Employees Scared To Speak Out About Mental Health Issues

British adults avoid talking to their boss about mental health problems out of fear of losing their job or being considered "mad", findings suggest.

A survey, published by mental health charity Rethink, shows that nearly six in ten British workers (59%) say they would feel uncomfortable talking to their line manager if they had a mental health condition such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.

Fear of losing their job was the main reason people gave for feeling uncomfortable, closely followed by concern about colleagues finding out about their diagnosis. Nearly one in five (18%) respondents said they would be concerned that their line manager would think they were “mad” or overlook them for promotion (17%).

Key findings inclued:

* 9% of British employees say they would feel “very” comfortable talking to their line manager about a mental health condition, 24% say they would feel “fairly” comfortable
* 27% would feel “not very” comfortable and 32% “not at all” comfortable
* More than a quarter (26%) of respondents who said they wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to their line manager would be worried about losing their job
* Nearly one in five (18%) would worry that their line manager would think they were “mad”
* 19% would be concerned that their colleagues would find out
* Others (16%) would be afraid they would be overlooked for promotion.

Antonia Borneo, Rethink’s policy manager, said: “These statistics confirm what our members tell us. Even when employers have mental health policies in place, line managers often feel ill-equipped to deal with mental health issues among staff. However, line managers have a huge role to play in tackling workplace stigma and helping people with mental illness to remain in work.

"We know the practical steps that can help people affected by mental illness to continue working and want to share this knowledge with employers so that all employees feel comfortable asking their manager for help.”