Mental Health at Work, a Big Invisible Issue to Solve

As Page Executive reveals in the study “8 ​​trends for executives 2019“, talking about mental health still brings with it an important stigma. 

In this sense, the report, according to Equipos y Talentos, reveals that workers‘ reluctance to talk about their mental health can lead to them ending up working in poor conditions.

This ultimately impacts their productivity reduction, which can affect competition and sustainability of the company.

This statement is also supported by the European report of ADP, “The Workforce in Europe 2019”, which states that almost a third of Spanish employees would not feel comfortable recognizing a mental health problem to anyone at work.

Plus, 11% would feel comfortable telling his boss, and only 9% would tell Human Resources. 

In addition, 31% believe that their manager is not interested in their mental well-being.

The data, for its part, of Page Executive are similar.

Workers consider that dealing with these issues can be detrimental to their careers (36%), that they will be rejected by their peers (20%) and that it may end up reflecting the wrong image of they are unable to perform their job properly (34%). 

In addition, 50% of workers who have experienced problems with their mental health and have gone to their superiors, one in five claims to have felt misunderstood and does not think they have solved anything.

Pieces of Advice

For this reason, Miguel Portillo, Director of Page Executive, emphasizes that faced with this situation, necessarily involves creating adequate tools that help to give visibility to these problems.

Part of the solution is to allow to offer clear solutions to reduce the levels of stress and anxiety in the companies.

On the other hand and according to the report “Mental Health at Work” published by Business in the Community, there is a relationship between authority and depression that involve a risk twice as high for CEOs and senior managers.

This is because they usually work more hours, they have more pressure to set an example and have very little free time, which, in the long run, means leaving aside their own mental health.

Therefore, it is advisable to encourage them to talk about their mental health safely and understand that depression and stress are normal problems that can be treated.

It is also important to sleep well, eat healthy, practice sports, perform meditation exercises and social life, to work in a more focused and calm manner.

From an organizational level, create an open and trusting business culture, which support the workers, regardless of their position and responsibility.

Finally, experts indicate that there are a series of actions that allow improving the quality of life at work such as job recognition.

This increases motivation, work-life balance, guaranteeing greater flexibility.

Also, the implementation of recreational or wellness actions such as relaxation classes, stress management, and emotions.

“Many companies are opting for programs dedicated to meditation, mindfulness, workshops or talks about the importance of healthy living, help to leave unhealthy habits, massages for back pain or even psychologists who move to companies,” concludes Miguel Portillo.