The YouGov study, commissioned by leading job board, totaljobs, surveyed Scottish workers to find out about their experiences of mental health and wellbeing at work.
The study showed that 4% of people have taken sick days off work, or have been unable to work as an employee, due to a mental health issue in the last year - with nearly a third (29%) of these stating that their employer was unaware of the reason.
Regarding whether they would be comfortable discussing a mental health issue with their employers, just under a third (30%) of Scottish workers said they would feel comfortable.
Of the reasons they would not feel comfortable discussing their mental health with their employer, 33% said they feel their employer would think negatively of them, 24% don’t think they would get enough or the right support, and 23% feel there is a ‘stigma’ attached to mental health issues.
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Top 5 reasons employees are reluctant to discuss a mental health issue with an employer:
I feel it would make my employer think negatively of me (33%)
I don’t think I’d get enough/the right support from my employer (24%)
I feel there is a ‘stigma’ attached to mental health issues (23%)
I don’t think it’s my employer’s business (i.e. they shouldn’t need to know about it) (23%)
I’d be embarrassed to discuss it with my employer (18%).
When asked about the services offered by their employer that may aid mental health and wellbeing, the most prevalent service was counselling, with 26% of workers saying this was offered.
Top 5 mental health and wellbeing services offered by employer:
Counselling (free or paid-for) (26%)
Flexible working hours (24%)
Encouragement of regular breaks (15%)
Staff surveys specifically to ensure employees are not struggling at work (14%)
Gym memberships (free or discounted) (13%)
Totaljobs has created an online hub with lots of useful resources and articles on coping with mental health in the workplace. Find it HERE