Most workplace wellbeing strategies miss this, as mental health isn’t binary. It’s not a state of fine or crisis. It’s a spectrum, and most people spend most of their time somewhere in the middle.
For years, workplace conversations lived at the extremes. “I’m dealing with it, leave me alone” at one end, and “I genuinely can’t function” at the other. The vast middle (a dip in mood, feeling a bit disconnected, a week where you’re not quite yourself) went largely unspoken. That’s changed, and it’s a good thing. But it’s also put real pressure on people teams to build new frameworks, fast.
When mental health became a boardroom topic, a lot of companies responded the same way. Find a benefit provider. Tick the box. Wait.
That’s not wrong, exactly, but if it’s where your strategy ends, you’re only ever responding to the bad end of the spectrum. If someone on your team is doing well,
What are you doing to help them stay there? Probably nothing specific. Because that’s not where the problem is, but it’s exactly where the opportunity is.
Wellbeing and performance aren’t separate. People do their best work when they’re in a good place. Investing in people while they’re well isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s what keeps the good going.
Think about how progressive companies now approach menstrual health. The older approach focused on the difficult days – pain, incapacitation, the need for support – compassionate, but incomplete. The more progressive framing asks, for the days when many women are at a biochemical peak (sharper, more energised), what are you doing to help them make the most of that?
The same logic applies to mental health. If your strategy only addresses the crisis point, you’re missing most of the picture.
The shift we’re describing isn’t a campaign. It’s a change in how you think about what support actually means.
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