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Mental health games for employees can be a simple way for employers to create a supportive environment for workplace conversations about wellbeing, reduce stigma, and help teams better understand the supports that are available to them. But in a workplace, how these activities are introduced and facilitated matters.
Conversations about mental health can affect people differently. What feels like a harmless team activity to one person may feel uncomfortable or intrusive to another, particularly when it involves sharing personal feelings and experiences.
Used appropriately, these activities can raise awareness and build team morale. Each activity should have a clear mental health purpose, while ensuring employees never feel pressured to participate or disclose private experiences.
Workplace mental health games should be inclusive, pressure-free and focused on education rather than personal disclosure.
Before launching any activity, pinpoint some ground rules:
Do not ask about personal mental health history
Structured training can complement mental health activities for workplace wellbeing initiatives by equipping managers and employees with practical skills to recognise and respond to mental health concerns.
Mental health activities should be easy to run, engaging and informative, with a clear mental health purpose.
Check-in cards use neutral prompts to encourage individual reflection without requiring personal disclosure.
Participants can select generic questions like:
Employees should always have the option to skip a question.
Myths about mental ill-health can create confusion and stigma in workplaces. A simple myth vs fact quiz can help employees learn about topics such as workplace stress, burnout, help-seeking and stigma.
It’s important to keep this conversation broad and focused on correcting misconceptions, rather than personal experiences.
Stress can show up differently from person to person, including at work.
Ask employees in small groups to identify common signs of workplace stress, such as:
This activity encourages team members to reflect on their strengths and consider how they can contribute to a supportive workplace culture
Each person identifies one personal strength they bring to the team and one helpful behaviour they can offer their colleagues, such as:
Employees cannot access available support if they do not know where to find it.
Create a short workplace challenge where teams identify important mental health and wellbeing resources such as:
Simple workplace scenarios allow employees and managers to practice respectful check-in conversations without discussing personal experiences.
For example, participants could explore how to respond to a colleague showing signs of stress or withdrawal.
The emphasis in these conversations should remain on listening, showing empathy, and offering appropriate support, rather than offering solutions.
It is important to explain that employees should never be asked to role-play personal trauma.
Explain the purpose of the activity beforehand and reassure employees that participation is optional. Avoid unexpected activities that require emotional or personal storytelling, and set expectations and boundaries at the start of each exercise.
Linking games to broader initiatives around team morale and mental health awareness, such as Mental Health Month or national mental health days, can also help provide context and purpose.
While games and general activities help start conversations and raise awareness, they should not replace structured training or professional support.
Creating a mentally healthy workplace requires a broader approach. Managers and HR teams need the right training and resources to recognise when someone may need support, respond appropriately and know where to direct them for help. Clear workplace policies and procedures, and access to professional support, are also important.
Mental health games for employees can make conversations about physical and mental health more manageable in the workplace when created and delivered professionally.
However, games should only serve as a starting point for deeper discussions about mental health. They cannot replace structured Mental Health First Aid [B1] training, which gives employees, managers and leaders the practical skills and confidence to recognise and respond to mental health concerns.
For organisations wanting to take the next step, find out more about structured Workplace Mental Health training [B2] courses.
Mental health games for employees are engaging and informative workplace activities that promote help-seeking, encourage respectful workplace check-ins and ensure staff know how to find information about mental health support and organisational resources.
Yes, mental health activities are suitable for most workplaces and teams as long as the games are voluntary, inclusive, and appropriate for employees with different mental health conditions.
HR teams and managers should make activities voluntary, clearly explain their purpose and provide appropriate support pathways. Workplace activities should complement, rather than replace, professional mental health training.
