Industry mental health charity Safe In Our World has renewed its subsidised Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), helping smaller games studios, freelancers and creators across the UK access professional wellbeing support at an affordable cost.
Employee Assistance Programmes are commonly offered as a workplace benefit, providing confidential support for employees dealing with personal or professional challenges. However, the cost can put comprehensive EAP provision beyond the reach of smaller studios – while freelancers and self-employed professionals can often miss out altogether.
Safe In Our World’s initiative aims to help close that gap, making its EAP available to UK-based games industry teams, self-employed games professionals and video game-focused content creators for just £25 per person for the year, calculated pro rata from 1 August 2026.
The programme offers a wide range of services spanning mental and emotional wellbeing, personal development, financial guidance and workplace support.
Participants can access up to 10 therapy sessions per issue, per year, following an initial assessment and matching process with a therapist based on their preferences. Sessions can take place face-to-face, by telephone or online and can support people experiencing issues including bereavement, workplace stress and anxiety.
Life & Leadership coaching is also available for those looking for support with personal and professional development, covering areas such as communication, time management, work-life balance, navigating change and reducing the risk of burnout.
That breadth of support could be particularly valuable within the games industry, where individuals and organisations have faced an extended period of uncertainty and change.
Recognising that wellbeing is affected by much more than what happens at work, the EAP also provides access to financial coaching through Munny. Users can receive personalised and confidential guidance on issues ranging from managing debt and pensions to buying a home or car.
For those taking time away from work because of stress, the programme includes Active Care, which can provide intervention from the first day a fit note for stress-related absence is received.
There is practical help for employers, too. EAP users can access the Peninsula HR Advice line and speak to a CIPD-qualified consultant about areas including contracts, sick leave, risk assessments and redundancies – potentially providing an important additional resource for small studios without extensive in-house HR capabilities.
Users also have access to the Wisdom wellbeing app, including a 24/7 helpline and live chat with qualified counsellors, alongside tools for tracking mood, sleep, activity and health trends. Webinars, articles, meditations and fitness and music resources are also available.
The subsidised cost is a significant element of the initiative. Safe In Our World points out that EAPs can be disproportionately expensive for smaller companies. It estimates that a studio with around 10 employees could typically spend an average of £10.27 per employee each month for comparable support – around £123.24 annually – compared with the charity’s subsidised annual price of £25 per person. The comparison is based on illustrative Health Assured pricing and is subject to market changes.
For micro studios in particular, access to the kind of support routinely offered by larger employers can be difficult. Extending the scheme to freelancers and self-employed games professionals is also significant at a time when many people across the industry are navigating changing employment patterns and job insecurity.
The EAP complements Safe In Our World’s wider Level Up programme, through which games companies of all sizes can access mental health tools, training and workplace wellbeing resources.
The subsidised EAP is currently available to games industry teams, self-employed games professionals and video game-focused content creators based in the UK.
More information and details of how to sign up are available through Safe In Our World.
