Mental Health at Work
What Leaders Are Expected to Do (and What Actually Helps)
Hannah Tranah
2/9/20264 min read
Mental health at work has become something leaders are expected to support, but very few have been clearly shown how.
Many leaders I work with care deeply about their people. They want to do the right thing. But when it comes to mental health at work, they are often quietly worried about saying the wrong thing, overstepping, or opening something they do not know how to hold.
If that sounds familiar, you are not failing. You are responding to a role that has grown faster than the support around it.
What Leaders Are Expected to Do About Mental Health at Work
In today’s workplace, leaders are often expected to:
Notice when someone is struggling with their mental health
Start sensitive conversations confidently
Support mental health without becoming a therapist
Balance care with performance and accountability
Keep teams well, productive and engaged
All while managing their own workload, pressure and wellbeing.
These expectations are rarely written down. They are absorbed through policies, training slides, and a general sense of “we should be doing more around mental health at work”.
And yet, many leaders are left thinking:
“I care, but I am not sure what is actually expected of me.”
Why Leaders Feel Stuck Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace
The gap between expectation and support is where most of the difficulty sits.
Leaders often tell me they feel:
Undertrained and underprepared
Afraid of making things worse
Unsure what is allowed to say
Emotionally stretched by holding other people’s challenges
Add in conflicting advice such as be supportive but keep boundaries, encourage openness but manage risk, and it is no wonder leaders freeze or avoid conversations altogether.
This is not a lack of compassion.
It is a workplace systems issue, not a personal failing.
What Actually Helps Mental Health at Work
Supporting mental health in the workplace is not about having the perfect words or fixing complex problems.
What actually helps is far more human and far more achievable.
Psychological safety at work
People need to feel safe enough to speak up about workload, stress, or when something is not working, without fear of judgement or consequences.
This does not require deep disclosure. It requires consistency, respect and trust.
Normalising conversations about mental health
Leaders do not need to push people to open up. They do need to signal that it is okay to talk about how work is affecting them.
Simple check-ins, genuine curiosity and permission to be honest are a powerful form of workplace mental health support.
Clear boundaries and realistic expectations
Mental health at work improves when roles are clear, priorities make sense, and workload conversations are honest.
Often, the biggest stressor is not personal mental health. It is unclear expectations and constant pressure.
Knowing when to signpost, not solve
Leaders are supporters, not specialists.
Helping someone access the right support such as HR, occupational health, EAPs or external services is often the most responsible thing a leader can do.
What Leaders Do Not Need to Be
This part matters, so it is worth saying clearly.
Leaders do not need to be:
Therapists
Mental health experts
Available 24/7
Responsible for fixing someone’s mental health
Expecting this creates pressure and risk, for leaders and for teams.
Good mental health support at work is about holding the leadership role well, not absorbing responsibilities that do not belong there.
Why Training and Ongoing Support Matters
One-off sessions can raise awareness, but they rarely build confidence.
Leaders need:
Practical language they can actually use
Clarity around boundaries and responsibilities
Space to explore real workplace scenarios
Support for their own wellbeing
When leaders feel supported, they are far more able to support others calmly, confidently and consistently.
This is where mental health at work shifts from pressure to possibility.
How EverGlow Supports Mental Health at Work
At EverGlow, I support organisations to approach mental health at work in a way that feels confident, human and sustainable, not reactive or fear-driven.
A core part of this is my Mental Health First Aid offer, which I deliver for both individual leaders and corporate teams.
Mental Health First Aid is not about turning people into therapists. It is about giving leaders and colleagues:
The confidence to notice when something is not right
The language to start supportive and appropriate conversations
Clear boundaries around what their role is and what it is not
Practical guidance on how and when to signpost to further support
For individual leaders, Mental Health First Aid provides reassurance and clarity. It helps leaders feel steadier and more confident when mental health shows up at work.
For organisations and teams, it creates a shared foundation. It supports a consistent approach to mental health, reduces fear and uncertainty, and helps people look out for one another without taking on responsibility that does not belong to them.
Alongside Mental Health First Aid, I also offer:
Coaching for leaders who want space to think, reflect and build confidence
Team sessions that link mental health, wellbeing and culture together
Support that protects leaders as well as the people they lead
The aim is not to add another responsibility to leaders’ plates.
It is to help mental health at work feel clearer, calmer and more manageable for everyone.
A Final Thought for Leaders
If you are a leader trying to support mental health at work and feeling unsure at times, you are not alone.
Caring is not the problem.
Lack of clarity and support is.
And that is something that can be changed.
Want to Support Mental Health at Work More Confidently?
If you want to explore Mental Health First Aid for yourself or your organisation, and support leaders to feel confident rather than overwhelmed, this is exactly the work I do through EverGlow.
You can explore my leadership and mental health support, or get in touch to talk about what would help your team most.