‘We need to talk more’: The importance of communication around mental health

There is an “unsettling gap” in communication between employees and management when it comes to mental health, according to a recent study from online training platform Goodhabitz.

The study was conducted among 24,235 employees around the world including Europe, Latin America, and Australia. It found that 81% of Australian workers struggled with stress and burnout and 56% chose not to communicate these signs to their employer.

The findings highlighted a need for employers to foster environments where open communication around mental health is welcomed and encouraged. And Goodhabitz further suggested that managers and teams develop their skills in effective communication, empathy and issue resolution.

A challenging environment

Goodhabitz country director Cam Elliot acknowledged that it has been a challenging environment for employers; from the COVID pandemic to adjusting to employees working from home, all which have happened in a short amount of time. But he believes the gap in communication around mental health will continue to shrink in time.

“Everyone's reacting as a result of that changed landscape,” he told HRD Australia. “And so… I feel like that gap will shorten.”

Any changes in communication that happen will also depend on each organisation, said Elliot.

“Are they conducting engagement surveys? Do they have a good pulse check on how their people are? And are they able to therefore react accordingly? We are already seeing some organisations who are on top of that.”

Prioritising mental health

Elliot believes in employers prioritising health and wellness.

“If it's not prioritised, it doesn't matter what else you're doing, if you're not looking after the people then it's very difficult to be able to run an organisation effectively,” he said.  

He went on to describe the benefits for employers who pay attention to the wellbeing of their employees.

“If you're looking at investing in your organisation, in your employee’s mental health and overall wellness, the return on investment is such a no brainer in terms of reducing sick days, reducing the amount of things like…quiet quitting. So happy and healthy employees is definitely the cornerstone of an effective organisation.”

Communication around mental health

Elliot emphasised the need to communicate when it comes to mental health.

“We need to talk more,” he said. “And that comes across in so many different ways. Organisations need to set up the right environment for it to happen. We need to see leaders setting the right example, we need to see leaders being more empathetic, we need to see leaders being more vulnerable with their own experiences.

“Because the more that we're able to set best practices for communicating around mental health, the more we're going to be able to get on top of that situation.”

Another piece of advice Elliot shared is for employers to provide opportunities where employees can learn how to cope.

“Whether that is in a team environment, whether that's having mental health first aiders on site that can assist, whether it's leveraging technologies like Goodhabitz to be able to help people to learn better coping mechanisms, better strategies to be able to set themselves up for success with mental health.”