Time to Talk Day is the annual awareness day in February which focuses on starting conversations about mental health. People in employment spend a sizeable amount of the week with their colleagues, so the workplace is an important place to get conversations started around mental health in order to help break the stigma and support colleagues who may be struggling.
Article / 4 Feb 2025
Time to Talk Day: Breaking the mental health stigma in the workplace
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An employee who has a mental health condition may be disabled under the Equality Act 2010, if their condition has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. If their condition does fall under the Equality Act 2010, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments if the employee/ worker/ applicant is placed at a substantial disadvantage by a provision, criterion or practice imposed by the employer. These reasonable adjustments could include adjusting to a more flexible working schedule or tweaking role responsibilities. However, employers should not just limit their support to only those who may currently be considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010.
Mental health issues can be born out of issues that exist in an employee’s home life, whether that be issues with family or friends, etc. – but can also come about as a result of issues at work. Acas guides have noted common workplace causes of mental health issues, which include:
- unmanageable workloads or demands;
- poorly defined job roles and responsibilities;
- unhealthy work-life balance;
- poor relationships with management or colleagues;
- organisational change or job insecurity;
- limited career progression opportunities.
As such, it’s vital that employers and line managers keep in mind the impact that uncertainty around organisational restructure or heavy workloads may have on an employee’s mental health. There are a number of steps employers can take to create a workplace culture where mental health stigma is removed, and conversations around it are embraced.
- Mental Health First Aiders: Mental Health First Aiders are commonplace in businesses nowadays and play a huge role in getting workplace conversations started. The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course is internationally recognised accreditation where those qualified will learn to recognise warning signs of mental health issues and develop the skills to support someone struggling with their mental health. Having these mental health champions in your office will prove a priceless asset in helping to stimulate what can be difficult conversations.
- Company-wide training: Company-wide training around mental health for all employees is also worth considering – with an increasing number of employers implementing mandatory mental health training for all employees. While less detailed than the requirements for becoming a Mental Health First Aider, learners will obtain a solid understanding of mental health, including common issues, strategies for maintaining good mental health and how to identify warning signs of mental ill-health in themselves or others.
- Further training for line managers: Those with line management responsibilities should be given more detailed training where possible – this could be additional in-house training or external training with a specialist company. It is important for businesses to encourage an open and safe environment for employees to discuss any issues they are having with their mental health, ideally with their line manager. It can also be very impactful and help embed an empathetic, inclusive culture if leaders and managers are able to share their own struggles around mental health, which will likely mean other employees are then more inclined to speak up and ask for support when they need it without worrying they’ll be stigmatised.
Tackling the stigma around mental health and starting conversations around the topic is not just beneficial to employees; it also benefits their employers. In creating a safe and inclusive environment for people to talk about their mental health and get the support they need, employees are more likely to stay with an organisation for a long period of time, which improves the retention of top talent, while also reducing absenteeism and the costs associated with that.