Improving workplace mental wellbeing: Lessons from rail organisations leading the way
Members of the Railway Mental Health Charter (RMHC) have been working with RSSB since 2024 to track their progress on implementing its five key actions:
- senior leadership commitment and employee consultation
- understanding your organisation
- addressing stigma
- providing a healthy workplace
- providing support.
This World Mental Health Day on Friday 10 October, we share five insights gained from this collaborative approach. But, before we delve into the findings, we invite organisations that would like to be part of a growing community committed to positive workplace mental health—and who have not yet joined the RMHC—to complete the pre-sign-up form .
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The most implemented action among members
‘Providing support’ is the strongest and most consistently implemented action among members. Organisations that excelled in this area demonstrated the value of accessible resources and clear pathways for help, showing how support can become a visible and trusted part of workplace culture. At the same time, both ‘addressing stigma’ and ‘providing a healthy workplace’ are gaining traction, reflecting growing awareness and a movement to create cultural change across the industry.
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The value of collaboration in embedding good practice
A recent RMHC discussion-based session on ‘providing a healthy workplace’ further underlined the momentum mentioned above. The session allowed charter members to connect, share ideas, and learn from each other, reinforcing the value of collaboration in embedding good practice. They discussed strategic approaches to mental health training, such as starting with leadership training, building in-house capacity to achieve long-term results, and reframing absence management through wellbeing-focused training for managers, which helps shift organisational culture toward compassion and prevention.
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The areas that remain challenging for organisations
By contrast, both ‘understanding your organisation’ and ‘senior leadership commitment and employee consultation’ remain challenging for many organisations, despite these areas being critical to success. Without leadership setting the tone or meaningful engagement to understand employee needs, efforts to tackle stigma, provide support, and foster healthy workplaces risk being disjointed or short-lived.
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The advantages of a unified framework
The RMHC’s five actions deliver the greatest impact when approached as a unified framework rather than isolated initiatives. Senior leadership commitment creates the structure needed to move the dial and shape an environment for meaningful discussions that facilitate organisational understanding. This insight helps identify and combat stigma, prevent manageable workplace risks and shape healthier workplaces, and ensure that support pathways are relevant and trusted.
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The value of interconnected ‘pillars’
When seen as interconnected pillars, progress in one action strengthens another. For example, reducing stigma is far more effective (and one can argue only possible) when paired with a healthy workplace culture. Meanwhile, support services are more likely to be used when employees are both consulted on their specific needs and feel confident enough to use them.
This World Mental Health Day serves as a reminder to prioritise and invest in good mental wellbeing. It reminds us that workplace mental health must be a priority, not a side issue.
In rail, where safety, performance, and wellbeing are deeply interconnected, prioritising mental health is not optional, it is essential. The Charter provides a framework to turn this global call into practical industry action.
By embedding the five actions as a unified whole, organisations can move beyond commitment to culture and make mental wellbeing a shared value that sustains both people and performance.
The RMHC checklist, which is available to charter members, is a practical tool to help assess where your organisation stands across the five actions and where it can improve.
The RMHC was developed to help rail organisations create environments that promote, manage, and support workforce mental wellbeing. In addition to a framework, it provides members with a community of peers, allowing for joint learning, identification of good practice, and development of practical case studies.
