It’s hard to talk

The Thriving at Work report, a review commissioned by Theresa May, has helped shine a light on the importance of greater understanding of mental health problems the UK force are facing.

Opinium Research’s recently announced Office Culture Report¹ takes a deeper look into the views of workers and uncovers some of the reasons why, as a nation, we have some way to go before mental health issues are no longer a taboo subject.

The research found that:

• Only one in five (21%) UK workers would feel comfortable discussing their mental health issues with their fellow colleagues
• Comparatively, twice as many (42%), felt they could discuss physical ill-health
• A quarter (24%) of UK workers feel as though they can’t confide in anyone at work
• Only 15% of UK adults state that there is someone at work who checks on their well-being regularly
• Women are more likely to feel that they have adequate personal support at work compared to men (58% and 49% respectively)
• Those in healthcare are the most likely to feel they have adequate support (63%), compared to the legal sector where only two in five (40%) say they have adequate support.

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James Endersby, Managing Director of Opinium comments on their findings:

“Mental health is increasingly, and deservedly, becoming a topic that the UK is broaching. Our research has revealed that UK workers are more likely to discuss a physical affliction than ill-mental health, which is something that will continue to leave such people suffering in silence.

“More conversations on health and greater pastoral support at work will shed greater light on mental health and aide those afflicted to open up about their problems.”

The Office Culture Report builds upon last year’s Britain At Work; an Opinium report that drew insights into the issues employees and employers are facing across the UK2.

Note

1. Opinium Research carried out a nationally representative online survey of 2,000 UK workers between 29 August and 14 September 2017.

2. Opinium Research carried out a nationally representative online survey of 3,002 UK workers between 11 and 21 March 2016.

Full report can be found here: http://opinium.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Britain-at-Work-2016.pdf