Marking Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness month. According to the Mental Health UK 2026 Burnout Report, 1 in 5 workers took time off of work due to poor mental health caused by stress, rising to two in five (39%) amongst young adults (aged 18-24).
The report highlights the top drivers of stress in the workplace were:
- High or increased workload
- Regularly working unpaid overtime beyond contracted hours
- Fears around redundancy and job security
- Poor sleep
- Money worries
- Poor physical health
It’s important to schedule in time to reflect on how we support our colleagues not just through policies and benefits, but through the everyday tools they rely on. One of the most overlooked (yet powerful) tools in this space is your company intranet.
When designed thoughtfully, your intranet can become far more than a place to find documents. It can act as a central hub for connection, communication, and wellbeing helping employees feel supported, informed, and less alone.
Why your intranet matters for mental health
With hybrid and frontline teams being commonplace, employees can sometimes feel disconnected. Important information can get lost, support can feel hard to access, and communication can feel one-directional.
A well-designed intranet helps tackle some of the core contributors to workplace stress we mentioned earlier, such as uncertainty, lack of communication and feeling isolated and difficulty accessing support.
By improving these areas, you’re not just enhancing productivity, you’re actively supporting mental wellbeing.
Here are 6 ways in which your intranet can help support your colleagues mental wellbeing:
1. Making support visible and accessible
One of the biggest barriers to mental health support is simply knowing where to go.
Your intranet can act as a single, trusted place where employees can easily find:
- Mental health resources and guides
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) details
- Wellbeing policies and support options
- Contacts for HR or wellbeing champions
- Share leadership messages that normalise mental health conversations
- Highlight personal stories (where appropriate)
- Promote awareness campaigns during key moments like Mental Health Awareness Month
- Access support anytime, anywhere
- Stay informed without needing a desk
- Feel included in company-wide conversations
- Centralising communication
- Personalising content so employees see what’s relevant to them
- Reducing noise and duplication
- Enabling social spaces or communities
- Celebrating team achievements and milestones
- Promoting events, wellbeing initiatives, or group activities
- Understand how employees are feeling
- Identify trends or areas of concern
- Take action based on real insight
- Reduce stress
- Improve access to support
- Strengthen connection
- Build a more open, supportive culture
The key is visibility. If employees have to search too hard, they won’t engage, especially when they’re already struggling.
2. Creating a culture of openness
Mental health support isn’t just about resources, it’s about culture.
Your intranet provides a platform to:
This kind of content helps reduce stigma and encourages employees to speak up when they need support.
3. Supporting frontline and deskless workers
Frontline employees are often the hardest to reach and the most at risk of feeling disconnected.
A mobile-friendly intranet ensures they can:
This inclusivity is critical for mental wellbeing. Feeling “out of the loop” can quickly turn into disengagement and stress.
4. Reducing information overload
Too many tools, too many messages, too many places to check is a common source of workplace anxiety.
An effective intranet can reduce this source of stress and simplify the experience by:
When employees know where to go and what matters, it removes a significant layer of daily stress.
5. Encouraging connection and community
Human connection is one of the most important factors in mental wellbeing.
Your intranet can help foster this by:
Even small moments of connection, comments, likes, recognition can make a meaningful difference.
6. Providing a pulse on employee wellbeing
Finally, your intranet can help you listen, not just communicate.
Through surveys, polls, and feedback tools, you can:
This creates a feedback loop where employees feel heard and that in itself supports wellbeing.
Takeaway
Mental health support doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. Often, it’s about making better use of the tools you already have.
Your intranet sits at the heart of the employee experience. When it’s designed with people in mind, it can:
As we recognise Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s a good time to ask, Is your intranet actively supporting your colleagues?
If you’d like help reviewing how your intranet supports employee wellbeing, or exploring ways to improve it, we’d be happy to chat.
