A Canadian study has found that four out of ten workers wouldn’t tell their manager if they had a mental health problem, but half would desire to help if they knew a coworker had an illness.
The survey, conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, revealed that workers have a combination of negative and supportive attitudes regarding mental health in the workplace.
Two of the key questions that were asked of the 2219 participants in Ontario were: Would you inform your manager if you had a mental health problem? And if a colleague had a mental health problem, would you be concerned about how work would be affected?
CAMH’s Centre for Research on Employment and Workplace Health head Dr Carlyn Dewa said a significant number of people in the workforce have mental health problems or have taken disability leave due to their mental health.
“Stigma is a barrier to people seeking help. Yet by getting treatment, it would benefit the worker and the workplace, and minimize productivity loss,” Dr Dewa said.
Reasons behind why 38 per cent of the workers said they would not tell the manager include more than half of them being afraid it would affect their careers. Other reasons included bad experiences of others who came forward, fear of losing friends, or they wouldn’t tell because they believed it wouldn’t affect their work.
Some of the findings in the survey indicated why people might be reluctant in revealing a mental health problem – when workers were asked if they would be concerned if a worker had a mental illness, 64 per cent answered yes, while four in ten also highlighted concerns about impacted reliability and safety.
Those that would reveal they had a mental health problem said they would do so due to a positive relationship with their manager. Supportive policies within the organisation were another influential factor in the decision, important to half of those willing to disclose.
“One surprising thing we found was that 50 per cent said they were concerned because they’d want to help their co-worker,” Dr Dewa said.
Dr Dewa’s previous research indicates that workers with depression who received treatment were more productive than those who didn’t, but without informing the manager of the problem, it would be difficult to get treatment.
Dr Dewa said a positive, trusting relationship with the manager was key to alleviating the issue.
“The manager’s position is so important, and it’s really important to invest in training them,” she said.
Dr Dewa suggested that for companies wanting to address the stigma attached to mental illness, there needs to be effective policies and procedures in addition to positive relationships between managers and coworkers.
Add Comment