World Suicide Prevention Day is taking place on 10th September 2026. The theme is ‘changing the narrative’ with the aim of raising awareness about suicide and suicide prevention.
This will get many people thinking about mental health, and how this can be supported. Employers can have an important role to play, so if your business is looking for some simple but impactful steps that could be taken to help support employees in the workplace you may wish consider the below:
- Keep in contact
- Be prepared to talk
- Be alert
- Raise awareness
1. Keep in contact
Working life is busy, whether your team is totally workplace based, there is hybrid working or you have some fully remote workers, it is important to keep in regular contact with your team and make time to talk. By being approachable and encouraging employees to talk to you if they have any concerns you can help to create an environment where employees feel able to be open about how they are feeling, enabling them to get the workplace support they may need sooner, for example if they are finding it difficult to manage their workload.
2. Be prepared to talk
The possibility of an employee wishing to have an initial conversation with you about their mental health can seem daunting, but being prepared can help. Keep in mind that the employee may find it a challenging step to take and that being calm and patient and giving them the time they need in a private place free of interruption can help to support the employee. As can being able to signpost them to external sources of support where appropriate, for example if your business has an employee assistance programme.
If you think action may need to be taken after a conversation, such as putting reasonable adjustments in place to help the employee, please get in touch for advice.
3. Be alert
Whilst every employee is different and it is important not to make assumptions, being alert to some possible signs of poor mental health can help to ensure that matters are managed sensitively and appropriately. Some possible workplace signs may include an increase in sickness absence, changes in usual behaviour or usual standard of work. If you are concerned about an employee, get in touch for advice on the individual circumstances.
4. Raise awareness
You may wish to raise awareness around mental health generally and of the support that is available, for example locally, nationally or through work related support such as employee assistance programmes if these are offered, and how to access it. This could help employees to get the help and support they need at an early stage or access it in times of crisis.