If you’ve ever sat across from a colleague who’s clearly struggling and thought, “I have no idea what to say next,” you’re not alone. Most managers haven’t been trained to have these conversations, and winging it isn’t much of a strategy when someone’s wellbeing is on the line.
That’s exactly why workplace mental health frameworks exist. They’re not there to turn your managers into therapists. They’re there to give them a simple, repeatable structure to fall back on, so the conversation doesn’t stall out after “are you okay?”
In this blog, we’re taking a close look at our own mental health framework, BUDIES, and comparing it to two of the other models you’ll come across in UK workplaces: MHFA England’s ALGEE and the Samaritans’ SHUSH. By the end, you’ll know exactly which one fits which situation, and how to get your managers properly trained in using them.
Table of Contents
What Is a Workplace Mental Health Framework?
A workplace mental health framework is a step-by-step model that gives someone, usually a manager, colleague, or trained volunteer, a structure to follow when supporting someone with their mental health. Rather than relying on instinct in a moment that can feel high-stakes, they work through a memorable set of steps that keep the conversation safe, useful, and appropriately boundaried.
They matter more than ever. In 2024/25, an estimated 964,000 UK workers were suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety, and this ill health accounted for 22.1 million lost working days across the year (HSE, 2025). Managers are usually the first point of contact when someone’s struggling, yet CIPD’s latest Health and Wellbeing at Work report found that only 29% of organisations train their line managers in mental health. Of those that do, though, 73% say it leaves their managers confident having sensitive conversations and signposting the right support (CIPD, 2025).
That gap between “want to help” and “know how to help” is what a good workplace mental health framework closes.
| A workplace mental health framework gives you… | A workplace mental health framework isn’t… |
|---|---|
| A structure for the conversation | A diagnosis tool |
| A way to check for risk | A substitute for professional treatment |
| Confidence to listen without needing the answers | A script to follow word-for-word |
| A way to point towards support | A replacement for crisis services |
New Leaf Health’s BUDIES Mental Health Framework
BUDIES is the workplace mental health framework we teach here at New Leaf Health, built specifically to help managers and colleagues support each other’s mental health at work in an ongoing, everyday way, not just in a crisis. It’s made up of six steps, each one guiding the conversation forward while keeping both people safe.
B – Build a Supportive Relationship
Nothing works without trust, and trust takes time. Rather than rushing in, the first step is about genuinely listening, being yourself, and imagining how the other person is feeling. It also means agreeing clear boundaries early on, such as how much time you have available and what will happen to anything they share with you.
U – Understand: Use Your Listening Skills
This step is a reminder that your job isn’t to solve anyone’s problems. You don’t need the answers. What you do need are solid listening skills, which alone can make a real difference to someone who just needs to be heard.
D – Determine If They’re in Crisis
Early in the conversation, it’s important to establish whether the person might be at risk of harming themselves or someone else. If they are, you stay with them, tell them it’s serious, and help them access professional support straight away, whether that’s their GP, A&E, or the emergency services. If they’re not in crisis, you carry on listening.
I – Inform About Self-Help and Local Services
Most conversations won’t need further action from you, but it helps to know what support is available locally and at work, so you can point your colleague towards it when it’s useful. Think EAP numbers, occupational health, HR contacts, and local counselling referrals.
E – Encourage Professional Help
Sometimes you’ll need to gently nudge a colleague towards professional support, whether that’s their GP or occupational health. The earlier someone struggling with their mental health gets the right support, the better their chances of recovery.
S – Safety at All Times
Supporting someone else can take a toll, so this step is about looking after yourself too. If you need support after a difficult conversation, use your own Wellbeing BUDIE or your employee assistance programme.
How BUDIES Compares to Other Workplace Mental Health Frameworks
BUDIES isn’t the only workplace mental health framework out there, and it’s worth knowing how it differs from the others your managers might have heard of.
MHFA England’s ALGEE Model
ALGEE is the action plan taught on Mental Health First Aid courses, and it’s built more around responding to a crisis or a developing mental health problem than ongoing peer support. According to MHFA England’s own training manual, the five steps are: Approach the person, assess and assist with any crisis; Listen and communicate non-judgementally; Give support and information; Encourage the person to get appropriate professional help; and Encourage other supports.
You’ll notice some overlap with BUDIES, particularly around listening and encouraging professional help, but ALGEE is designed for trained Mental Health First Aiders responding to a specific situation, rather than something every manager uses day to day.
The Samaritans’ SHUSH Listening Model
SHUSH is narrower again. It’s purely a listening framework, developed by the Samaritans to help anyone, not just managers, listen better when someone opens up to them. The five steps are: Show you care, Have patience, Use open questions, Show that you’re listening, and Have courage not to fill every silence.
SHUSH doesn’t cover crisis response or signposting to services, but it’s a genuinely useful foundation for the “Understand” step in BUDIES or the “Listen” step in ALGEE.
| B.U.D.I.E.S | ALGEE | SHUSH | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developed by | New Leaf Health | MHFA England | Samaritans |
| Number of steps | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Built for everyday conversations | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Built for crisis response | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Includes a listening technique | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (its entire focus) |
| Includes signposting to support | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Formal certification required | ✗ | ✓ (MHFA-certified) | ✗ |
| Typically used by | Managers & colleagues | Trained MHFAiders | Anyone |
Which Framework Should Your Managers Use?
In practice, these frameworks aren’t in competition with each other. They cover different jobs:
- BUDIES is the everyday model for managers and colleagues building ongoing, trusting relationships around mental health.
- ALGEE is best left to trained Mental Health First Aiders and MHFA Champions responding to crisis or acute distress.
- SHUSH is a useful listening skill that underpins both of the above.
Most workplaces we work with end up using a combination: managers trained in BUDIES for day-to-day conversations, a smaller group of MHFAiders trained in ALGEE for when things escalate, and good listening habits (SHUSH, or something like it) running through both. If you’re building this out more widely across your business, our Wellbeing Champions Training is worth a look too.
For more on getting the foundations right beyond just the conversation itself, our guide on how to boost employee mental health covers the wider picture.
Learn BUDIES on Our Managing Mental Health Course
BUDIES isn’t something we just wrote up in a blog – it’s a core part of our Managing Mental Health Course, the mental health training course we developed in-house for line managers, supervisors, and HR professionals.
Over 6 to 7 hours, delivered online or face-to-face, your managers will learn the BUDIES framework in full, alongside the legal guidelines around mental health at work, how to set safe boundaries, and how to handle the difficult conversations that come with the role. It’s CPD-certified, and we’ve been refining it with UK employers, including the NHS and organisations like PRS for Music, since 1996.
Give your managers a workplace mental health framework they’ll actually use, and the confidence to use it. Get in touch to find out more about the Managing Mental Health Course, or explore our full range of wellbeing training courses.
