Why workplace mental health needs a different approach

Workplace mental health is finally getting the attention it deserves. Companies are investing in employee assistance programmes, mental health days, and wellbeing platforms. That's progress.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: most of these tools go unused.

The engagement problem

Studies consistently show that traditional Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) have utilisation rates between 3-8%. That's not because employees don't need support — it's because the barriers to using these services are too high.

Think about it from an employee's perspective. They're having a tough afternoon. Their options are: book a therapy session (weeks away), call a helpline (feels too dramatic), or push through and hope tomorrow is better.

None of those options help in the moment.

What employees actually need

When we talk to people about their mental health at work, the same themes come up:

• They don't need therapy — they need tools. Most difficult moments at work aren't clinical. They're situational. A stressful meeting, an overwhelming inbox, a sleepless night before a deadline.
• They need something quick. Nobody has 30 minutes for a guided meditation between back-to-back meetings. But they might have 2 minutes.
• They need privacy. The biggest barrier to workplace mental health support isn't availability — it's the fear of being seen using it.

A different approach

This is why we built Next Step for Teams. Instead of offering another platform that sits unused, we focused on three principles:

Low friction. No accounts, no logins, no apps to install. Employees enter a company code and get instant access. The whole process takes 30 seconds.

In-the-moment help. A 2-minute check-in that suggests one practical exercise based on how someone is feeling right now. Not a course they'll never finish — just one helpful thing.

Complete privacy. Everything stays on the employee's device. We don't know who's using it, what they're feeling, or what steps they take. The company gets anonymised aggregate data only — how many people engaged, not who or how.

The business case

Beyond being the right thing to do, practical mental health support makes business sense. Employees who feel supported are more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay. And tools that actually get used deliver better ROI than expensive programmes that don't.

A 30-day pilot costs nothing to try. If your team of 10-50 people finds it useful, that tells you everything you need to know.

Starting the conversation

If you're in HR, a team lead, or just someone who cares about your colleagues' wellbeing, the first step is simple: try it yourself. See if it resonates. Then share it with your team.

Sometimes the best workplace wellbeing initiative isn't a big programme — it's a small tool that people actually use.