December is the month of assessments: financial, strategic, operational.
We add things up, compare, and make decisions. But there’s one key element most organizations still overlook: the workplace mental health review.

1. Why the Traditional Year-End Review Isn’t Enough

Organizations invest enormous energy in analysing results, but far less in analysing the conditions that made those results possible.
We measure performance, but we forget to measure what it cost.
A team can deliver strong numbers and still be on the brink.

It can complete a successful year while leaving behind a deep, invisible fatigue—one that will explode a few months later as disengagement, absenteeism, or simmering conflicts.

A mental health review brings the human reality back to the same level as the business reality, and gives teams a better chance to be resilient and better equipped for the coming year.

2. Four Concrete Indicators to Assess Team Mental Health

No need for a “happiness barometer.”
You simply need to observe what truly matters and improve the conditions required for good work.

1) Emotional Load

• Number of difficult situations faced
  
• Unresolved tensions or conflicts
  
• Emotional pressure linked to clients, deadlines, or internal crises
  

A team can endure a lot — but at what cost?

2) Cognitive Load

• Constant interruptions
  
• Imposed multitasking
  
• Project complexity
  
• Feeling scattered
  

If the brain has been in “emergency mode” for months, leaders need to hear it, acknowledge it, and act before sick leave or burnout becomes inevitable.

3) Relational Load

• Team climate
  
• Perceived level of support
  
• Quality of interactions
  
• Ability to ask for help
  

A high-performing but fractured team is still a fragile team.

4) Structural Load

• Processes that are too heavy or inconsistent
  
• Constantly shifting priorities without explanation
  
• Chronic understaffing
  
• Lack of organizational clarity
  

When the structure is strained, individuals compensate — until exhaustion.

3. Involving Teams… Without Creating Insecurity

The worst way to approach mental health? By imposing it.
The second worst? Turning it into a KPI.
For the review to be useful — and honest — the framework must be clear:

• Total transparency about the objective
The goal isn’t to evaluate individuals.
The goal is to understand the year — together.

• Voluntary participation
Nothing mandatory.
If speech is forced, it stops being real.

• Open questions, never intrusive
Examples:
“What weighed on us this year?”
“What supported us?”
“What do we want to avoid in 2026?”

The goal is to create open spaces, not administer a psychological test.

Conclusion: Turning Insights Into Action for the Year Ahead

A mental health review only has value if it leads to decisions.

• Adjust priorities
Reduce unnecessary overload.
Clarify what has remained unclear for too long.

• Train Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA)
Give teams the skills to respond without making situations worse.
(Mental Health First Aid is a highly effective prevention tool.)

• Create safe spaces for discussion
Not group therapy — but structured moments where people can articulate what’s weighing on them.

• Pay attention to early weak signals
Recurring irritants, underlying tensions, emotional spillovers…
Everything that whispers before it starts to shout.