Three-quarters of employees say they would not be likely to seek support from their manager
if they were experiencing a mental health problem, according to a poll from the mental health charity Mind.
Often the main concern people have about sharing their mental health struggle is that they will be perceived as weak, failing or not good enough. In reality mental illness is common, and more and more people are realising this. If you had fallen and broken your foot for example you wouldn’t hide this from your boss as you would need to adapt the way that you did your work so as not to make the injury worse, mental health should be treated in the same way!
One in four adults in the UK will experience a mental health condition in any given year, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimating the cost of mental health to the UK economy at £70bn per year.
This shows that it is beneficial for both employees and employers to look out for and put into place preventative measures to help those in need before it becomes a massive problem. Here at Wellity we help thousands of people a week by helping their employers to transform their working culture and put process and trainings in place to improve workplace wellbeing. Employers need to create an open culture and allow a safe space for its employees.
A study carried out across the UK, US, Canada, and Australia on 4000 employees shows that 8 out of 10 employees with mental health problems has not and will not disclose this to their employer. With 38% of these employees said that they had not shared this information is because they feared it would have a negative impact on their career.
Exactly 50% of those involved said that if executives were to talk openly about their own or mental health in general at work it would encourage them to feel more comfortable about their own mental health.
We have just experienced a worldwide pandemic that no one was prepared for. Everything changed in a very short space of time, and it brought with it a lot of challenges and upheaval. One of the good things as a result was that many began to think about their mental health and how best to look after it.
In another recent survey 51% of respondents said they still felt under pressure to put on a brave face at work, while 4 in 10 said they felt less resilient since the Covid crisis struck. With fewer that 16% said they felt that their mental health was well supported at work.
Now is the time for change.
As people begin to return to work or as the world begins to resemble some normality look after each other. Speak to each other. So many people lost their lives and so many people will have lost loved ones. They will have been stuck in isolation many alone and scared. It is likely we will have a prolonged, what people are calling, “covid hangover” - feeling shaky, emotional, uncertain, and exhausted. Now is the time for a fresh start, be honest and embrace mental health issues/illness as it is very likely it will resonate with other people! With 1 in 4 people in the UK dealing with mental health issues it is becoming so common.
If you are an employer or manager and would like some help with speaking with your employees or team about anything mental health, please do not hesitate to contact us! Our mission is to transform working cultures, help those in need, educate and normalise the conversations!
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