Workplace Mental Health & Wellbeing Support
Support, rights and free services for your mental health at work in Ireland. This page is informational only — it is not a medical or emergency service.
If you're in crisis right now
Reach out immediately — these lines are free, confidential and available at any hour.
Emergency services
If you or someone is in immediate danger or medical crisis.
Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP)
Many Irish employers offer an EAP — a confidential, free counselling and support service you can use without telling your manager. It typically covers stress, anxiety, relationship and money worries, bereavement and addiction. Sessions are usually phone or video, and what you discuss doesn't go on your work record.
- • Check your staff handbook/intranet — it may be named, e.g. via an external provider.
- • It's free to you and completely confidential — your employer only sees aggregate usage stats.
- • You can often self-refer without involving your manager or HR.
Your rights & reasonable accommodation
Irish employers have a legal duty to protect your mental health at work. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 they must identify workplace stress risks. Under the Employment Equality Acts, they must make reasonable accommodations for a mental health condition — flexible hours, adjusted duties, phased return — unless it imposes a disproportionate burden.
- • Workplace stress is a recognised risk your employer must assess.
- • A mental health condition can be a disability under equality law — reasonable accommodation applies.
- • Occupational health can support a return-to-work plan; your GP can advise on a fitness-for-work note.
Burnout: signs & what to do
Burnout is a work-related syndrome of exhaustion, cynicism and reduced effectiveness — not a personal failing. Spotting it early and acting on it is far easier than recovering once you're completely depleted. If you notice several signs together over a few weeks, treat it as a signal to act.
- • Exhaustion that rest doesn't fix, and dread before work.
- • Cynicism or detachment from colleagues and tasks you used to enjoy.
- • Drops in performance, focus or memory.
- • Act: speak to your GP and manager, use your EAP, take leave, and protect recovery time and sleep.
Talking to your manager
You don't have to share a diagnosis to ask for support. A simple, practical conversation — what you're finding hard and what would help — is often enough to trigger adjustments or signposting to the EAP. If your manager isn't supportive, HR or occupational health are your next steps.
- • You can frame it around impact, not diagnosis: "I'm struggling with [X] and [Y] adjustment would help."
- • Ask for a 1:1 rather than raising it in a team setting.
- • Document agreed adjustments by email so you both have a record.
- • If your manager is the problem, HR or occupational health can mediate.
Returning to work after absence
A phased or supported return after a mental-health absence is good practice and often a reasonable accommodation. Many Irish workplaces use a return-to-work plan agreed between you, your manager and occupational health, with realistic hours and duties that build back up over weeks.
- • Request a return-to-work meeting before you restart to agree the plan.
- • Start with shorter days or lighter duties and build up gradually.
- • Keep your GP and EAP in the loop; flag early if the plan isn't working.
- • Reasonable adjustments (e.g. no front-line duties initially) are often temporary, not permanent.
Free Irish support services
Confidential, free national services you can contact any time.
Information, education and advocacy on mental health nationwide.
Support for people experiencing mental health difficulties, including friends and family.
Do
- ✓ Use your EAP early — don't wait for crisis
- ✓ Talk to your GP if you're struggling for more than a couple of weeks
- ✓ Ask for reasonable adjustments; you don't need to disclose a diagnosis
- ✓ Protect recovery time, sleep, breaks and annual leave
- ✓ Keep a short record of agreed adjustments
- ✓ Reach out to a helpline any time, day or night
Don't
- ✕ Treat burnout as laziness or a personal failing
- ✕ Wait until you're in crisis to seek support
- ✕ Assume you must disclose a diagnosis to get help
- ✕ Push through prolonged stress without change
- ✕ Ignore physical signs (sleep, appetite, panic)
- ✕ Isolate — support is free and confidential in Ireland
Frequently asked questions
Is using my employer's EAP confidential?
Yes. EAP services are run by external providers and what you discuss is confidential; your employer only sees aggregate, anonymised usage data, not the content of your sessions or even that you personally used it.
Do I have to tell my employer my diagnosis?
No. You can ask for support or reasonable adjustments by describing the impact on your work, not a diagnosis. An employer only needs enough information to put support in place.
Can I get mental health support for free in Ireland?
Yes — Samaritans (116 123), Text 50808, Aware, Pieta House and the HSE Your Mental Health line (1800 742 918) are all free. Your GP and HSE mental health services are also available, and many employers offer a free EAP.
Is burnout the same as stress?
Not quite. Stress is a response to pressure; burnout is a longer-term syndrome of exhaustion, cynicism and reduced effectiveness that builds up when stress is prolonged and unmanaged. It's work-related and reversible with the right support and changes.
Informational only — not a medical or emergency service
This page signposts supports and rights for general information and is not medical advice, a counselling service or a substitute for professional care. If you're in crisis or at risk, call 999/112 or contact one of the crisis lines above now. For health concerns, speak to your GP or call the HSE Your Mental Health line on 1800 742 918.