There are few things more disruptive than losing a valued member of your team at short notice.

You may suddenly be trying to fill gaps in the rota, rearranging annual leave, asking colleagues to cover extra shifts or booking agency staff to maintain safe staffing levels. While these situations are part of managing a service, they also raise an important question.

Could anything have been spotted earlier?

Mental health remains one of the biggest reasons NHS staff are absent from work, and it’s a challenge that health and social care leaders across the sector continue to face.

What Does This Mean for Your Service?

Latest NHS England workforce data shows that anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses accounted for 28.5% of all NHS sickness absence in February 2026, making mental health the leading cause of staff sickness. In that single month, more than 636,000 full-time equivalent working days were lost, while the overall NHS sickness absence rate stood at 5.4%.

Although these figures relate to the NHS, many of the same pressures exist across adult social care.

If you’re responsible for managing a team, you’ll probably recognise some of them.

Recruitment can be difficult. Demand continues to grow. Existing staff often take on additional responsibilities, and finding cover at short notice isn’t always easy.

When one person is off, the workload rarely disappears. It is usually shared across the rest of the team.

Stress Doesn’t Usually Appear Overnight

It’s easy to think sickness absence happens suddenly.

In reality, many people experience weeks or even months of increasing pressure before they reach a point where they need time away from work.

You may notice that someone who is normally engaged becomes quieter in team meetings.

Perhaps they seem more tired than usual, struggle to concentrate or become less confident making decisions.

Sometimes a member of staff who never says no starts volunteering for fewer additional shifts.

Other times, someone who is usually organised begins making small mistakes that are out of character.

None of these signs automatically mean someone is struggling with their mental health.

However, they can provide an opportunity to start a conversation before pressures continue to build.

Would Your Team Feel Comfortable Telling You?

One of the biggest challenges isn’t recognising that someone might be struggling.

It’s creating an environment where they feel able to tell you.

Many people continue working despite poor mental health because they don’t want to let colleagues down or add to existing staffing pressures.

Others worry they’ll be seen as unable to cope or fear being treated differently.

This means some of the people who appear to be managing well may actually be finding things much harder than anyone realises.

As a leader, it’s worth asking yourself:

• Would my team feel comfortable saying they’re struggling?
• Do managers regularly check in with staff, not just about performance but about wellbeing?
• Are conversations about mental health treated in the same way as conversations about physical health?

If the answer is no, there may be opportunities to make those conversations feel more normal.

Look Beyond Wellbeing Initiatives

Many organisations now offer wellbeing resources, employee assistance programmes or mental health support.

These are valuable, but they’re only part of the picture.

Think about the everyday experience of working in your service.

• Are rotas planned in a way that helps prevent fatigue where possible?
• Do staff regularly miss breaks because the service is busy?
• Are annual leave requests being postponed?
• Do supervisors have enough time to support their teams?
• Are managers confident having conversations about stress and wellbeing?

Often, the biggest influence on wellbeing isn’t a wellbeing programme.

It’s what happens during an ordinary working week.

Managers Need Support Too

Supporting staff through difficult periods isn’t always straightforward.

Many managers find themselves having conversations about stress, anxiety or burnout without ever receiving training on how to approach them.

Giving leaders the confidence to recognise early warning signs, listen without judgement and signpost staff to appropriate support can make those conversations much easier.

Just as importantly, it helps managers feel better equipped for a responsibility that has become an increasingly important part of leadership.

Training Can Help Build More Confident Leaders

Mental health isn’t something that can be solved by one conversation or one training course.

However, giving managers the knowledge and confidence to recognise concerns early, communicate effectively and support their teams can make a real difference.

At Halo Staffing, our health and social care training is designed to help organisations develop confident leaders and resilient teams. Alongside mandatory and specialist training, we provide learning that supports communication, leadership and professional development, helping organisations invest in their people as well as the care they deliver. View our full list of courses by clicking the button at the end of this article! 

The Question to Take Away

Most leaders don’t want to wait until a valued member of staff is signed off work before asking how they’re doing.

Perhaps the better question is this:

What could you put in place today that would make someone feel able to ask for support tomorrow?