MENTAL HEALTH, STRESS & WELLBEING BREAKING DOWN THE STIGMA
Jill Mead, Founder of TalkOut, highlights what measures health and safety professionals can utilise to help boost employee wellbeing and improve mental health.
It’s estimated that 16 million people in the UK experience a mental illness of some form each year. That’s one in four adults dealing with an ‘invisible’ illness that can greatly impact their lives – both personally and professionally.
With such a high volume of people struggling with their mental health, it’s concerning to learn of the stigma surrounding mental health, particularly within the workplace.
In fact, according to a recent survey conducted on behalf of TalkOut, 68% of UK workers believe that if they told their boss they were suffering from some kind of mental health issue, it would have a negative impact on their job.
The report also revealed that 64% of Brits claimed to have pretended to have a physical ailment to take sick leave, when instead they were struggling mentally, and over a third worried it might reflect badly on them if they were honest about their situation, so instead decided to stay quiet.
What’s more, nearly half (45%) of workers said they’d seen someone pushed out of their job because of their mental health issues, and 6% of British workers who opened up to their boss about mental health issues believe they lost their job over it.
Perhaps most shockingly, the research also revealed that 51% of UK senior managers admit they would consider a worker with a mental illness a liability.
Clearly, there is a long way to go in breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health in the workplace. And health and safety managers have a key role in ensuring mental health is taken just as seriously as physical health. So, what measures can be taken?
TRAINING AND EDUCATION Mental health first aid training across all levels of
an organisation is a great starting point as it helps employees spot the signs of mental health conditions,
and gives them the confidence to sensitively manage a conversation if and when a colleague opens up about their mental health struggles.
It is also important to invest in training for line managers to not only increase their awareness of mental health issues, but make them aware of how their actions could directly impact a colleague’s mental health. Line managers must be able to support their colleagues in the right way.
Other useful training can include resilience and self- care training to help people reduce the impact that work stress and pressure has on their everyday lives; boardroom training which looks at mental health among business leaders and leadership styles; and ‘men at work’ training which looks to understand why some men may feel unable to talk about mental health and strategies to change that.
CREATING AN OPEN CULTURE For us to breakdown the stigma that exists around
mental health, we need to talk about it more within the workplace to raise awareness and normalise what people might be going through. Whether it’s internal communication on emails or the company’s intranet, posters and flyers around the building, regular one-to-ones, or wellbeing surveys, businesses should constantly be talking about mental health and reminding staff why it’s vital to talk out.
It’s also important to bear in mind that male colleagues might find it difficult to open up so signposting employees to external helplines and online resources can encourage them to get the advice they need.
LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR Business leaders play a pivotal role in the overall
mental health of their staff, so it’s even more important that they undergo the necessary training to understand how they can affect the wellbeing of their employees. It’s not uncommon to see how negative leadership behaviours can send a ripple effect throughout a workplace, and things such as bullying, toxic masculinity, and lack of managerial support can begin to demotivate staff and reduce productivity.
Managers should be seen to be starting the conversation surrounding mental health to create an open workplace culture, promoting trust and showing support to all members of staff. By creating an environment where employees can feel comfortable enough to freely speak out about their feelings, organisations will be sure to see improved wellbeing and positivity amongst their staff, giving them the opportunity to thrive at work.
www.talkout.org.uk 28
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