AstralMandala has launched business and industry-tailored mental illness prevention protocols to cut the cost of sickness at workplaces across the region.
As UK employers brace for a reported £85bn a year in losses from sickness and long-term absence, a new North East-based initiative is offering a direct and tailored solution.
AstralMandala is responding to the national crisis with an illness prevention protocol and business system, uniquely tailored to meet the specific needs of each business it serves.
AstralMandala’s flagship protocol, Mandala42, combines emotional capacity-building with real-time analytics to grow adaptability, personal agency and team function. But what sets the company apart is its in-person, specifically tailored model – delivered on-site, and shaped by business realities, not wellbeing ideals.
North East-based Weir Insurance Brokers is among the first organisations partnering in AstralMandala’s Mandala42 protocol, reporting meaningful change after just three weeks of a twelve week duration.
Managing Director Karen Weir said: “The change is already clear to see.”
“I love that Mandala42 isn’t reactive wellbeing – it’s growing our team’s emotional capacity in real time. You can feel the energy, communication, and conscious support for one another at all levels of the business.”
The company’s approach starts with a hosted ‘Insight’ session – a no-cost strategic assessment for local businesses that identifies pain points, maps operational stressors, and results in a precision-built protocol, meaning each workplace gets bespoke support.
“Tick-box wellbeing isn’t our offer,” says AstralMandala co-founder Anni Hood. “We’re co-creating solutions with leadership teams, building their people’s capacity, reducing burnout, and improving business performance with tailored, precision protocols.”
“It was described by one participant as “a vaccination against mental ill health – without the needle,” added Hood.
This commercial offer also funds a wider social mission: the AstralMandala Foundation, which will reinvest up to 50% of profits into frontline illness prevention and mental ill-health support for underfunded communities and NHS-adjacent services.
The initiative is timely as new national figures reveal the UK is facing a ‘worklessness’ crisis, with mental ill-health now the leading cause of long-term absence.
Regions like the North East are particularly affected, reporting some of the UK’s highest levels of chronic illness, economic inactivity, and limited access to early mental health intervention.
“This is how we redefine wellbeing; not as a perk, but as a part of the UK’s economic infrastructure,” said co-founder Julian Ranger.
“We’re delivering direct value to business by reducing absence and boosting performance, while also investing in regions like the North East where the cost of ill health hits hardest.”
The Insight Sessions are now being offered to businesses across the North East and surrounding areas.
