Mental health ‘remains a taboo subject in the workplace’, research suggests

19 Dec 2017

A survey carried out by charity Time to Change has revealed that the subject of mental health is still regarded as a taboo topic in many UK workplaces.

The survey, which polled 2,000 UK workers, found that discussing mental health issues is ‘one of the last taboos in the workplace’.

Survey respondents were asked to select subjects they felt comfortable talking about with work colleagues from a list of topics. Of these topics, the subject of mental health ranked the lowest, with only 13% of respondents stating that they would feel comfortable discussing their own mental health concerns.

However, more than half of workers quizzed said that they would support a colleague if they were struggling with mental health issues.

The data also revealed that 26% of employees would rather discuss money issues than mental health problems.

Time to Change stated that there is ‘a lot more work to do in 2018 to combat the stigma of mental health’.

Commenting on the findings, Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, said: ‘Christmas is branded the most wonderful time of the year but it can be challenging and stressful for those of us struggling with mental health problems or with life stresses.

‘So let’s add talking about mental health into the usual mix of workplace conversations.’