How to Approach an Employee About Their Mental Health

Regardless of how much training, guidelines, or law is put in place, there is still a stigma associated with discussing mental health in the office. Most workers are uncomfortable discussing personal concerns or mental struggles, which might have an impact on their work quality.

When you're dealing with depression, breakups, or the death of a loved one, it's difficult to express your emotions to yourself, let alone fellow workers. So, what role does HR play in encouraging workers to speak up?

Lack of awareness

Jamie MacLennan, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific at LifeWorks, said that society had come a long way in removing the mental health stigma in the workplace. However, many still have negative attitudes towards those who struggle with mental health, often due to a lack of understanding and awareness.

According to him, LifeWorks' Mental Health Index study says that over half of workers believe that their career choices would be limited if they had a mental health problem and their employer was aware. This fear is also why people choose not to discuss it openly, making it more difficult to remove the stigma.

The main issue is that people are hesitant to disclose because of the implications they believe they will face. If having a mental health problem isn't awful enough, it can be made worse by having another mental health problem on top of it. Certainly not a great situation.

Change starts from the top

MacLennan said that combatting prejudice against mental health in the office begins from the top down, adding that employers must implement human resources policies that protect workers with mental health problems and proactively inspire them to take care of their mental health.

He stated that mental health awareness campaigns and wellbeing programmes are vital approaches that help break down the current workplace stigma against mental health. Human resources must collaborate with leadership teams to establish policies and procedures that benefit the company and its employees.

Most of the time, even with the full support of senior executives, managers are on the front lines of identifying and dealing with mental health issues; nonetheless, they are usually the least prepared and supported in what to look for and what to do. It is critical that organisations back their policies with manager training.

The price of ignoring employees' mental health issues

Identifying and helping employees with mental health problems is a significant difficulty for many organisations. It is not immediately recognisable, and they must address the subject cautiously, yet they also cannot overlook the problem.

MacLennan said that companies that do not address mental health at work would have more absenteeism, increased employee turnover, decreased employee productivity, and overall workplace dissatisfaction.

According to LifeWorks' findings, 45% of Australians leave work feeling mentally or physically weary. While absenteeism contributes to productivity loss, benchmark data shows that it accounts for a modest part of the overall loss.

MacLennan stated that discretionary effort and presenteeism have the greatest impact on productivity loss. Productivity is significantly related to mental health scores. Finally, employers must establish a supportive culture and HR policies to make all workers feel valued.

Concerns about mental health are only expected to grow in society as we move towards a more fragmented workplace with different aspirations for Generations Y, and Z. Workers are protected by law, but they also need to be safeguarded in the workplace by feeling safe enough to voice their concerns without fear of repercussions.

Source: Human Resources Director