Breaking The Cycle: Why Businesses Must Dig Deeper to Address Mental Health.

Credit: Olafur Eliasson (at Tate Modern)

Imagine this: A company proudly announces a new mental health app, a four-day workweek trial, and enthusiastically celebrates Mental Health Awareness Week. While these initiatives are not inherently bad, they are more about optics than outcomes. Real improvements to mental health in the workplace requires deeper work – like addressing culture, structure, and management practices. Employees don’t just need perks; they need sustainable environments that genuinely support their well-being. In today's fast-paced corporate world, we see frequent cases of well-being washing - where companies claim to support employee well-being, however, in reality this isn't the case.

Beyond Temporary Distractions

A recent study published on The Harvard Business Review highlights the importance of mental health at work, specifically post COVID-19. Research reveals that 84% of employees report at least one workplace factor that negatively impacts their mental health. For younger workers and underrepresented groups, the effects are even more severe. Across all employees who took part in the surveys, the most common workplace factor negatively impacting employees’ mental health was emotionally draining (e.g. stressful, overwhelming, boring, or monotonous) work, closely followed by poor work-life balance, both of which worsened after the pandemic.

Unfortunately, many employers have treated mental health as an individual responsibility. Apps, counselling services, and mental health days do not fully address the underlying issues. When workplace culture is toxic or expectations are unreasonable, these remedies serve as temporary distractions rather than a long-term, meaningful change. What employees truly need is for mental health to become a collective priority, embedded into the fabric of the workplace. Considering the various workplace factors involved, companies can no longer treat mental health as solely an individual’s responsibility to manage with self-care, mental health days, or employee benefits.

Credit: inspirewellbeing.org

Solutions that Stick

This requires businesses to connect their words with actions. Research shows that it is not enough to simply offer temporary solutions and distractions, employers must connect what they say to what they actually do. Talking about ‘well-being’ in the workplace while ignoring the systemic factors contributing to poor mental health can lead to burnout and an increased number of people leaving their jobs for mental health reasons (81% of Gen-Zers in 2021 left roles for mental health reasons, both voluntarily and involuntarily). Employers must step up to transform their cultures, tackle emotionally taxing working conditions, and foster environments where people can thrive.

Conclusion

Addressing the root causes of poor mental health at work is essential. Companies that fail to act risk lower productivity, innovation, retention, and negatively impact well-being. Those willing to take the steps to rethink culture, prioritise meaningful work-life balance, and move beyond surface-level solutions will benefit from a healthier, more engaged, and more resilient workforce. It’s time to start building workplaces where well-being is a part of the foundation!