Written by Aprylle M. Wallace

Life used to be like a box of chocolates (Thank you, Forest Gump). Now life is more like an overflowing earth-size box of emojis. In addition to still not knowing what life is going to give, sometimes finding a smiley face is extremely difficult. With the average person spending approximately 90,000 hours working with and for other people, prioritizing mental health support in the workplace is crucial.

Investing in mental health support does not need to be a complicated venture. There are many simple, yet meaningful, ways to support employees and their loved ones. n many cases, all organizations need to do is activate their commitment to their employees’ mental wellbeing. This article shares some effective first (or complementary) steps in building and maintaining an employee mental wellbeing strategy.

Walk The Talk – Always referring employees to Human Resources during difficult times or saying “we support you” once a year in May for National Mental Health Awareness Month is not walking the talk. Leaders at all levels should model healthy behaviors that demonstrate the importance of a caring work environment. Such behaviors could include: being vulnerable – for example, acknowledging out loud when they are not having a great day and asking someone for help; establishing a supportive meeting culture where attendees have a few moments to settle in before business starts and avoid scheduling meetings back to back; supervisors asking their direct reports how they are doing and if they have all of the tools they need to be successful during 1:1 meetings.

Educate, Educate, and Keep Educating – In today’s workplace, and with the advancement in technology, many effective learning opportunities are at our fingertips. Whether an organization has 2 employees or 2,000, investing time in mental health education can be a highly impactful effort. Through its Learning platform, LinkedIn has has several webinars that focus on a wide range of mental health-related topics. As part of an internal communication plan, employers can share articles that teach readers about stress management tools/activities and the importance of self-care. It is important to remember that Human Resources practitioners need to be educated as well.

Proactively and Consistently Share Available Resources – Many employees are not aware about the resources available to them and their loved ones at little to no cost. Employers can be supportive just by regularly sharing available mental health resources. Including the promotion of mental health support options in internal communications is one way to demonstrate how important employee wellbeing is. In addition, many health insurance carriers offer mental health resources and programs that are included in their medical and life insurance offerings. These resources and programs are often underutilized. Employees are also often unaware of the breadth of offerings available to them.

These are just a few building blocks employers can use to fortify its employee mental wellness strategy. How does your organization support employee mental wellbeing?

Do you need an expert to help your organization build and implement an employee mental wellness strategy? Contact me to see how AW Squared Advisors, LLC, can help.

©AW Squared Advisors, LLC, 2025