Mind The Gap - Mental health in the workplace

Elaine Linnane - Creative Copy Lead            August 7, 2021

Attitudes and awareness around mental health, or more correctly mental ill health, are changing, but we still have a way to go. Experiences of discrimination and stigma are common to those with mental ill health. People are not well-informed, are quick to judge, are afraid, embarrassed, don’t know where to get help, or might not even realise that they need help.

Last year Remedica sent me on a ‘Mental Health First Aid’ course. It was designed to highlight the issues of mental health in the workplace and provide participants with tools to provide help and support to anybody who might need it. I learned a lot – from the frightening statistics on UK suicide rates, to signs to look out for and resources available for someone who is struggling.

I’m not a counsellor or a psychotherapist – but I do feel confident that if a colleague needed help or support or even just someone to listen to them, I could be that person.

What did I learn?

• First, the most obvious – learn to listen. And listen properly, without judging. We don’t know what’s going on in someone’s head, in their home, in their personal life. So just listen. Try not to interrupt and offer opinions – if someone is in distress or disclosing personal information, you need to give them the space to talk.

• Second, look out for each other. We spend so much time with our colleagues that we get to know a lot about them, and their daily habits. So if they start behaving differently, we notice. Are they missing deadlines or struggling to cope with their workload? Is their behavior erratic? Are they getting into arguments with colleagues, being louder or more exuberant than usual? Have they stopped coming to social events? Are they using more caffeine, alcohol, drugs? Are you concerned? Don’t ignore warning signs. Asking someone ‘is everything ok?’ might be met with ‘yeah, fine’, or might be an opportunity for that person to open up.

• Next, watch your tongue. ‘You know Julie in accounts? She’s completely mental, a total psycho.’ Mad, deranged, bonkers, crazy, nuts, cracked – none of these terms are helpful. They just promote the stigmatizing attitudes around mental ill health. Try not to use them.

Finally, there is a lot of professional support out there, and much of it is free. I might not be able to offer any professional advice, but I can direct someone to appropriate professional help, and encourage them to get that help. All completely confidentially.

So if you ever need to talk, you know where I am.