make a meaningful difference.
Regular reviews keep guidance practical, inclusive and aligned with how your organisation actually operates. Supportive workplaces are built through everyday clarity – not policy documents that sit unread.
5. Create a safe culture
The most powerful action an organisation can take is creating psychological safety, because employees need to know they can raise concerns without fear of judgement or negative consequences.
That starts with visible leadership commitment, open communication and clear pathways to support, where mental health is talked about honestly.
Take action to prioritise mental health
To help organisations turn conversations into practical capability, our Group eLearning experts are offering 12 months’ free access to four courses from our Mental Health and Wellbeing collection for up to 25 users. Designed for managers and employees, the collection helps teams feel more confident, supported and resilient long after Mental Health Awareness Week ends.
The courses provide practical, accessible guidance to help organisations:
- Build confidence in having supportive wellbeing conversations
- Recognise early signs that someone may be struggling
- Create healthier, more resilient workplace habits
- Turn awareness into everyday action
It’s a practical way to start embedding the kind of sustained support this year’s theme calls for. You can learn more and claim your free access here.
Beyond Mental Health Awareness Week
Creating healthier workplaces takes more than a single initiative. If you’d like to explore how digital learning, policy support and smarter employee relations insight can help your organisation take meaningful action on workplace mental health, speak to our team today.