I’ve taught mental health training to thousands of Australians. Here’s what I wish every workplace knew

If you’re a leader, you have more influence than you realise. The way you respond to one person’s distress could change their life. The way you role model wellbeing could give your team permission to care for theirs, writes Suzi Evans.

Content warning: This story contains references that may be distressing for some readers. Discretion is advised.

Losing a child to suicide is, without question, the most devastating thing I’ve ever lived through.

It cracks something open in you – and it never quite closes again.

Since my son Murray – Muzza, as I called him – took his own life, I’ve shared our story across Australia. Not because it’s easy, but because it matters.

And here’s what I’ve learned: when it comes to mental health, we’re still scared to say the things that could save a life.

As an accredited Mental Health First Aid trainer, I’ve taught thousands of Australians how to spot the signs of distress, respond, and support someone through mental health challenges.

But too often, we’re catching people after they’ve already broken. A colleague has burnt out. A friend is spiralling. A team member is masking the weight they’re carrying until it’s too heavy to hide. By the time we notice, they’re already drowning.

We tell ourselves we’re doing enough – an EAP flyer in the lunchroom, a mental health day once a year – but let’s be honest: there’s so much more we could be doing.

In fact, there are simple, powerful things every leader – every human – can do to shift the dial on mental health in this country.

And it starts with this: having the courage to talk about it before it’s too late.

Here’s what I wish more people understood about mental health – and what you can start doing today.

The question you’re too scared to ask could save a life

When someone is struggling, we often hesitate. We worry we’ll say the wrong thing. But silence is far more dangerous than asking the hard question.

One of the most powerful tools I teach in Mental Health First Aid is this: ask directly. “Are you thinking about suicide?” It might feel confronting, but research shows it doesn’t plant the idea.

What it does is create an opening – a moment of safety. A chance to talk. A way out. And if they say yes? You don’t need to fix it. Just stay present. Listen. Encourage support from a professional. Your calm presence could make all the difference.

The best workplaces normalise mental health conversations the same way they talk about physical health and safety.

Mental health and mental illness have been conflated. We talk about “mental health days”. We wait until someone is really unwell before we pay attention.

But just like physical health, mental health exists on a spectrum – and we all have it, every single day. It’s time we reframe the conversation. Instead of only focusing on illness, let’s start talking about mental fitness – the everyday habits, tools, and strategies that help us stay well, build resilience, and bounce back when life gets hard.

You wouldn’t wait for a heart attack to start caring about your physical health. So why wait for burnout or breakdown before investing in your mental fitness?

Protect your people, protect your organisation

These days, it’s not just a nice-to-have. Under Australian workplace laws, employers have a legal duty to identify and manage psychosocial risks, including high job demands, poor support, and burnout. Mental health is part of your safety obligations. If your systems and culture aren’t supporting psychological wellbeing, you’re not just failing your people – you could be failing to meet your legal responsibilities too.

If your people don’t feel safe to speak up, they won’t

Trust is everything. Workplaces that genuinely support mental health create permission. Permission to be human. To not be OK. To ask for help. A workplace culture that doesn’t just say “we’re here for you”, but actually shows it. One where vulnerability isn’t treated as weakness, and where managers don’t feel out of their depth when someone says, “I’m not coping.” Don’t just ask “are you OK?” Create the kind of culture where someone can answer honestly.

Some leaders worry that encouraging openness will “open a can of worms” – that people will be emotional all the time. The truth is, the opposite usually happens. When people feel safe, they don’t need to pretend everything’s fine until it implodes. They’re more likely to flag things early, seek help, take action sooner, and recover faster.

Which is exactly what we’d expect if someone accidentally cut themselves at work or sprained their ankle. You wouldn’t say, “Well, if we put a first-aid kit in the lunchroom, everyone will suddenly start slicing their fingers and spraining ankles.” You’d just be glad people had the means to treat a problem before it got worse. Mental health deserves the same common sense.

EAPs aren’t enough – because most people won’t use them

The typical uptake of employee assistance programs in Australia is around 5 per cent. That means 95 per cent of your staff will never call the number – even when they’re struggling. Why? Lack of awareness. Stigma. Fear of confidentiality breaches. Or simply not identifying as “sick enough” to justify picking up the phone.

Many employees sit in the grey zone – not unwell enough for a diagnosis, but not well enough to cope or thrive. These are the employees who come to work exhausted, disengaged, or on edge. The ones who tell themselves to “push through” until they can’t anymore. And they’re often the ones leaders miss. If you’re relying solely on your EAP, you’re leaving the bulk of your workforce unsupported.

Treat your mind like a workbench

My late son was a carpenter. His favourite place was the workbench – a spot to build, fix, and make sense of things. After he died, I created a program in his honour: Workbench for the Mind, a self-paced course that has been accredited by Suicide Prevention Australia that helps people identify the tools they already have to manage stress – and the ones they need to cultivate.

It’s about practical, proactive mental fitness. The habits that keep us grounded before things fall apart. One of the simplest, most powerful things an organisation can do is ask: What helps you protect your mental health? What tools do you already have – and what do you still need? Do your people have what they need on their mental workbench?

And here’s the thing: people don’t always need “fixing”. Often, they just need the tools to help themselves. We’ve lost confidence in our own ability to recognise what our body and brain are telling us under stress. If we could understand the basics of how stress affects our brain–body connection, and have a few simple tools to respond, we’d be far better equipped to cope long before things reach crisis point.

Every workplace should be talking about this

We’re still losing too many people to suicide. And often, the warning signs were there – we just didn’t know how to see them, or what to say when we did.

If you’re a leader, you have more influence than you realise. The way you respond to one person’s distress could change their life. The way you role model wellbeing could give your team permission to care for theirs.

So ask the question. Take the training. Build a workplace where people can be human – and know they’ll be met with support, not silence.

Suzi Evans is an experienced mental health and mental fitness educator and trainer, the author of Grief, and the creator of Workbench for the Mind, which has been accredited by Suicide Prevention Australia.

Help is available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636.