Workplace Wellbeing: Why Organisations Are Looking Beyond Awareness

In recent years, many organisations have invested in mental health awareness training, wellbeing initiatives and employee support programmes.

These initiatives have played an important role in reducing stigma and encouraging open conversations around mental health.
However, HR leaders are increasingly recognising that awareness alone does not always change how work actually feels for employee’s day to day.

Recent reports from organisations such as CIPD and ACAS have highlighted the growing importance of creating workplaces that support psychological safety, sustainable workloads and confident leadership.

Many organisations are now asking deeper questions:
• Do managers feel equipped to handle difficult wellbeing conversations?
• Are employees able to speak up early when they are struggling?
• Is emotional labour shared across teams or concentrated in HR and a small number of managers?

Alongside this shift, legislation and guidance around flexible working, reasonable adjustments and workplace inclusion continue to evolve in the UK.

For example, the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which came into effect in 2024, give employees the right to request flexible working from the first day of employment. This change reflects a broader move towards more adaptable and inclusive workplaces.
As organisations navigate these changes, many are recognising the importance of developing leadership capability alongside wellbeing initiatives.

Human-sustainable workplaces don’t rely on reacting to problems once they escalate. Instead, they focus on creating the everyday conditions that allow people to perform well without gradually exhausting themselves.
This includes confident managers, psychologically safe teams and open conversations about the realities of modern work.

Menopause Action Plans: A New Step Forward for Workplace Support
In recent years, menopause has become a much more visible topic in workplace conversations. Many organisations have already begun introducing menopause awareness training, guidance for managers and policies designed to support employees experiencing symptoms.
Now, new legislation is set to move this conversation even further forward.

Under the upcoming UK Employment Rights Act 2025, large employers with 250 or more employees will be required to publish Menopause Action Plans outlining how they support staff experiencing menopause symptoms. While these plans will become mandatory from 2027, organisations will be able to begin voluntary reporting from 6 April 2026.

For many employers, this will be an opportunity not just to comply with new expectations, but to reflect more deeply on how menopause is currently experienced in their workplace.