How to Talk About Mental Health in the Workplace: Tips and Inspiration from Experts

Employee Mental Health: A Key to Organizational Success

Employee mental health plays a crucial role in the success of any organization, especially in challenging times. Burnout, depression, and other mental health crises are becoming increasingly common realities for both employees and their managers.

How can you recognize the early signs of trouble and effectively support your employees while maintaining your own boundaries?

In a conversation with Wojciech Wychowaniec, founder of The Presja Project, Paweł Dudek, an expert in change management and business development, shares practical tips and proven strategies. These insights can help create a healthy, empathetic workplace environment where everyone feels safe and empowered to pursue their professional goals.

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“Willful waste makes woeful want” was an English proverb often repeated by John D. Rockefeller’s mother.  

This phrase translates as: “Deliberate waste leads to lamentable lack” or, in a more positive version, “Good use of all available resources and avoiding waste brings wealth and prosperity to every person.”

Perhaps guided by this maxim, Rockefeller later remarked, “Finding and keeping the best employees is the most valuable skill. I would give everything I have, all my money, just to have that ability.”

A hundred years later, many of us echo this sentiment, facing no shortage of challenges. From the pandemic to the war beyond the eastern border, unpredictable global crises have shaken our fragile sense of security. Moreover, issues related to mental health have become visible and openly discussed within families, friend groups, and organizations.  

Wojciech Wychowaniec, founder of The Presja Project, with whom I recently corresponded, noted that the prevalence of these challenges, along with personal experiences, has encouraged readiness for conversation.  

"We are increasingly willing to help, paired with the awareness that we don’t know how, which accelerates our search for answers," he wrote.  

I asked Wojciech, who helps companies implement mental health solutions, if and how workplace conversations about depression and burnout should be approached.  

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The Role of Managers in Mental Health Conversations  

Wojciech wrote:  

First, it’s important to remember the roles within which such conversations should occur. 

- From a managerial perspective, if you’re speaking with an employee about their depression, it’s crucial to remember that their mental health is not your responsibility.  

- Your role is to ensure that the employee fulfills the commitments they agreed upon. To enable this, they might need something specific at the moment—such as leave, sick time, or a temporary adjustment.  

- However, it is not the manager’s role to ensure that the employee undergoes treatment. That is their responsibility.” 

To answer the question of “how to talk?”, Wojciech suggested two guiding principles:  

1. “Would you like to talk about it?”  

2. "What do you need in this situation?”  

"These two questions help establish the employee’s comfort zone and leave the agency on their side, while gathering information about what the organization might do."  

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Supporting Managers 

When asked how employers can support managers, Wojciech highlighted the importance of protecting them from taking on too much responsibility for their team’s mental health.  

"At the end of last year, as part of The Presja Project, we conducted focus research with HR employees, and the results were shocking. HR Business Partners often take on roles of diagnosticians, therapists, and psychologists, because they see this as part of their role in the organization."  

Employers can help by creating safety procedures for mental health-related reports. Wojciech recommended reflecting on the following questions:  

- What is the role of HR, and what is the role of managers?  

- What is the company responsible for, and what is it not?  

- How do employee benefit programs support those with a diagnosis—and where do they fall short?  

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Recognizing the Early Signs of Crisis 

When asked about addressing the first signs of mental health challenges, Wojciech emphasized:  

“Starting from a place of acceptance and understanding makes it hard to worsen the situation.”  

The risk lies in judging, belittling, or attacking. A helpful response could be:  

“I understand you’ve been going through something recently.”  

Wojciech advises using*dynamic language, which frames depression as a temporary state rather than a permanent characteristic. For example:  

- “I understand you’re feeling this way at the moment”* instead of *“I understand this is how you are.”  

To initiate a conversation, it can be effective to share your own impressions and feelings:  

- “I feel helpless/worried when I hear/see how you participate in meetings. It seems like you’ve become more withdrawn, like something has changed. Could we talk about this for a moment?”  

By expressing personal perceptions, there’s no need for the employee to feel defensive.  

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Understanding Burnout  

Wojciech described burnout as potentially manifesting in:  

- Isolation, reluctance to appear at work, and difficulty completing tasks.  

- The thought of changing jobs as a reflexive response.  

Burnout often stems not just from work conditions but from personal approaches to work:  

- Excessive self-demands, interpreting feedback as criticism, and equating professional setbacks with personal inadequacy.  

While work changes may be part of the solution, therapy helps individuals regain a sense of agency, allowing them to make decisions and take responsibility for their professional lives.  

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Collegial Support 

Wojciech noted that peer support differs from managerial support.  

"Supporting a manager involves a diagonal relationship, where the employee may (unconsciously) adopt a dependent position, and the manager may (also unconsciously) take on a parental role. This can reduce employee agency and overly engage the manager."  

For peer support among employees, it’s beneficial to foster empathetic, open teams. Wojciech suggests relying on humanity, intuition, and kindness, stating: “There’s no procedure here—just heart.”  

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Self-Care  

To conclude, Wojciech highlighted the importance of self-care:  

- Therapy or supervision: A valuable tool for reducing tension and achieving meaningful change, even without experiencing specific disorders.  

- Physical activity: Releases tension and stimulates natural antidepressants.  

- Healthy diet: Supports the nervous system.  

- Safe relationships: Invest in family and friends to foster security and belonging.  

He summed it up with a universal tip:  

"Take care of your needs. In therapy, processes often end with conclusions like: ‘I want to be gentler, more accepting, and more understanding of myself. I want to listen to my body and emotions. This will help me care for my needs. I am not perfect, but I am enough. I’m glad I’m here.’"  

As Akio Morita, one of Sony’s founders, once said:  

“Your business and its future are in the hands of the people you hire.” 

Let’s care for ourselves and them.

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Expert in Change Management and Business Development. A consultant with Silfra Consulting and Gekko AdvisoryNow, specializing in guiding organizations through complex transformations. Since 2020, he has served as an Organizational Change Manager (OCM) for international corporations in industries such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, energy, robotics, and automation.  Previously, he held roles including CEO of WARS S.A., and worked with companies like Bird & Bird, Medicover, and Norwich Union. He has also provided strategic advisory services to the boards of companies in telecommunications and professional services.  

He is an active educator, teaching MBA students at Kozminski University and the University of Warsaw. One of only five certified instructors in Poland for the American change management methodology Prosci®, he is a recognized authority in the field.  

Academic Achievements and Certifications:  

- Graduate of the Leadership Development Program at Harvard Business School (Boston).  

- Completed Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application at MIT Sloan School of Management.  

- Earned a postgraduate degree from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH).  

A leader in bridging business innovation with effective change management practices.

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Founder of The Presja Project. An expert in organizational well-being and mental health, he holds a degree in Psychology in Management from the Jagiellonian University. He is currently pursuing a PhD in social sciences, focusing on well-being in organizations at Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. He works as a therapist and consultant, specializing in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Additionally, he has completed a psychotherapy training program accredited by the Polish Psychiatric Association.  

As a trainer and consultant, he specializes in mental health and well-being, helping companies implement strategies to support mental health in the workplace. His work bridges therapeutic insights with practical organizational solutions, fostering healthier and more resilient environments.  

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