Mental Health at Work

TW: mental health, depression, suicide??????????????

The opinions stated in this article are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of my employers, past or present.

Over the last few months I have seen a few posts here on LinkedIn from brave souls willing to share their stories around mental health and I wanted to share some of my own. I feel a bittersweet mix of emotions; it is sad to see how many people struggle, but I am glad that talking about mental health is becoming more commonplace. I am doubly glad to see it spoken about on a site that is focussed on work and working lives. I strongly believe that mental health in the workplace (and mental health in general) still needs to be talked about and LOUD. In the UK, 17.1 million working days[1] are lost every year to mental ill health, in the US it is estimated to be 367 million. Talking about mental health is the right thing to do, but if we were being completely callous and looking only at the bottom line, it makes good business sense. We should talk about it until no one finds it strange or brave that we talk about it. ?It’s a commonly used but useful analogy to compare recovery from mental ill health to a broken leg. If your leg was visibly broken but you had no cast on it, no one would think of saying ‘power through – just keep putting weight on it until you can walk again’. Yet, so many of us have that kind of reaction to mental health.? ‘Chin up, it could be worse’. ?I doubt that phrase has ever been enough to help someone get better. ?At best, it works to belittle feelings that can be overwhelming, at worst it makes a person feel judged and not worthy of help.

I was diagnosed with chronic depression and anxiety in my early teens, I have tried to take my own life 3 times since then. I only felt able to talk about mental illness without feeling shame in my 30’s, although sometimes I still feel awkward. What I have learned by now (mid 40’s) is that those people who aren’t prepared to listen or won’t try to help, are the people you should be avoiding wherever possible, be it family, acquaintances or employers (I know that it is rarely this simple). ??1 in 7 adults in the UK currently struggle with mental health issues. 1 in 7, that’s HUGE. ?If it isn’t you, then there’s a high chance that one of your friends or colleagues is struggling right now. As I have gotten older and, arguably, wiser I have realised that ‘powering through’ is neither brave, nor smart, nor effective. In fact, powering through actually means pushing yourself to the brink of exhaustion until you burn out and cannot get better without outside help. ?All employers should learn how to respond to, and support, people who are struggling with their mental health.

Recent figures suggest that half of all UK employers offer Employee Assistance Programmes aimed at supporting employee mental and physical wellbeing. It’s a wise investment. Statistics have shown that they reduce absences by between 3% and 16%[2]. This also means that half of all UK employers do not offer an EAP. Sadly, this does also seem to tie in with male dominated industries such as construction and investment banking. Additionally, statistics show that men who are struggling with mental health are three times more likely to commit suicide.

This should have employers asking themselves :?? ??

·?????? How do we address and de-stigmatise conversations about mental health?

·?????? What do we offer in terms of support?

·?????? What could we offer in terms of support?

·?????? What should this support look like?

Back to my old analogy: as a broken leg heals in a cast, so too can we recover from mental ill health but it’s significantly harder without support.

I’d like to use an example of my own and with permission from my previous employers, Ooni . Unfortunately, due to some medication issues, tied in with distressing life events (out with my control), I hit a very bad period of depression and went downhill fast. I was in the darkest place I had ever been and it led to me trying to take my own life. I did not know how, or want, to save myself. In the UK we are lucky enough to have the NHS, but their mental health teams are overwhelmed by the sheer number of people needing support. ?The team at Ooni stepped up in a spectacular way.? They sourced, and funded, private mental health support for me. I was admitted to a private hospital in Glasgow. When I got there, my mind was shut down and my body was heading the same way. I wanted to die and my body seemed all too happy to oblige. The medical team there were amazing: within a day I had new medication, therapy, healthy food and drink. Within 2 weeks I was well enough to return home, within 4 weeks, well enough to be back at work. I haven’t had a single suicidal thought in months. Something I haven’t been able to say since I was 16.

I wonder what life would be like if most employers responded the way Ooni did. I was very lucky but I wish this support was more commonplace. When I was at the hospital I wasn’t surrounded by the rich and elite, just normal people like me who were fortunate enough to have work-provided health plans and colleagues who cared about them. I wonder, if employers were to analyse the cost of absences, then compare that with the cost of bringing in more wellness support – would the figures prove a strong case for the latter? The answer will vary for each business but I think it's a safe bet to say the figures will fall in favour of offering support. I think that it is worth investigating.

My experience is unique to me and I know that there is no simple answer. ?My hope is that it pinpoints that there is so much an organisation can do to support struggling employees. My opinion is that the only bad choice a company can make is to do nothing.

If you have made it to the end of this article, thank you for reading. I have tried to keep things simple – which is hard for such a complex topic (and boy can I rattle on). If you are struggling, you are not on your own, please don’t give up. Things might feel bleak now but I promise you that it can get better with support, not just a little better, a whole lot better. Please reach out to someone - ?a doctor, a friend, a charity.

I've included below some links that may help (most of these are UK based but please feel free to add others in the comments).

Breathing Space

CALM

Mind

The Samaritans

Andy’s Man Club

[1] According to the Office of National Statistics for 2022/23

[2] Obviously these figures will have countless variables and I’m not seeing EAPs as a fix-everything solution. They certainly look like a good place to start.