My career coach and friend sent me a text at the weekend linking to an article in the Financial Times titled “The trillion-dollar taboo: why it’s time to stop ignoring mental health at work”.
It was a report by FT journalists into a number of cases of employees crippled by mental health issues who felt unable to admit how they felt at work and how their work and health continued to suffer as a result, culminating in at least two cases in the individual dying by suicide.
Nothing was really surprising in the article. Shocking and incredibly sad, yes. But nothing I haven’t been aware of for some time. So why has it sparked me to write? Because it crystallised just how important the workplace culture is in working to properly destigmatise mental illness.
And that culture has to be spoken about, publicised and proven. It’s no good just doing a couple of activities or sending round some emails on #TimetoTalk Day and World Mental Health Day. It has to be part of the culture. And it has to come from the top - it really needs a senior champion to support any initiatives and to make it absolutely clear that it is OK to talk about any mental health issues.
Maybe you haven’t suffered with your mental health. I really hope you never have to and I am incredibly happy for you — its a horrible place to be. But maybe therefore you don’t understand what an impact it can have. Maybe you don’t even believe it can have an impact. But believe me. Believe the statistic. You know people who are suffering. You work with people who are suffering. And unless your organisation actively promotes positive mental health messages, chances are they are suffering in silence.
So What Can You Do?
Maybe there are initiatives already in place. When I first started talking about mental health in my workplace, there was already an Employee Assistance Programme in place, and our medical care benefit included mental health care. But when I discussed with a senior member of the company, they didn’t even know we had an EAP at all. So make sure you let people know the avenues of support open to them.
Be brave. If you have your own personal experiences, talk about them. One of the reasons I spoke up, was that as a Director of the team, it made it pretty clear that what I had suffered from hadn’t affected my career prospects and my colleagues shouldn’t think theirs would be affected. Plus it makes this subject normal. It makes it like talking about the broken leg or a case of ‘flu.
Look to instigate bespoke support programmes or initiatives. Time to Change or Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) both provide support, advice and assistance in empowering and training your workforce. The MHFA link is for MHFA England, but there are examples of similar schemes around the world.
Or get in touch. This is a subject that really matters to me, and I would be only to happy to help if I can.
And remember that the alternative is doing nothing and risking your employees suffering in silence until everything just gets too much and they leave, burnout, or worse. I have done nothing in my career that has given me greater satisfaction than be open about my mental health issues at work, and nothing I have done has received such support and appreciation from my colleagues. I urge you to do the same.