It is good business to encourage employees to reach out to one another for support. People are now more connected to their multitude of screens than to other people with around half of all Australians spending less than two hours a week talking with friends, family or co-workers.
Workplaces are therefore good places to strengthen ones mental and emotional wellbeing with more than 75% of employees actually expecting the workplace to provide such support and for the workplace to promote a culture of mutual sharing and openness.
So next time you ask a co-worker “how are things going?” and he does open up the best thing you can do is to listen, not judge and not try to “fix” the person. Always ask questions to understand what they are going through, and help the person identify the steps they may require to address the issue.