Most organisations now provide wellbeing support, often through employee assistance programmes (EAPs) alongside other services. In the UK, 96% of employers offer access to services outside the healthcare system, and employee wellbeing is firmly on senior leaders’ agendas.
Yet despite this progress, usage of wellbeing support remains strikingly low. Globally, only 5–7% of employees use the support their employer pays for. The issue isn’t lack of intention or investment, it’s that access alone doesn’t guarantee people feel able to use it.
At the heart of this gap sits fear and silence.
The access paradox
On paper, workplace wellbeing provision has never been stronger. EAPs, counselling services, occupational health and digital wellbeing platforms are now commonplace, providing important access to professional support when people need it.
But high provision does not automatically translate into high uptake.
This is the access paradox: support exists, yet many employees don’t engage with it until issues have escalated or not at all. Availability does not equal accessibility.
One reason for this is that many wellbeing approaches still rely on individuals recognising a problem and taking the step to ask for help themselves. In practice, help-seeking is strongly influenced by mindset and social cues. People are more likely to reach out when asking for support feels normal, encouraged and supported by those around them.
Where organisational culture does not actively reinforce this, through everyday conversations, visible leadership behaviours and confident managers, individuals can be left carrying the responsibility alone, even when support is readily available.
A culture of fear
In many organisations, wellbeing conversations are shaped by caution on both sides.
Employees often worry about:
- Stigma or being treated differently
- Disclosing health conditions or disabilities
- Damage to career progression or professional reputation
At the same time, employers and line managers frequently express their own concerns:
- Fear of saying the wrong thing
- Anxiety about causing offence
- Worry that raising health issues could trigger grievances, formal processes or legal escalation
The result is not a lack of care, but a lack of conversation.
Fear creates distance at exactly the moments when dialogue is most needed. Instead of early, supportive discussions, silence takes hold and issues surface later, when they are more complex and harder to address.
EAPs and the environment around them
Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) play a vital role in supporting employees, particularly during periods of crisis or acute need. Accessing support at any stage can make a meaningful difference, and it is never too late to seek help.
However, the environment around EAPs influences when and how they are used. In workplaces where wellbeing conversations feel difficult to initiate, or where managers lack confidence to engage early, support is more likely to be accessed later, once issues have intensified.
By contrast, when organisations actively build a culture that encourages open dialogue and confident support, EAPs can be used both reactively and proactively, supporting individuals through immediate challenges, while also enabling earlier intervention and better outcomes over time.
What the evidence tells us
The CIPD Health and Wellbeing at Work 2025 Report reinforces this picture. While many employees report good overall health, a significant minority experience ongoing pressure, exhaustion and negative impacts from work on both their mental and physical health.
Crucially, the report highlights that although wellbeing is increasingly recognised as a leadership priority, organisational responses remain largely reactive. The most common measures focus on providing access to support services, including counselling, adjustments after issues arise, and EAP provision, once employees are already struggling.
By contrast, fewer organisations invest in developing manager capability to support mental health proactively. Where training is provided, managers report significantly higher confidence — not only in spotting early signs of ill health and having sensitive conversations, but also in understanding how work conditions such as workload, pressure, expectations and team culture can impact wellbeing.
Equipping managers in this way helps them recognise the role they play in creating healthy, sustainable working environments, as well as knowing when and how to signpost individuals to appropriate support.
This matters because managers sit at the intersection between access and experience. Without confidence and clarity, even the best support infrastructure can remain underused.
Who is most affected
Reliance on self-disclosure does not affect all employees equally.
Higher-risk groups often face additional barriers to speaking up. For these groups, asking for help can feel like a risk that isn’t worth taking.
Gender also plays a role. Men are significantly underrepresented in the use of wellbeing services, reflecting broader cultural norms around help-seeking and vulnerability.
At the same time, managers are often caught in the middle. Many go out of their way to support their teams, frequently carrying emotional responsibility, navigating unclear boundaries and trying to do the right thing without always having the time, training or support they need.
In some cases, this can negatively impact managers’ own wellbeing.
When wellbeing strategies rely solely on individuals coming forward, without clear structures, shared responsibility or manager support, they can unintentionally reinforce inequality. Those who already feel safer to speak up receive support, while others, and the managers supporting them, are left under increasing pressure.
Changing the conditions
Improving the uptake of wellbeing support is about strengthening the conditions around it, so people feel able to access support earlier and more confidently.
Organisations that make progress focus on:
- Shifting mindset from reactive response to proactive prevention
- Building manager confidence and capability to have early, human conversations
- Creating clarity about roles, boundaries and escalation pathways
- Delivering training that is culturally relevant across different markets, while maintaining organisational consistency
- Ensuring existing support is reinforced by confident managers and a culture that encourages early use
This work helps reduce fear on both sides. Employees feel safer to speak up earlier, and managers feel more confident responding appropriately without panic or avoidance.
Over time, this creates a culture where wellbeing support is not just available, but usable.
From access to action
Access to wellbeing support matters. It is an essential foundation.
But support only works when people feel safe enough to use it and that safety is shaped by culture, confidence and capability.
Organisations that recognise this move beyond access alone and begin building environments where earlier conversations happen, fear is reduced, and wellbeing becomes truly proactive.
Ready to turn wellbeing support into meaningful action? Speak to Oakwood about building the culture, confidence and capability your people need to thrive.
