What are the best mental health activities at work?

The best mental health activities at work are practical, optional and linked to real support. Strong options include mental health awareness talks, manager conversation training, stress risk reviews, team norms workshops, mindfulness sessions, connection walks and signposting campaigns. Choose activities that reduce stigma without asking employees to share personal health information in a group.

How often should we run mental health activities?

Most workplaces benefit from a light year-round rhythm rather than one large annual event. For example, run quarterly awareness or skills sessions, monthly manager check-ins on workload, and a focused campaign during Mental Health Awareness Week. The right frequency depends on team pressure, size and available support capacity.

Should mental health activities be mandatory?

Most mental health activities should be optional, especially sessions involving personal reflection, discussion or wellbeing practices such as mindfulness. Mandatory attendance can make employees uncomfortable and reduce trust. Manager training, policy briefings and workload risk reviews can be required because they relate directly to management responsibilities and workplace safety.

How much do workplace mental health activities cost in the UK?

Typical UK costs range from under £100 for internal signposting and quiet room materials to around £300 to £900 for a virtual talk. Half-day in-person workshops often cost approximately £900 to £2,500. Accredited mental health first aid training is commonly around £200 to £350 per person, depending on provider and course type.

What should we avoid when planning mental health activities at work?

Avoid forced disclosure, public sharing exercises, overpromising confidentiality, using unqualified speakers for sensitive topics, or treating serious mental health issues as a morale activity. Also avoid running awareness sessions without clear signposting afterwards. Employees need to know what support exists and what managers will do with any concerns raised.

How can small businesses run mental health activities on a low budget?

Small businesses can start with low-cost actions: publish support contacts, train managers in basic wellbeing conversations, run a team norms session, create meeting-free focus blocks and use free resources from reputable charities or NHS sources. If budget allows, add one external expert session on stress or burnout for a focused, practical starting point.

Mental Health Activities at Work

Practical, low-pressure activities to help UK teams talk about mental health, reduce stress and know where to get support.

5 min read

The short answer

Mental health activities at work should be practical, optional and clearly linked to support, not one-off awareness gestures. Good options include manager training, stress risk reviews, wellbeing workshops, mental health first aid refreshers, peer support sessions, quiet wellbeing spaces, charity activities and team check-ins built into the working year.

What are good mental health activities at work?

Good mental health activities at work help employees understand common pressures, reduce stigma and find support early. They should never force people to disclose personal issues or treat wellbeing as entertainment. The best activities are structured, inclusive and connected to your wider people policies.

For most UK workplaces, a balanced programme includes:

Awareness sessions explaining stress, burnout, anxiety and available support.
Skills-based workshops on sleep, resilience, workload boundaries or managing pressure.
Manager training so line managers can spot concerns and respond appropriately.
Team activities that build connection without creating awkward personal sharing.
Quiet or reflective sessions such as mindfulness, breathwork or journalling.
Signposting to employee assistance programmes, occupational health, HR contacts, mental health first aiders or external charities.

The aim is not to diagnose or solve mental health issues at work. It is to create safer conversations, reduce avoidable pressure and make support easier to access.

If you are building this into a broader wellbeing plan, see our parent guide to Employee Wellbeing and Engagement Events.

How should you plan mental health activities safely?

Mental health topics need more care than a standard social event. Employees may have lived experience, be currently struggling, or prefer to keep their health private. Good planning protects them and your organisers.

Set clear objectives

Choose one or two outcomes before picking an activity. For example:

Improve awareness of support channels.
Help managers have better wellbeing conversations.
Reduce stress around peak workload periods.
Encourage social connection in hybrid teams.
Mark Mental Health Awareness Week in a meaningful way.

Avoid vague aims such as “boost morale” unless you can define what will change afterwards.

Make participation optional

Mental health activities should usually be opt-in, especially anything involving discussion, reflection or personal topics. If you run a company-wide session, allow people to keep cameras off, avoid breakout discussions and submit questions anonymously.

Use qualified facilitators where needed

For subjects such as trauma, suicide awareness, addiction, grief or serious anxiety, use a qualified trainer or clinician. For lighter topics such as habit building, sleep or mindfulness, an experienced workplace wellbeing facilitator may be suitable.

Typical UK costs vary by format:

45 to 60-minute virtual talk: approximately £300 to £900.
Half-day in-person workshop: approximately £900 to £2,500.
Accredited mental health first aid training: approximately £200 to £350 per person, depending on course type and provider.
Wellbeing activity session, such as mindfulness or creative reset: approximately £25 to £75 per person, often with minimum fees.

Brief managers and HR first

Before any campaign, check that managers know:

What support is available internally.
How to respond if someone discloses a concern.
What not to promise, such as confidentiality beyond safeguarding limits.
How to escalate immediate risk.
How to make reasonable adjustments or refer to HR.

This stops a well-intentioned event creating more uncertainty afterwards.

Which mental health awareness activities work best for office teams?

Office-based teams often benefit from short, visible activities that fit around meetings and avoid taking a whole day out of delivery. Aim for a mix of education, interaction and quiet options.

1. Mental health awareness lunch and learn

Run a 45-minute session during lunchtime or late morning. Keep it practical:

10 minutes: what mental health means at work.
10 minutes: signs of stress and burnout.
10 minutes: what support exists.
10 minutes: manager and colleague do’s and don’ts.
5 minutes: anonymous questions.

Provide a one-page follow-up with support links, internal contacts and emergency resources. If lunch is provided, budget approximately £8 to £15 per person for simple catering.

2. Stress container workshop

This is a practical group session where employees identify pressure points and separate what they can control, influence or escalate. It works well for teams under heavy deadlines.

