Practical Steps for Managers to Support Employee Mental Wellness at Work

How often do we create room for intentional, meaningful mental health check-ins at work? Especially without things getting weird?

Chances are, it’s not happening as often as it should. To help managers better support their teams in this way, here’s a quick-start guide for opening up wellness conversations that really matter. Taking the time to thoughtfully approach these discussions can make a positive impact, not only on individual well-being but also on the overall success and resilience of your team. This is scalable across all levels of an organization. Let’s dive into some actionable steps for fostering a healthier workplace environment.

1. Build Trust First

Talking about mental wellness requires a solid foundation of trust. Reflect on your relationship with each team member before you start, and approach the conversation with openness and empathy. Focus on helping your employees feel supported, while staying in your lane—no medical advice, just guidance and access to resources.

2. Get Familiar with Your Resources

Know everything about what mental health support your company currently offers. Dig in. Whether it’s an Employee Assistance Program such as Covenant Workplace Solutions’ Lifestyle EAP, upcoming wellness workshops, or other specific benefits, make sure you are well-versed in what’s available and know how you’re going to actively promote these resources on a consistent basis. Leadership should also regularly communicate around the importance of these resources in an effort to de-stigmatize this topic and encourage utilization.

3. Provide Context and Objectives

When reaching out to meet with individual team members, provide context as to why you’re initiating this talk in the first place. It’s okay to give them a heads up by sending a simple agenda or prompts beforehand so they can prepare. Keep participation completely voluntary— and if they do, no one should feel even the slightest bit pressured to share beyond what they’re comfortable with.

Sometimes these conversations do happen “on the fly” where the time and place is appropriate. In these circumstances, lead into that discussion offering the context around your come-from.

4. Listen, Ask, Support

“How’s everything going?” can be an easy opener. Beyond that, be curious and ask open-ended questions that invite them to share what helps them feel their best at work and in life overall. Use your active listening skills. Questions like, “What practices do you have in place that help you make your well-being a priority?” or “What else can we do as a team/organization to support you?” or simply, “How can I help?” can open up productive conversations. You may have some other really great open-ended questions you already use! Remind them it’s absolutely okay to admit if things aren’t going well.

5. Co-create a Plan

Identify one small action they could take to enhance or improve their mental well-being; actions such as getting more sleep, going for short walks during breaks, talking to a therapist, etc. Many employees may say they are doing just fine, and if that’s the case, outstanding! This is still great practice to be proactive with our mental wellness as opposed to reactive after things have already gone sideways. Agree on a plan for your next scheduled follow-up, so you can touch base on how things are going around that action.

These steps, while very simple, will help you lead meaningful conversations around mental health and wellness in a way that’s thoughtful, supportive, and aligned with your team’s needs without overstepping.

Take a deep breath. You got this!