Mental Health at Work with teale: Understand It, Act on It

Mental health has entered the workplace — and it's here to stay

Since the global pandemic, mental health has become a central concern in HR strategies. But why should employers truly embrace the topic — and how can they take meaningful action?

This article breaks it down. You’ll find clear definitions, actionable steps, and good practices to protect and promote mental wellbeing at work.

Mental health: what are we talking about?

Mental health, defined

Often reduced to illness or psychological disorders, mental health is actually much broader.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as:

“a state of well-being in which every individual realizes their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to their community.”There is no health without mental health.

This definition clearly shows that mental and physical health are inseparable — and both are essential not only to personal wellbeing, but to professional success as well.

The 5 core components of mental health

Mental health includes multiple dimensions — and many of them are directly shaped by the workplace. Here are five key pillars:

• Self-regulation: managing stress, understanding and regulating emotions, and controlling impulses.
• Self-esteem: believing in your abilities, accepting yourself, and feeling useful.
• Interpersonal relationships: building positive connections, expressing emotions, and showing empathy.
• Resilience: adapting to change, staying optimistic, and overcoming challenges.
• Fulfillment: maintaining life balance and personal growth — through curiosity, learning, exploration, and meaningful experiences.

These are human needs — not just personal ones. They’re essential to thriving at work, too

Why take action on mental health?

As the saying goes: prevention is better than cure — and that applies just as much to mental health.

Meeting employee expectations, building a healthier workplace, complying with legal obligations, improving performance — there are many reasons for employers to care.

The stakes are high

Today’s reality is clear: stress, anxiety, and psychological distress are rising. The pandemic and ongoing job market disruptions have only amplified the trend.

According to teale’s Mental Health Barometer:

• 23% of employees are at risk of depression
• 30% have already considered quitting to protect their mental health

Without decisive action, this will only get worse — especially if working conditions continue to cause psychosocial risks and employers fail to prioritize quality of work life.

And let’s be clear: employers are legally responsible for protecting employee health.

But beyond compliance, investing in mental health has a strategic return. It improves:

• Talent retention
• Employee engagement
• Productivity and performance
• Employer brand

According to Deloitte, mental health–related issues — including absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover — can cost up to €3,000 per employee per year.

Mental wellbeing is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s a business imperative.

How to improve mental health at work

6 key practices to build a workplace mental health strategy

Ready to take action? Here’s how to get started — step by step.

1. Assess your current situation

Begin with a clear audit of your company’s strengths and weaknesses.

Use available data:

• Absenteeism
• Sick leave frequency
• Turnover rate
• Reported cases of burnout
• Existing psychosocial risk assessments

These indicators give you a first snapshot of wellbeing at work.

Also include employee feedback, via surveys or interviews. A Wellbeing barometer, run once or twice a year, can help track progress and guide future decisions.

💡 Tip: Bringing in an external expert can speed up this process, provide useful tools, and reveal blind spots you may not have considered.

2. Get leadership on board

A detailed diagnosis is a great first step — but without C-level buy-in, your mental health strategy won’t go far.

Here are three arguments to help you build the case:

• Mental health = health: Just like physical wellbeing, mental health deserves proactive care — not just crisis management.
• It affects everyone: From sleep disorders to bereavement and stress, mental health challenges can hit anyone, including your leadership team.
• It’s financially smart: Poor mental health hurts performance, productivity, and reputation. Companies that don’t address it risk falling behind — with higher costs and higher attrition.

Come prepared: bring data, a budget estimate, an implementation roadmap, and examples of external partners. This demonstrates ownership and credibility.

3. Communicate clearly and consistently

Raising awareness is essential to break the taboo around mental health.

Use internal events to spark conversation:

• A kick-off meeting: What is mental health? Why does it matter?
• A mental health onboarding module for new hires
• Ongoing visibility in internal comms

Managers play a key role. Train them to become ambassadors of your mental health policy — and involve them in promoting available resources.

🤝 Best practice: Take inspiration from Rtone, a product development studio that created an internal mental health squad — a cross-functional group including HR and employees passionate about wellbeing. This team helped promote resources, propose workshops, and keep the topic alive internally.

4. Use digital therapy tools for early intervention

Reacting to crises is necessary — but preventing them is better.

To do that, equip employees with practical tools for daily self-care and mental resilience.

Move beyond classic Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), which often go underused due to lack of personalization.

Instead, look for solutions that offer:

• Tailored content
• Concrete actions
• Mobile access to resources

In short: make technology your ally in driving engagement and adoption.

5. Build a culture of wellbeing through concrete actions

Raising awareness is a first step. Prevention programs are the second. But lasting change requires structural support.

Here are a few levers:

• Train managers on mental health, communication, trust-building
• Adapt physical environments: ergonomic furniture, quiet zones, break areas
• Rethink work organization: clear task distribution, time management training, remote work
• Encourage career development: internal mobility, upskilling, mentoring
• Reduce workplace stressors: job insecurity, change management, digital overload

These examples are not exhaustive. Each company should tailor its actions to its industry, size, and employees’ needs.

6. Measure your long-term impact

To track progress, you need data. Define a set of monthly indicators, by team if possible, and build a dashboard.

The goal:

• Monitor improvements
• Identify risks early
• Guide targeted collective actions

Over time, this can help transform your company culture and embed wellbeing into your DNA.

Ready to act? teale can help.

As an HR leader, you play a key role in shaping your company's approach to mental health.

Our solution at teale offers a holistic program based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — combining:

• Individual support for each employee
• Organizational-level insights to identify and resolve issues early

From needs analysis to internal communication and impact tracking, teale helps you make your mental health strategy a success.

And thanks to a custom dashboard, you can define measurable objectives and monitor their evolution over time.

🎯 Want to know more? Book a meeting with us to discuss your needs.