Category: Workplace Wellbeing

Here, our Chief Executive Jon Neal explains what the benefits of investing in mental health training are when budgets are tighter than ever.

When economic uncertainty hits, whether it’s a full-blown recession or just a shaky period, small businesses often look for quick and easy savings. Training budgets, marketing, and even mental health support can seem like tempting areas to cut.

But if you’re a small business owner, here’s why investing in workplace mental health training isn’t just good for your team, it’s also good for your bottom line.

Mental health training: more than a “nice to have”

In challenging times, it’s easy to think of mental health support as something to revisit when cashflow improves. It can feel like a luxury, or a “nice to have,” rather than a core part of your business operations.

But that mindset could be costing your business more than you realise.

Don’t look at mental health training in the workplace as an expense, it’s an investment. Just like you expect a return from your marketing or operations spend, you should expect a return on investment (ROI) from supporting your staff’s wellbeing.

The evidence: £5 return for every £1 invested

Don’t just take our word for it. The landmark Thriving at Work report, originally commissioned by the UK Government in 2019 and authored by Deloitte, Lord Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer (then CEO of Mind), proves the ROI of mental health investment.

For every £1 spent on mental health initiatives in the workplace, businesses see an average return of £5.

This isn’t anecdotal. Deloitte’s research has been updated several times since their first report and consistently shows that workplace mental health training, support services, and cultural improvements generate strong financial returns.

Culture change delivers the biggest ROI

While offering mental health champions or employee counselling is a great starting point, the biggest gains come from genuine culture change.

In fact, Deloitte’s data shows that businesses who embed mental health into their company culture see ROI figures even higher than 5:1.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Trusting your employees to deliver without constant surveillance, KPIs, or micromanagement.
• Recognising achievements and offering meaningful, stretching work.
• Clearly communicating purpose, so each team member understands how their role fits into the bigger picture.

These aren’t just great for mental health, they’re powerful drivers of performance, productivity, and employee engagement.

The true cost of doing nothing or making those cuts

If you’re thinking mental health support is a cost you can’t afford, consider this:

• What does staff absenteeism cost you in sick pay?
• How much time and money is lost to recruitment and onboarding when stressed staff leave?
• What is the impact of presenteeism – employees showing up physically but not mentally engaged?

All of these are costly issues that mental health training and culture change can directly address.

Invest in your team and your business

At The Mental Health Toolkit, we help small businesses like yours build healthier, more resilient workplaces. We offer:

• Affordable mental health training for teams
• Practical toolkits and consultancy
• Online and in-person resources tailored for small business needs

Our solutions are designed to give you real ROI – not just in staff wellbeing, but in performance, retention, and business outcomes.

Ready to build a more resilient, productive workforce?

Explore our mental health training for small businesses and see how we can support your team and help your business thrive.

Suffolk Mind and The Mental Health Toolkit (TMHTK) are making workplace mental health education more accessible through the launch of new training packages.

The four new packages all aim to upskill and instill positive change in businesses nationwide in a more cost-effective way.

The launch was marked with a packed-out breakfast networking event at Venue 16 in Ipswich.

Jon Neal, CEO of Suffolk Mind, said: “Since launching The Mental Health Toolkit in 2022 we have been overwhelmed by the response from businesses both in Suffolk and the wider UK.

“Research by Deloitte has shown that for every £1 invested in the workplace, a business receives a minimum of £4.70 in return.

“We’re talking about reductions in staff absences, improvements in productivity and performance – all with the added benefit of supporting mental health.

“Yet still mental ill health costs UK employers a combined £51 billion a year, a figure which could drastically lower should more businesses engage in mental health training.

“It really is such a rewarding investment for any business to make – and something I would wholeheartedly implore them to do.”

The four separate packages, Base Camp, Explorer, Pioneer and Summit, build on one another and are tailored to the needs of different organisations and teams – including those working in management or human resources. Some also include regular reviews with a TMHTK Account Manager to provide further support beyond the initial courses.

All training delivered by The Mental Health Toolkit uses the Emotional Needs and Resources approach endorsed by Suffolk Mind – with each package including posters and graphic resources for businesses to display to their staff.