Suggested format for 60 minutes:

Individually list current stressors.
Group them under control, influence and outside control.
Pick two team-level actions, such as clearer deadlines or meeting-free focus blocks.
Assign owners and review in two weeks.

Keep outputs focused on work systems, not personal disclosures.

3. Quiet wellbeing room

For a wellbeing day or awareness week, set aside a room for calm, private decompression. Include:

Soft seating or clear desk space.
Low lighting if possible.
No calls or meetings.
Printed support information.
Optional guided audio or breathing cards.
A booking sheet if space is limited.

This is low cost, usually under £100 for printed materials and simple supplies, but it sends a useful message that rest does not have to be performative.

4. Mindfulness or breathwork session

A 20 to 30-minute guided session can work well at the start or end of the day. Make it secular, accessible and optional. Tell employees what to expect in advance, as some people dislike closing their eyes or sitting still in a group.

Budget approximately £250 to £700 for a workplace facilitator, depending on group size and whether the session is virtual or in person. You can find relevant formats through wellness events if you want external support.

What activities help managers support mental health?

Managers are often the first people to notice changes in behaviour, performance or attendance. They do not need to become counsellors, but they do need confidence, boundaries and a clear route to help.

Mental health conversation training

A practical 90-minute to half-day session should cover:

How to notice changes without making assumptions.
How to open a private conversation.
What language to use and avoid.
How to document concerns appropriately.
How to agree short-term work adjustments.
When to involve HR, occupational health or emergency support.

A useful role-play might practise saying: “I’ve noticed you seem under more pressure than usual and I wanted to check in. Is there anything work-related that would help?”

Workload and stress risk review

Under UK health and safety duties, employers should consider work-related stress risks. An activity-based review can turn this from paperwork into action.

For each team, ask managers to review:

Demands: workload, deadlines, conflicting priorities.
Control: autonomy over tasks and schedule.
Support: manager access, peer help, training.
Relationships: conflict, isolation, poor behaviour.
Role: clarity of responsibilities.
Change: communication around restructures or new systems.

Run this as a 60-minute manager workshop, then agree two practical changes per team. Examples include reducing recurring meetings by 20%, introducing protected lunch breaks, or creating a clearer escalation route for urgent work.

Mental health first aider refresh

If you already have mental health first aiders, run a quarterly 60-minute refresh. Cover anonymised themes, boundaries, visibility and referral routes. Do not let first aiders become an unofficial counselling service. They need time, supervision and a clear remit.

The best team activities make mental health normal to discuss while keeping privacy intact. Avoid exercises where employees must reveal personal struggles in front of colleagues.

Connection walks

Pair people for a 25 to 40-minute walk, ideally during daylight. Give light prompts, such as:

What helps you reset during a busy week?
What makes collaboration easier for you?
What is one small work habit you want to protect?

This works for office teams and local hybrid teams. Costs are minimal unless you add refreshments, typically £3 to £8 per person.

Creative reset session

Art, clay, candle making, terrarium building or simple craft sessions can provide a calm shared focus without requiring deep conversation. Keep the framing around relaxation and connection, not therapy.

Typical cost is approximately £35 to £85 per person, depending on materials, location and facilitation. For broader activity options, explore team building events.

Volunteering or charitable activity

Purposeful activity can support connection and mood, particularly when it is well organised and genuinely useful. Options might include assembling care packs, fundraising challenges, skills-based volunteering or environmental clean-ups.

Be careful not to present volunteering as a cure for poor workplace conditions. It works best alongside workload improvements and proper support. You can browse charitable events for suitable formats, and our sibling guide to Charity and CSR Team Events: Doing Good Together explains how to plan these responsibly.

Team norms workshop

This is one of the most useful low-cost mental health activities at work because it addresses daily friction. In 60 minutes, agree practical norms such as:

Core collaboration hours.
Expected response times for email and chat.
When to call instead of message.
Meeting-free blocks.
How to raise capacity issues early.
How holidays and handovers should work.

Document the norms on one page and review them monthly for the first quarter.

How can you run a mental health awareness week?

A full awareness week works best when it has a simple theme, varied formats and a clear follow-up. Do not pack every day with sessions. Employees still need time to do their jobs.

A practical five-day plan could look like this:

Monday: Launch and signposting. Send a short note from leadership, confirm support routes and publish the week’s timetable.
Tuesday: Expert talk. Run a 45-minute session on stress, burnout or sleep.
Wednesday: Team action. Hold a stress container workshop or team norms session.
Thursday: Quiet reset. Offer mindfulness, a wellbeing room or connection walks.
Friday: Manager focus. Train managers or run a workload review planning session.

For a 50-person office, an approximate budget might be:

External speaker: £500 to £1,200.
Mindfulness or creative session: £500 to £2,000, depending on group size.
Catering and refreshments: £400 to £750.
Printed materials and room setup: £50 to £200.

Total typical budget: approximately £1,450 to £4,150. A smaller programme can be delivered for less by using internal communications, manager-led discussions and one external session.

How do you measure whether the activities helped?

Mental health work should be measured carefully. You are not trying to prove that one workshop “fixed” wellbeing. You are checking whether employees found it useful and whether the workplace is becoming easier to navigate.

Use a short anonymous pulse survey within one week. Ask employees to rate:

I know where to find mental health support at work.
I feel able to raise workload concerns with my manager.
The activity was useful and respectful.
I would attend a similar session again.
What one practical change would help most?

Track participation, but do not pressure teams to attend. Also monitor practical indicators over time, such as EAP awareness, manager confidence, sickness absence themes, employee relations issues and workload feedback.

Most importantly, publish what will happen next. For example: “You asked for fewer late meetings, clearer handovers and better signposting. We are trialling core meeting hours from next month and updating the wellbeing page this week.” That visible follow-through is what turns awareness into trust.

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