Most people have suffered work-related mental health issues but often risk demotion or even dismissal if they raise the problem, a study has found.
The report was published on Wednesday (October 4) by YouGov and Mental Health First Aid England, an organisation that offers companies courses to better employees’ mental health.
It is calling on employers to provide mental health training in the workplace following the report’s findings.
The study found that as many as 1.2m of the UK’s working population has faced demotion, disciplinary action or dismissal after disclosing a mental health issue at work.
Furthermore, only 11% of people feel they are able to talk to their line manager about a mental health issue.
This is despite mental health related absences costing UK employers an estimated £35 billion per year – more than £1,300 per employee.
Despite these alarming findings, the study did find that there had been some significant improvement in attitudes towards mental health in the workplace.
For example, 84% of employers acknowledge that they have a responsibility towards their employee's mental wellbeing while 91% of managers agree that what they do affects the wellbeing of their staff.
Poppy Jaman, chief executive of Mental Health First Aid England, said: “It’s encouraging to see that attitudes towards mental health in the workplace are shifting, however this report demonstrates that employers are still failing to translate increased awareness into action.
“Worryingly, over a million people who disclosed a mental health issue to their employer have faced negative consequences or even dismissal.”
She added: “Talking about mental health openly is a great first step in creating a mentally healthy organisation.
“But to better support employees, transform practices and truly embed a whole organisational approach to workplace wellbeing, employers need to offer mental health training.”
Several employers have begun to offer more mental health support.
Tricia O’Neill, head of occupational health & wellbeing at construction company Skanska, said they had recently taken steps to place a strong emphasis on the importance of good mental health.
“We have trained nearly 250 mental health ‘ambassadors’ to recognise common mental health problems and offer valuable support to colleagues,” she said.
