Oct 22, 2026 · Comments ↓

What would help mental health at work? Ask the people there

Every group on our mental health first aid course is asked what their employer could do. Group after group, workload and flexibility keep coming up.

In the second guided session of our mental health first aid course, every group does the same activity. It’s one of the more recent additions to the course. Everyone adds their answers to a shared online noticeboard, with a column for each of two questions. What could your employer do to build a positive mental health culture? And what could you do? Newer groups get a third: one small thing you could do this month.

Nobody’s name goes on what they write. Once the course is over, the group gets a copy of everything they wrote, to work on back at work.

I’ve kept the answers from the 26 groups who’ve done it so far, from all kinds of workplaces, and read them together. They show what these learners think would help at work, and who they think should do it.

The answers you’d expect

These are people training to be mental health first aiders, so first aiders come up a lot. In more than half the groups, someone asked their employer for more from the first aider role: having enough of them, and making them easier to find. Who are they? Where are they? How do I contact them? “Not all digital,” one person added. Lanyards. A network across sites. Drop-ins in a private space.

The wellbeing offer is there too. Yoga. Free lunches. Fresh fruit. Gym memberships. Vouchers. Cake day. A wellbeing week. Mindfulness sessions.

None of that’s wrong, and some of it’s lovely. But keep reading down the employer column and something else keeps turning up.

The answers about how work is run

Workload or hours came up in the employer column in about a third of the groups. So did flexibility, in one form or another. A few asked about pay.

In their own words:

“Acknowledge when people are overworked and not put profits over people.”

“Be mindful of the workload you are giving employees, not everything all at once.”

“Flexibility. If you need to step back for whatever that reason may be you are able to without feeling guilt or a burden on the business.”

“Offer financial stability, fair, transparent pay that helps people meet living costs.”

“Full sick pay when in probation.”

“Being consulted on big decisions.”

“Treat people like adults.”

“Stop stress being seen as the norm in teams.”

One group put it in a single line: “Mental wellbeing should be built in rather than bolted on or assumed it’s taking place. It should be a key component of work planning and identifying capacity.”

One group, at a creative agency, was especially direct. “WORKLOAD,” in capitals, then “a more robust system for managing workload and overtime.” And: “Less focus on numbers and more focus on people. We sell our people, the people need to be in good mental health.”

The same group wrote this:

“More planning around how we can support people who are struggling with poor mental health rather than waiting until they’ve been signed off.”

And this:

“Add a job number we can put mental wellbeing conversations against on our timesheets, rather than having it under ‘admin / downtime’.”

In that workplace, looking out for each other gets logged as downtime, not as work.

These aren’t asks for more wellbeing activities. They’re about how work is planned, who gets a say, and what people are paid. That’s the part that needs the employer to act.

What people say they’ll do themselves

The “what could you do?” column is different. It’s mostly small, everyday stuff. “Asking people how they are doing with the intention of really listening.” “Challenge unacceptable behaviour.” “Avoid sending emails outside of work hours.” “Check in on quiet members of the team.” “Remembering to say thank you.”

That’s good first aider instinct, and it starts with noticing the people around you. It’s exactly what I hope people go back and do.

But some of that column is people protecting themselves from the work. “Ensuring I take my breaks.” “Stop being always on.” “Being open if workload is too much and you need help.”

Put the two columns side by side. In one, workload is something the employer should fix. In the other, it’s something the person has to cope with and speak up about.

A course is where this starts

I say the same thing to every group: “you’ve just finished a course, but you haven’t changed your working practices.” This activity is where that change starts.

They’re training to support their colleagues. They also know that a kind word and a fruit bowl won’t fix a workload nobody can manage.

Mental health first aiders help people cope. They were never meant to fix the workplace. They can’t change a workload, a pay structure or a rota that’s making people unwell. That takes whoever runs the place.

If you want to know what would help your people, you don’t need a consultant or a survey platform. Ask them, give them somewhere anonymous to answer, and read the employer column properly.

The yoga and the fruit are the easy bit. Workload, flexibility and pay are the hard bit, and that’s where people are asking for change.

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