Lynn Rozier, one of the Directors of Blue Star Human Resources who sponsored the event, said the packages are also proving beneficial for HR professionals whose needs are often overlooked.

She added: “We were delighted to have been invited to sponsor and speak at today’s launch event.

“The services provided by The Mental Health Toolkit are extremely valuable to businesses – they are very straightforward and really help managers gain a better understanding of mental health.

“We are fully behind their message of making mental health education more accessible.”

The Mental Health Toolkit’s approach to training suggests that we all have 12 Emotional Needs that we need to meet in balance so that we can stay well. One of these needs is Community.

Essentially, meeting our need for Community means being a part of a group.

If we don’t feel like we are part of a group, we are at risk of social isolation which, in turn, could cause us to move into the stress end of the Mental Health Continuum.

For some people, the workplace is their community and they naturally meet this need at work. The workplace can also have community groups within the organisation, such as a green group (keeping the workplace eco-friendly) or an events committee. 

Some also find groups outside of work which enables them to have that essential work-life balance.

Getting your Community need met

If you’re looking to join a group at work, get in touch with your HR department. Your workplace may well have a variety of committees and groups available that you can be a part of.

Outside of work, you might want to think about an activity you have previously enjoyed and search for it within your local area. If there isn’t a group there already, make one!

Joining a group can be daunting, but reflecting on memories of how you enjoyed an activity can help you gain the confidence to do it.

Groups you can join with Suffolk Mind

If you’re keen to do good while meeting your need for Community, Suffolk Mind have a number of groups you can join:

GreenCare: If you’ve got a knack for gardening, Suffolk Mind’s GreenCare allotment projects might be the group for you. You can be a participant, or you could offer to volunteer your expertise.

Open Space: Open Space is a number of drop-in health and wellbeing groups across Suffolk, which are run by trained staff and supported with volunteers. There’s no need to sign-up, simply drop in to your nearest Open Space when you want to. Suffolk Mind is always looking for volunteers at the Open Space groups, so do get in touch with the team if you’d like to get involved.

Fundraising: If your workplace is looking for a charity to support, Suffolk Mind is always keen to hear from you. You can fundraise with friends or colleagues, or even speak to the Fundraising Team to see how best you can support them.

According to Suffolk Mind research, less than a fifth of full-time workers in are getting enough sleep.

Just 16.9% of 7,317 full-time workers surveyed said they are getting a healthy amount of sleep, which is one of every person’s 12 physical and emotional needs.

The figure was revealed as part of Suffolk Mind’s Emotional Needs Audit, an ongoing survey into the county’s mental health

Common barriers workers reported to sleep included their work situation (42.18% of respondents) and their workload (28.19%). The most prevalent was their overall physical and mental health at 54.1%.

Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education at Suffolk Mind, said the findings showcase the need for better mental health support in the workplace.

Ezra said: “All of us know the feeling of coming into work after a bad night’s sleep.

“Sleep is incredibly important to both our physical and mental health – so coming into the office when your mind and body haven’t had ample time to rest can be detrimental both to an employee’s wellbeing and a business’ overall output.

“There are so many factors behind the things that get in the way of a healthy sleep, but a great place to start – as highlighted in the barriers respondents have reported – is in the office.”

The Mental Health Toolkit offers a suite of training aimed at supporting workplace wellbeing

The Supporting Mental Health course helps build a healthy relationship between team members, directly influencing productivity, motivation and engagement while equipping people with the tools to better understand and manage their mental health.

Ezra added: “It is important change begins at the top to help build a more supportive management structure that’s in touch with the needs of its workforce.

“While workplace training isn’t going to help improve sleep overnight, it is a great first step in relieving the stresses staff may feel while helping them better understand their mental health.”

The relationship between a healthy work-life balance and the way we meet our emotional needs has been revealed thanks to research by The Mental Health Toolkit and Suffolk Mind.

The new findings, released as part of Workplace Wellbeing Week, come through our ongoing Emotional Needs Audit, run in partnership with Suffolk Mind.

