According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NAMI),nearly one in five adults in the U.S. have a mental illness. The 10th of October is World Mental Health Day, and it’s a chance to consider the tens of millions of people around the world who live with mental health problems and can face serious stigmatization on the job.
David Ballard, a senior director of the American Psychological Association’s Office of Applied Psychology, and director of its Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, states that “Stigma in the workplace is still, unfortunately, an issue”. Those who battle mental health concerns are likely to feel uncomfortable revealing them, fearing that colleagues and supervisors may judge them negatively. They’re scared of missing opportunities of promotions and desirable assignments and being viewed as less competent, Ballard says. He adds that they might also fear being bullied, gossiped about or otherwise excluded socially.
Progress is being made, he says, but it’s impeded by the fact that “mental health is one of those issues that we usually just don’t talk about. It’s something that is very private.” He adds that people waste too much effort in hiding their issues instead of facing them. “When mental health does get talked about,” he says, “it’s often siloed off, and we talk about it like it’s separate from all of our other health issues and functioning issues.” Organizations that merge mental health with their broader health and performance-related conversations are most likely to succeed, he says.
According to the APA, excessive stress in the workplace causes 120,000 deaths and leads to almost $190 billion in healthcare costs a year. Working to reduce mental health disgrace in the workplace does not only benefit employees and organizations but the economy as well, because, according to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion a year in lost productivity. According to an APA study, over 60% of workers believe their employers provide sufficient mental health resources and coverage, but 27% say they don’t and 13% are unsure. Ballard says that when employers do make an effort, job satisfaction and motivation increase and stress and turnover diminish. “Employers really need to address this issue because, one, it’s the right thing to do to help support people,” he says, “but, two, it’s a good business strategy as well.”
In order to improve employees’ performance, he recommends having an “employee assistance program” that can be used anonymously which encourages its utilization. Everyone deals with big personal challenges, including financial, relationship, and caregiving stresses, he states, and this program will help them handle such matters. They also need to have a comfortable relationship with their bosses or supervisors, he says, and employers need to work with supervisors to train them in the best ways to support their employees.
A Mental Health America survey of nearly 10,000 employees found that 55% said they were afraid of taking a day off of work to attend to their mental health. However, it is compulsory to take time off so as to reduce stress and be full of motivation and energy. “The key, though,” Ballard says, “is maintaining that when you come back.” The more work you have piled up, the less benefits of a break are noticeable, that’s why care must be taken to ensure that the person returning to work won’t be overwhelmed and will be comfortable.
Ballard says that everything related to work should be completely forgotten during a person’s time off no matter the cost, even if abandoning all digital devices and network is what it takes. Instead, they should tend to practice activities that not only relax but stimulate energy in them (yoga or sports for instance). “When we get stressed out, when we’re struggling with things, it’s really easy for those types of activities to go out the window, and we don’t have time to do them anymore,” he says. Last but not least, the amount of sleep they get plays a big role in determining their overall health. And of course, they need to make sure that they are getting enough professional assistance.
Healthy lifestyle 