Employers really need to up their game or risk losing their talent
Despite all the hard work HR leaders are doing to eradicate the stigma around mental health, it seems as if workers are just not convinced.
A report from CV-Library found that 42.9% of employees believe certain aspects of their job make them feel anxious or depressed. And worryingly, 77% of workers think there’s still a taboo surrounding mental health discussions – making them less likely to voice their concerns.
Almost half of employees have considered resigning from a job due to lack of support on mental health.
The majority of employees think their employers should offer mental health days for staff, whilst 88.4% also said that they management should be given training in how to deal with mental health.
“It’s sad to learn that professionals aren’t feeling supported by their employers when it comes to their mental health and it’s clear more needs to be done to tackle this,” added Lee Biggins, MD at CV-Library.
“With almost half confessing that they’ve thought about quitting a job due to lack of support, employers need to know how to address these issues. Otherwise they may risk losing talented employees.”
60% of those asked said they’re too embarrassed to disclose any information about their mental health to their employers – whilst two thirds feel guilty for taking time off for mental health reasons.
When asked how employers could help them feel more supported at work, staff replied;
- Promote a healthy work-life balance – 38.6%
- Create an environment where mental health is not stigmatized - 15%
- Refer employees to a counselling service – 13.7%
- Talk more openly about mental health – 11.9%
- Have an internal counselling service for staff – 10.6%
“From the data it’s obvious that there is a deep-rooted stigma around talking about mental health, particularly at work,” added Biggins.
“Honesty and strong communication both contribute towards a great company culture and the wellbeing of staff needs to play a part in this. Employers need to create an environment where staff feel they can approach their boss if they’re struggling or take some time out when they need to recharge their batteries.”