Building a mentally fit workforce

Offices, shops and factories are well prepared for physical emergencies. They have first-aid kits, fire extinguishers and evacuation procedures. But when somebody experiences acute stress, panic, burnout or emotional overwhelm during working hours, immediate help is rarely available.

 

Stress, depression and anxiety accounted for 22.1 million lost working days in the UK during 2024/25. Beyond productivity, poor mental health contributes to high staff turnover, absenteeism, conflict, disengagement and long-term sickness. It can affect families, relationships and lives far beyond the office.

 

The challenge is not simply awareness. Most employees already know mental health is important. The real issue is accessibility.

 

Many people struggle to access support at the moment they actually need it. Managers are rarely trained psychologists. Even speaking openly about emotional distress can feel uncomfortable or exposing in professional environments.

 

That is why companies must see simple, quickly accessible mental-health tools as increasingly important.

 

Just as physical first aid focuses on stabilisation before escalation, psychological first aid can help reduce emotional intensity in the moment, giving people enough stability to think clearly, regulate stress and seek further support if needed.

 

Crucially, these techniques do not need to be complicated.

 

One of the most effective tools is abdominal breathing, sometimes called diaphragmatic breathing. During periods of stress or panic, breathing often becomes shallow and rapid, which can intensify feelings of anxiety. Slowing the breath and consciously expanding the stomach during inhalation helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the body’s natural calming response.

 

A particularly effective approach is extending the exhale slightly longer than the inhale. This can help reduce physiological arousal within minutes and is widely used across therapy, mindfulness and trauma-informed care.

 

Another simple but powerful technique is emotional labelling.

 

When people feel overwhelmed, emotions can become fused together into a single sense of panic or distress. Separating and identifying specific emotions such as frustration, fear, shame, loneliness or anger can reduce their intensity and improve clarity. In psychology, this is sometimes referred to as “affect labelling”. Colleagues and managers can help employees do this through calm, non-judgemental conversation, helping reduce emotional overload and restore a clearer sense of control.

 

Research has repeatedly shown that naming emotions can reduce activity in the brain’s threat-response systems. It helps people feel less consumed by what they are experiencing. This, again, is a technique that can be performed easily in an office.

 

Journalling and expressive writing can also be highly effective, particularly during periods of grief, heartbreak or prolonged stress. Writing thoughts down externally reduces cognitive load and helps structure emotions that otherwise remain chaotic internally.

 

Expressive writing is not about producing polished reflections. Even short, honest entries can help process difficult experiences more constructively. Some people also find value in writing messages they never intend to send, allowing emotional expression without fear of judgement or confrontation.

 

Many modern jobs involve prolonged sitting, screen exposure and sustained cognitive effort with minimal physical release. Even brief movement such as walking outside in office grounds, stretching or light exercise can significantly improve emotional regulation, concentration and stress resilience.

 

Studies have shown that short periods spent outdoors can reduce stress markers and improve mood. Yet many employees move between home, transport and office environments with little meaningful contact with natural spaces.

 

Creative expression is equally important, although often overlooked in professional settings. Activities such as drawing, music, writing or building things help engage different cognitive systems than those used during analytical or high-pressure work. Creativity can interrupt repetitive thought patterns and restore a sense of psychological balance. This can be applied in the workplace with small creative breaks, collaborative brainstorming, sketching ideas visually, or simply creating space for people to engage in activities that shift the mind away from constant analytical pressure.

 

Workplaces need to normalise the idea that mental-health support should be accessible before the crisis point.

 

People should not need to reach complete burnout before receiving help. Small interventions applied early are often far more effective than waiting until distress becomes severe.

 

Simple psychological support tools should not be viewed as optional extras or corporate perks. They must become a necessary layer of modern workplace infrastructure.

 

That does not mean replacing therapists, clinical care or professional mental-health services. It means recognising that immediate emotional stabilisation has value in its own right, particularly in environments where stress is unavoidable.

 

In physical healthcare, society understood long ago that rapid intervention matters. We did not solve workplace injuries simply by telling people to “be careful”. We introduced practical infrastructure such as first aid kits, safety equipment and emergency procedures.

 

Mental health requires the same shift in thinking.

 

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Hakeem Javaid is a social entrepreneur and creator of mental-health first-aid initiative Second Aid, which provides employees with instant access to mental-health support exercises via QR-code posters placed alongside traditional first aid kits

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Jacob Wackerhausen