Why we still can’t open up at work

Why we still can’t open up at work

Around 51% of employees feel uncomfortable about talking about their sensitive issues with anyone at work.

The research by Unmind suggests the most difficult topics to raise include personal finances (37%), grief (25%) and women’s health issues (23%). With all the debate of recent years, progress has been made when it comes to mental health — but 21% continue to feel there is a taboo around opening up about experiences of anxiety and depression.

Employees flagged the importance of being able to trust their employer. 68% said they needed to be able to open up about their issues, with 44% saying they would look to leave their current place of employment if it was unable to handle sensitive topics appropriately.

Fear of repercussions

There are still fears of implications. 36% worried they would be ‘judged’ by managers or colleagues; 24% thought being open could impact their career. When employees do speak up, they mostly go to their friends and peers at work (51%), 29% to line managers and just 18% to HR. Younger staff are more conscious of the need for support: 80% of under 34s said it was important they could open up about personal problems at work, compared with 53% among those aged over 55.

As a conclusion, the report authors point to the importance of trained wellbeing champions as a go-to resource for staff to talk: “Providing avenues for people to be open about their physical and mental health helps with employee engagement, productivity, retention and impacts the bottom line. When done correctly, peer-to-peer programmes like wellbeing champions help tackle stigma, better promote existing wellbeing resources, and drive grassroots cultural change.”

Mindful changes

EAPA UK chair, Karl Bennett said: “The reality is that whatever training people internally may have had around mental health or other sensitive topics, people just don’t feel able to share some personal issues. It’s a barrier — and a serious one when it means problems are hidden, bottled up, leading to the potential for far more difficult and ongoing psychological illness that can’t be supported internally.

“Employees need to be able open up from the start, without having to think about confidentiality or who’s going to mention something to who. Which is why an early chat with an EAP, some independent, confidential support, is so important.”