So far receiving more than 25,000 responses, the audit asks people to rate how well they are meeting their needs from -3 to +3 – with a score of +1 considered “met”.

What does the research show?

Respondents to the Emotional Needs Audit are asked to report what their barriers are to meeting each of their 12 emotional needs.

For employed respondents, work-life balance or workload made up more than a quarter of the barriers reported to every need.

This included 52% who reported it as a barrier to meeting their need to give attention, while 56% said It was a barrier to feeling valued.

A further 40% of people said it got in the way of feeling secure in their lives, with another 39% saying it was a barrier to sleep.

Wendy Sheppard, Corporate Relationships Manager at Suffolk Mind and The Mental Health Toolkit, said: “All of us know how a stressful day at work can impact our home life – particularly when those difficult days begin to become a trend.

“This research has shown us just how much those days can impact our mental health, proving a barrier to every one of our emotional needs.

“As employers it is vital we recognise the warning signs of a poor work-life balance in our teams and offer support to those who need it.

“We cover these topics extensively in our online training sessions, designed to help you build long-term cultures of empowering support and wellbeing.”

Wendy added the report’s findings show the importance of our Emotional Needs Audit and the potential it has to change the ways we look at mental health.

She said: “These findings demonstrate the value of our Emotional Needs Audit and the important insights it gives us as an organisation.

“I would implore anyone yet to take part, or who hasn’t checked in recently, to spare five minutes at their desk and complete it. These stats make a huge difference in how we can better approach mental health.”

Find out more about our workshops and training.

Supporting Men’s Mental Health in the Workplace: A Call to Action for Businesses

Recent research from Suffolk Mind highlights a significant decline in how well men’s emotional and physical needs are being met. Unmet needs could lead to stress and impact men’s mental health. The findings, drawn from Suffolk Mind’s Emotional Needs Audit of over 25,000 responses, show that men’s emotional needs were 13% worse met in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23. This decline poses a substantial challenge for businesses aiming to foster a healthy, productive workforce.

Key findings:

Community: Needs were 21% worse met than the previous year.

Meaning and Purpose: Experienced a 20% decline.

Security: Fell by 18%.

Ezra Hewing, Head of Education at The Mental Health Toolkit (a workplace wellbeing training arm of Suffolk Mind), emphasised the importance of addressing unmet needs: “Men’s mental health is a big issue, and being aware that small changes can make a big difference is key.

“If someone is not meeting their physical and emotional needs for an extended period of time, this can lead to stress – which could progress to mental ill health.”

As businesse leaders, it is essential to prioritise men’s mental health. By ensuring they are aware of available support you are encouraging them to put their wellbeing first.

Workplace impact:

Work situation: 39% of men reported their work situation as a barrier to meeting their needs. This is up from 33% the previous year.

Relationships: 35% of men cited their relationships as a barrier, an increase from 29% in 2023.

Ezra further explained, “Some approaches to addressing mental health may not appeal to all men – they may prefer practical solutions rather than being told to open up about their feelings.

“Men express their emotions in different ways, and there is a risk that we end up alienating them, particularly if they value independence and self-reliance.

“There needs to be recognition that some men feel comfortable about sharing how they feel and asking for help, while there are those who don’t.

“The most important thing is to let men know there is support out there for them if they need it.”

Business action steps:

Implement practical solutions: Offer actionable, straightforward strategies that men can incorporate into their daily routines.

Foster a supportive environment: Create a workplace culture where all employees feel comfortable seeking help. Train line managers so they are equipped with the knowledge and tools to support their staff.

Diverse support options: Cater to the needs of your business and team. Provide various resources, from our suite of workshops and courses to 1-2-1 coaching sessions or Suffolk Mind’s counselling services.

By adopting these practices, businesses can enhance employee wellbeing. This in turn leads to improved job satisfaction, increased productivity, and a healthier workplace culture.

For more information on Suffolk Mind’s approach to men’s mental health, visit Suffolk Mind – Men and Emotions. www.suffolkmind.org.uk/advice-information/men-and-emotions

To explore the resources and courses available through The Mental Health Toolkit: https://www.thementalhealthtoolkit.co.uk/the-toolkit/explore/