As approaches to mental health issues have become more open, empathetic and understanding in the UK, global employers should be aware of different cultural attitudes elsewhere.
Even seemingly similar countries can have vastly differing outlooks on mental health conditions. According to data from Wellcome Global Monitor, when asked if how they feel speaking about anxiety or depression with someone they know, 27.6% of Britons said they would “not be at all comfortable”.
The proportion of people with the same reservations in Australia (30.8%), Canada (30.2%) and New Zealand (31.3%) were broadly similar. In the US, the figure was 34.2%.
However, only 9.8% of people in Germany said they would “not be at all comfortable” discussing anxiety or depression with someone they know, while the opposite applies in France, where the figure stood at more than half (54.8%).
An unwillingness to talk about mental health in different countries can correlate to a lack of willingness to seek support and, according to Towergate Health & Protection, employers must adapt their approach to the mental wellbeing support they offer depending upon the cultures and countries in which employees are based.
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Sarah Dennis, head of international at Towergate Health & Protection, said: “Attitudes to mental health differ so much around the world that support cannot be a broad-brush solution.
“The term ‘mental health’ is not even recognised or used in some countries and employers might find greater success in promoting ‘wellbeing’ instead when they’re looking to increase engagement and utilisation of support for mental health.”
According to the World Health Organisation, the global recognition rate of mental disorders is around 50%, but this is much lower in some places. Taking depression as an example, recognition rates in Shanghai are just 21%.
Around the world there are cultural differences in the way people consider and approach mental health. Asked how local people would feel speaking about anxiety or depression with someone they know, 53.1% of people in Hong Kong and 52.6% in Taiwan said they would ‘not be at all comfortable’, while in China the figure was 33%.
People in the Middle East and north Africa were more likely to feel comfortable with only 5.8% of Moroccans saying they would be “not at all” comfortable, 7.1% of people in Egypt and 7.5% in Saudi Arabia.
As well as France, other countries where people would be less likely to open up to someone they know included Estonia (58.8%), Finland (52.4%), Greece (50.0%) and Japan (47.1%).
Dennis added: “The cultural differences on a global scale are so varied that it is vital employers take expert advice on wellbeing support. It’s important that this advice comes from a source with people on the ground in the relevant countries. Every employee abroad must be aware of the support in place so that they know how to access it, even if mental health is not traditionally a matter for discussion in the country in which they are based.”
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