New research finds shows that employers should be urged not to think of mental health as a minority issue.
Ninety percent of workers in the U.K. have been touched by mental health challenges, with two-thirds (66 per cent) reporting having personally experienced mental health challenges and even more — 85 percent — saying someone close to them such as a family member, close friend or colleague had experienced them, according to results of new research from Accenture*.
The survey of more than 2,000 workers revealed that mental health issues are far more prevalent than the one in four figure that is often cited. For three out of four people (76 percent), mental health challenges — either their own or those of others — had affected their ability to enjoy life, with 30 percent reporting they are ‘occasionally, rarely, or never’ able to enjoy and take part fully in everyday life.
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The findings come as the taboo that has long surrounded mental health starts to break down, as 82 percent of respondents said they are more willing to speak openly about mental health issues now than they were just a few years ago.
However, the workplace has failed to keep pace, as only one in four respondents (27 percent) said they had seen any positive change in employees speaking openly about mental health in their organizations. Just one in five reported an improvement in workplace training to help manage their own mental health (20 percent) or to help them support colleagues dealing with mental health challenges (19 percent).
Barbara Harvey, a managing director at Accenture and mental health lead for the company’s business in the U.K said,
We’re used to hearing that one in four people experience mental health challenges, yet our research shows that the number of people affected is in fact far higher. It’s clear that mental health is not a minority issue; it touches almost all employees and can affect their ability to perform at work and live life to the fullest.
It’s time for employers to think differently about how they support their employees’ mental wellbeing. It’s not only about spotting the signs of declining mental health and helping employees seek treatment when needed. Employers need to take a proactive approach by creating an open, supportive work environment that enables all their people to look after their mental health and support their colleagues. The payoff is a healthier, happier organization where people feel energized and inspired to perform at their best.
Of those who had faced a mental health challenge, the majority (61 percent) had not spoken to anyone at work about their issue. Half (51 percent) of the survey respondents felt that raising a concern about their mental health might negatively affect their career or prevent them from being promoted, and 53 percent believed that opening up about a mental health challenge at work would be perceived as a sign of weakness.
Yet hiding mental health challenges at work had a negative impact on a majority of those surveyed. More than half (57 percent) reported at least one such impact, including feeling stressed, more alone, lacking confidence, being less productive, or simply ‘feeling worse’.
Among those who had talked to someone about mental health at work, four in five (81 percent) experienced a positive reaction of empathy or kindness. Overall, employees who reported that their organization has a supportive, open culture around mental health saw reductions in stress levels, a decrease in their feelings of isolation, and an increase in confidence. Forty-four percent said it was a relief to be able open up; nearly one-third (31 percent) said it helped them take positive steps towards getting help. In supportive cultures employees are more likely to know how to get help (89 percent versus 62 percent) and to find it easy to talk about mental health (86 percent versus 60 percent).
Employees in supportive companies are also more motivated than those in companies seen as not supportive; they are twice as likely to say they love their jobs (66 percent versus 31 percent) and more likely to plan to stay with their employer for at least the next year (94 percent versus 81 percent).
Accenture’s survey found that 61 percent of those who did speak with someone at work said that they shared their challenge first with a close colleague, highlighting the importance of ensuring that everyone in the workplace has an awareness of mental health and is able to direct colleagues to the support available. Line managers were chosen as the first point of contact by 39 percent of those who had opened up, and HR/wellbeing specialists by just 15 percent.
*Commissioned by Accenture Research and conducted in October 2018 through the YouGov Omnibus service, the online survey covered 2,170 employees in a representative sample of the UK working population.
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.
Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
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