Your Employees Won’t Ask for Help With Their Mental Health. Here’s Why – and What to Do Next

Why Employees Don’t Ask for Help with Mental Health

As managers, we often assume our doors are open, that people will come to us with mental health concerns, that we’ve created enough trust and safety for honest conversation. In reality, many employees are struggling with mental health issues and never tell their managers. This isn’t usually about you personally; it’s about the legitimate vulnerability that comes with disclosing mental health challenges to someone who influences your employment. Even with the best managers, even in supportive organisations, disclosure feels risky. There’s fear involved. What if admitting to mental health challenges is interpreted as weakness or incapacity? What if it affects promotion opportunities or project assignments? What if the manager, despite good intentions, doesn’t handle the information well? What if it becomes common knowledge and changes how colleagues view them? Additionally, mental health struggles often involve shame and embarrassment. People don’t naturally want to disclose difficult personal situations, particularly not to people in positions of authority. The situation has been intensified by recent challenges. Many people have experienced significant worsening of mental health, increased anxiety about job security, isolation from working remotely. Yet the visibility of these struggles hasn’t increased proportionally. People are struggling more, but talking about it less.

Leading by Example and Structuring Mental Health Conversations

One of the most powerful things you can do is model the behaviour you want to see. If you visibly prioritise your own mental health, if you talk openly about taking care of yourself, if you acknowledge when you’re struggling, you create permission for your team to do the same. If your team sees you taking breaks, protecting your personal time, accessing support when needed, they understand these things are valued, not signs of weakness. This doesn’t mean oversharing or burdening your team with your personal struggles. It means being honest about the importance of mental health and demonstrating through your actions that you take it seriously. Rather than waiting for employees to bring up issues, schedule regular mental health check-ins. Make these separate from normal one-to-ones and clearly framed as conversations about wellbeing, not about work performance. The structure removes some of the awkwardness and gives people permission to discuss these topics. During these check-ins, ask open-ended questions about how people are doing, whether they’re managing their workload, whether anything is affecting their wellbeing. Listen more than you talk. Don’t jump to solutions; let people articulate what’s actually happening. If someone discloses a struggle, respond with genuine concern and a clear message that you want to help. Regular check-ins signal that this is an ongoing conversation, not a one-time disclosure.

Offering Flexibility, Communication, and External Support

Sometimes what makes the difference between someone managing and someone reaching crisis is simple practical support. Flexible hours might allow someone to attend therapy appointments or manage their workload more sustainably. Remote working options might reduce stress. Longer lunch breaks might provide necessary restoration. These aren’t indulgences; they’re often essential for sustaining people through mental health challenges. Beyond flexibility, consider what else might help. Access to counselling services. Mental health training for managers. Clear policies about time off for mental health reasons. Support for people returning from mental health leave. Uncertainty and unclear expectations are significant sources of workplace anxiety. One of the most underrated things a manager can do is communicate—far more than they might naturally do. Share business updates. Explain decisions. Clarify expectations. Provide feedback regularly. When people understand what’s happening and what’s expected, anxiety decreases significantly. Finally, sometimes employees are more willing to disclose mental health challenges to external professionals than to their managers, even well-intentioned ones. There’s less fear of professional consequences, more confidentiality. Providing access to external counsellors makes it easier for people to get support. You might offer employee assistance programmes that provide confidential counselling. You might invite mental health professionals to speak to your team. Each initiative sends a clear message that mental health is important and that your organisation is genuinely taking steps to support it.

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