Only 14% workers feel comfortable talking about mental health

To continue reading please register or login to your OHW+ account.

Employees are three times more likely to discuss their physical health over mental illness at work, a survey has found, highlighting the need for more supportive environments where staff feel confident enough to raise concerns. Only 14% of 2,000 workers polled said they felt comfortable discussing their mental health worries at work, compared with 42% of workers who felt able to talk about physical conditions. Training provider Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA), which commissioned the poll alongside Bauer Media Group as part of their joint “Where’s your head at?” mental health awareness campaign, said the findings suggested the need for a change in the way mental health is discussed, so that it is given the same significance at work as physical health. Only around a tenth of staff would feel comfortable having a conversation about serious mental health conditions such as psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or self-harm, versus nearly 40% who felt able to talk about cancer. To mark Mental Health Awareness Week this week, MHFA and Bauer Media Group urged employers to sign up to a workplace manifesto, which asks organisations to treat mental and physical health equally; implement the six core standards for a mentally healthy workplace as set out in the government’s Thriving at Work review; and develop diverse and inclusive workplaces where staff feel comfortable to “bring their whole selves” to work. MHFA England chief executive Simon Blake OBE said: “Despite the increased awareness around mental health in the workplace, employees are telling us that there is still a significant gap