What If More People at Work Knew How to Help?
Written by Dr. Bill Howatt, in partnership with Crisis-Ready Workplace Premier Partner, Excellence Canada
Most employees spend a significant part of their lives with coworkers. Yet noticing that a colleague may be struggling and knowing how to respond are two different things. The signs are not always obvious. An engaged employee becomes quiet. A dependable colleague begins missing deadlines. Someone who regularly joins conversations starts withdrawing or appears unusually distracted, frustrated, or exhausted.
A change in behaviour does not necessarily mean that a person is experiencing a mental health concern or crisis. It may simply mean they are having a difficult day. However, observable changes can provide an opportunity for human connection. A healthy workplace is not one where nobody experiences difficulty. It is one where people are more likely to notice, care, and know how to respond appropriately.
Awareness: When Everyone Notices but Nobody Acts
Imagine an employee named Sam who is usually positive, dependable, and engaged. Over several weeks, Sam becomes quieter, stops joining coworkers for lunch, and appears overwhelmed in meetings. Sam’s colleagues notice the changes, but no one says anything. One person assumes Sam wants privacy. Another is afraid of saying the wrong thing. Someone else believes it is the manager’s or HR’s responsibility. Everyone notices, but nobody acts.
Now imagine one colleague approaching Sam privately and saying: “You don’t seem like yourself lately. I may be wrong, but I wanted to check in. How are you doing?”
That brief conversation may not solve Sam’s problem. Sam may not even want to talk. However, the question communicates something important: You have been noticed, and you matter.
People often hesitate to approach a struggling colleague because they believe they must have the perfect words or be able to fix the situation. Neither is necessary.
Small moments of connection can reduce isolation and make it easier for someone to consider asking for help. Sometimes the most meaningful first step is simply knowing that another person cares enough to ask.
Shared Responsibility: Everyone Has a Role
Organizations are responsible for creating healthy and psychologically safe working conditions. Leaders influence whether employees feel respected, supported, and comfortable raising concerns. HR, wellbeing teams, and workplace programs provide policies, education, resources, and access to support. However, a healthy workplace is a shared responsibility.
Employees help shape workplace culture through their everyday choices. They decide whether to include or exclude, listen or dismiss, approach or avoid. These behaviours influence whether people feel connected and valued or isolated and invisible. Supporting workplace wellbeing is a form of good workplace citizenship.
It does not mean becoming a counsellor, diagnosing a colleague, investigating their personal circumstances, or taking responsibility for solving their problem. Helping responsibly means knowing both what you can do and where your role ends.
“People can care deeply about their colleagues and still feel unsure about how to help when someone is struggling. Building the confidence to check in, listen and connect someone with support shows compassion and contributes to a respectful, psychologically safe workplace culture.” Jennifer Elia, Head of Partnerships & Growth and Organizational Performance Advisor, Excellence Canada
A simple approach is the HELP model:
Have the courage to notice - Pay attention when a colleague’s behaviour or usual pattern changes. Do not assume you know what is happening, but do not ignore what you observe.
Engage with humanity - Approach the person privately, calmly, and without judgment. Describe what you have noticed rather than making assumptions about the cause.
Listen without trying to fix - Give the person space to speak. Avoid interrupting, comparing their situation with your own, or immediately offering solutions. Listening can be helpful even when you do not have an answer.
Point toward support - Encourage the person to consider an appropriate workplace, community, or professional resource. If there appears to be an immediate risk of harm, follow established workplace emergency or crisis-response procedures rather than attempting to manage the situation alone.
Boundaries matter throughout the HELP model to respect the person’s privacy, choices and your own limits. Offer connection without pressing for personal details.
Normalize Respectful Check-ins
Leaders can make a difference by making respectful check-ins a regular practice. This includes asking how people are doing, listening carefully, validating what’s heard, regularly reminding employees about available resources, and ensuring that seeking support is not treated as weakness.
Employees can make a difference by acting when they notice a meaningful change. A helpful conversation can begin with: “I’ve noticed you seem quieter than usual. I wanted to check in and see how you are doing.”
If the person does not want to talk, respect that choice. Let them know you are available and, where appropriate, remind them of workplacesupports. The goal is not to force a disclosure. It is to open a door.
Each of us can ask: If someone around me were struggling, would they experience me as a person who notices, listens, and helps them connect with support?
One Conversation Can Matter
Policies, benefits, wellbeing programs, and leadership commitments are essential. But workplace culture comes alive through behaviour. A healthier workplace is created when people understand that checking in is not interfering, listening does not require fixing, and connecting someone with support can be a meaningful act of care.
This Healthy Workplace Month, consider who around you may benefit from being noticed, listened to, or encouraged. You do not need to have all the answers. Sometimes helping begins by ensuring that another person does not feel invisible. Creating a healthier workplace may begin with a strategy, but it grows through one caring conversation at a time.
You do not need all the answers. You can learn how to help.
Crisis-Ready Interventionist® Certification equips employees, people leaders and workplace wellbeing champions with practical skills to recognize when someone may be struggling, start a supportive conversation and connect them with appropriate help, while understanding where their role ends.
This Healthy Workplace Month, take the next step for yourself or your team.
Build the confidence and capability to help → Learn More
Build the confidence to check in, listen and connect.
Understand what employees may be carrying beneath the surface. Download your complimentary e-book, The Coping Crisis, and start with a deeper understanding.
