Nurturing a positive organisational culture is essential to effectively tackle employees’ mental health struggles, says Stuart Cheesman.
How can HR leaders reduce absenteeism and the substantial costs associated with employees’ mental health struggles? More than 60% of UK employees are experiencing at least one characteristic of burnout, with some battling serious mental health issues. And the cost to UK employers alone is now estimated at £51 billion per year, according to figures from Deloitte.
With many root causes of mental health problems being complex societal issues, this leads to HR leaders – at times – feeling hopeless in trying to address mental health issues, but action is necessary due to an increased expectation on employer paternalism.
Deploying or increasing ‘mental health initiatives’ therefore becomes the common response. However, implementing such initiatives without addressing corporate culture will never sufficiently mitigate employees’ mental health struggles caused or exacerbated by the workplace. Fixing the organisational culture must always take priority.
Taking a culture-first approach
Absenteeism linked to mental health is hugely costly, although the impacts don’t stop there. Presenteeism, quiet quitting, workplace accidents and formal grievances are also worse when there’s a high number of employees suffering depression or anxiety. And tasked with addressing the unwieldy issue of mental health, HR leaders are investing heavily, especially as organisational change is only going to increase.
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The issue, however, is that initiatives tend to focus on managing poor mental health outcomes – such as by training-up mental health first aiders and bringing in specialised support services (to name just a few). While such initiatives are important, these investments should sit alongside improvements to organisational culture. After all, insensitive managers, conflict within teams, not being allowed to ‘switch off’ and feeling unappreciated, are just some of the toxic culture traits that can cause significant harm to mental health.
Action is needed
To understand if organisational culture is hurting employees’ mental health, there will be tell-tale signs such as high rates of staff turnover and absenteeism. But for a deeper understanding of what’s happening and why, employee listening should be a prerequisite. By using feedback mechanisms like forums, surveys and one-to-ones, you can ask employees questions such as: Are you happy with how you’re being managed? Do you get on with your teammates? Do you feel the company cares for your wellbeing? Do you feel a valued member of the team? And so on.
Understanding is the first step towards creating a healthy workplace culture which encourages an empathetic mindset via connection, care and community.
Putting your culture under the microscope
In addition to using active listening, HR must rigorously assess a number of key factors that influence organisational culture. These factors go a long way towards mitigating or worsening mental health struggles and include organisational purpose, opportunities, modern leadership, wellbeing and recognition.
Every single employee wants to feel that their work has meaning, and contributes to an overarching purpose which benefits the greater good (rather than simply helping to line the pockets of shareholders). They also want to be given opportunities to grow and develop both personally and professionally. When both of these factors are an integral part of an organisation’s culture, burnout is significantly reduced. In fact, a strong sense of purpose reduces the likelihood of employee burnout by 82% and depression by 50%. When the employee is given growth opportunities, the odds of burnout is reduced by 83%.
The other key elements that foster a thriving culture include a modern leadership approach, a focus on wellbeing, and frequent and meaningful recognition. Leaders who are empathetic, empowering and get to know employees as individuals help foster a compassionate and understanding working environment that reduces the likelihood of mental health struggles.
Wellbeing and appreciation are also crucial for ensuring employees feel cared about and valued, with individuals who give recognition to others also seeing improvements to their mental health. According to O.C. Tanner’s 2025 Global Culture Report, employees who gave recognition in the past 30 days reported significant decreases in the odds of burnout (57%), probable diagnosis of anxiety (24%), and probable diagnosis of depression (28%). Plus, when appreciation is integrated into workplace culture, the odds of burnout is decreased by a phenomenal 87%.
A final consideration
Tackling mental health at work shouldn’t be focused on short-term initiatives in order to get employees back to work, but must concentrate on the pre-emptive mitigation of mental health struggles. Employees will feel empowered and motivated by employers that take a culture-first approach in which HR champions a positive and supportive culture that lowers the odds of burnout, anxiety and depression. This then fosters an environment where mental health is positively nurtured, and every employee can thrive.
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