World Mental Health Day may raise valuable awareness, but employers risk undermining their commitments if their support for staff begins and ends with a single date in the calendar, warns Nathan Shearman, psychotherapist and director of training and therapy at workplace mental health specialists, Red Umbrella.
“My big worry about World Mental Health Day is that companies and organisations come forward and pay lip service to it, talk about how important mental health is, highlight the services they have in place like an EAP, and then the following week it’s business as usual,” Shearman explains.
“But I can tell you who it isn’t business as usual for, that employee of yours who is struggling to get out of bed in the morning because everything feels too dark and heavy. Or the employee who is so anxious they can’t interact with their colleagues without feeling ill. That member of the team going through the menopause and can’t understand why their mood swings seem so erratic. For those people, mental health isn’t just a day, it’s their every day.” The scale of the challenge is clear. The Burnout Report 2025 revealed that 21% of UK workers took time off in the past year due to stress-related ill health, and 44% of people felt isolated at work. The data shows that mental health struggles are an everyday reality for many, not a once-a-year talking point.
“Employers can’t simply send out a newsletter or a social media post on World Mental Health Day and think that’s their obligation met.” Shearman says.
“It’s about what you do on every other day of the year. Supporting those struggling with mental health requires empathy, but it requires empathy in action.”
That action, he says, must be practical and embedded in workplace culture: “It needs policies that support the needs of those struggling. It requires mental health support, tailored to the individual, available where and when it’s needed. It requires managers knowing how to support a team member with their mental health.”
Awareness days are only part of the solution, Shearman stresses: “Mental health awareness days are just that, they raise awareness. Of course that is valuable, but without action, it doesn’t mean anything. Being aware the house is on fire is important, but ultimately it’s unhelpful if it isn’t followed up by action, either to put the fire out or call the fire brigade.”
For Shearman, the message to employers is clear: mental health support must be continuous, flexible and tailored, ensuring that those who are struggling feel supported every day of the year, not just when the calendar reminds us to care.
The post “Mental health must be a year-round priority, not a tick-box exercise” warns expert first appeared on HR News.