Destigmatizing Mental Health in the Workplace: Tips for Executives

Mental health stigma in the workplace isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a significant issue affecting countless employees across various industries. When stigma surrounds mental health, it creates an environment where people feel unsafe and unsupported – which can make it harder for them to get the help they need. And while we’ve made strides in acknowledging mental health’s importance, many workplaces still have a long way to go in creating truly inclusive and supportive environments.

Addressing mental health stigma isn’t just about putting up posters or hosting wellness seminars. It’s about building a culture where mental health is openly discussed and supported from the top down. Leaders play a crucial role in shaping this culture. When executives and senior leadership prioritize mental health, it sets a powerful example that permeates the entire organization.

Here, we’ll go over what mental health stigma can look like and how it affects employees, as well as give you practical tips on how executives and senior leadership can combat mental health stigma at work.

Understanding mental health stigma

Stigma is a negative societal view about a characteristic or group of people, which can be held knowingly or unknowingly. Over history, society has held stigmas against many groups of people, including the LGBTQ+ population, people with leprosy, formerly incarcerated people, and more.

Mental health stigma is the overall negative view that society tends to hold against people who live with mental health issues. It’s arguably one of the longest-lasting and most severe stigmas society has held against one group of people.

We’ve come a long way in terms of mental health awareness, and sometimes, depending on
what circles you run in, it may seem there’s hardly any judgment at all toward having mental health issues today. But in reality, this is unfortunately not the case – mental health stigma continues to be pervasive, especially in the workplace.

Surveys show although the percentage of employees who feel comfortable talking about their mental health at work is growing, it’s still not nearly at 100%. Currently, approximately 3 in 4 U.S. employees believe it’s appropriate to talk about mental health at work, but less than 60% would feel comfortable doing so themselves^[1].

Although this is a much greater percentage than it used to be, many people still report they have faced retaliation or different treatment after disclosing a mental health diagnosis at work.

In addition, stigma may be decreasing for more common mental health issues like depression and anxiety, but many people continue to hold highly stigmatized views against other mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. One study found although societal stigma against depression decreased from 1996 to 2018, it increased against schizophrenia and alcohol use disorder^[2].

What does mental health stigma look like at work?

Mental health stigma in the workplace can appear in subtle ways. Even if your workplace has policies in place to protect employees from being harassed due to their mental illness, many people may continue to hold implicit biases against people who live with mental health issues. These biases can come up in every area of work, including recruitment, hiring, and employee recognition and promotions.

Unfortunately, mental health stigma at work can prevent employees with a wide range of mental health conditions from being their best and fullest selves at work.

Mental health stigma in the workplace can lead to:

• Decreased productivity
• Lack of psychological safety in the workplace
• Toxic company culture
• Lack of neurodiversity among employees
• Bullying and harassment

The effects of mental health stigma often start in the recruitment and hiring phases. If a candidate discloses they live with a mental health condition, it may influence managers’ decisions about whether or not to hire them.

The stigma doesn’t always appear explicitly—most hiring managers don’t think, “We’re not going to hire this person because they live with mental health concerns.” However, the stigma can appear implicitly. For example, you may feel like the candidate isn’t a “good culture fit.”

Employees who live with mental health concerns may also be afraid to disclose their diagnosis to their managers, which can affect their productivity and reputation. For example, symptoms of depression are often mistaken for “laziness.” Especially if managers aren’t aware of an employee’s depression diagnosis, they may be more likely to punish them for a lack of productivity due to a depressive episode.

Unfortunately, even when employees do disclose the mental health problems they live with, stigma can create a toxic work environment in which they’re judged and not understood. For example, an employee who needs time off due to mental health issues may be told they’re just “making excuses.”

Overall, battling mental health stigma as a company can lead to an environment where all employees have psychological safety – in other words, they feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work.

How companies can create a stigma-free workplace culture

Companies and their leaders can do so much to combat workplace mental health stigma and create a psychologically safe environment for every employee. Here are some ways you can make a difference as an executive or manager.

Train leaders on mental health

CEOs and other executives set the tone for the entire company. It’s essential all workplace leaders are well-trained in how to approach the topic of mental health and recognize their own implicit biases. Leaders need to learn how to be good role models for how to behave in ways that destigmatize mental health. This can not only help employees with mental health issues feel safer, but it also helps the entire company understand how to approach these conversations.

Around 80% of employees say that HR, senior leadership, and supervisors should be responsible for helping employees feel comfortable talking about their mental health at work. For leaders to be able to do this, they need to be trained. [1]

Normalize mental health conversations

The era of mental health conversations being shameful or secretive is over. To break mental health stigma, we must all normalize having conversations about mental health the same way we talk about physical health.

Just like an employee would disclose if they were under the weather physically, you can create a workplace environment where it’s normal for them to disclose they’re facing mental health struggles as well. Normalize having mental health conversations, but don’t force anyone to share if they don’t want to.

Some conversation starters you can use include:

• “I’ve noticed you haven’t been yourself lately. I just wanted to check in with you to see if you’re okay.”
• “How has this recent project affected your stress levels?”
• “We have been going through a lot of changes in the company. How is everyone’s mood?”
• “How do you take care of yourself after a long day at work?”
• “I’m here to talk about it if you’d like to.”

Educate employees about mental health

Part of the reason why mental health stigma is so widespread is because mental health issues are generally misunderstood. There’s a lack of education about how mental illness presents; for example, many people may think of people with schizophrenia as “dangerous” or people with depression as “lazy”.

The stigma that’s rooted in a lack of education can be combated by ensuring every employee receives awareness training about various mental health issues, including how common they are and how they affect the people who experience them.

It’s also important to educate employees about the spectrum of mental health – in other words, mental health is more than just the absence of mental illness. Even employees who do not live with mental illness are affected by mental health; just like physical health comes on a spectrum and affects us all, mental health affects us all as well.

Provide access to mental health resources

Make sure every employee has access to mental health resources, including an employee assistance program (EAP), to support them with their mental health needs. Find ways to help employees understand using these resources is completely confidential and the things they talk about won’t travel back to the workplace.

In addition to an EAP, consider offering access to a mental health app or health insurance that covers a wide range of mental health services.

It’s also important to provide reasonable accommodations for employees who live with mental health conditions. Not only will this create psychological safety and help these employees be their most productive selves, but mental illnesses are also protected under the American Disabilities Act. (ADA) This means you may be legally required to provide accommodations that help these employees be successful.

Encourage self-care and well-being

Again, it’s essential to understand mental health comes on a spectrum. It’s not something that only affects people who live with mental illnesses; we all have a responsibility to take care of our physical and emotional needs and keep ourselves as mentally fit as possible.

In the workplace, this means encouraging employees to practice self-care and other techniques to improve their well-being. This may include ensuring employees take PTO or having clear policies to promote a healthy work-life balance.

Take care of your own mental health as an executive

As an executive or workplace leader, you face unique mental health challenges. Executives often carry so much responsibility on their shoulders. At the same time, you may feel you’re not allowed to break down – other employees are counting on you. This can be a lot to handle for anybody, and the extreme stress often leads to more serious mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.

Being a good role model and fighting mental health stigma means not only opening conversations about employees’ mental health but sharing about your own as well. Set a good example, and normalize talking about your mental health. This doesn’t mean you need to tell your employees the details of every personal problem you’re having; it’s just about demonstrating the understanding that mental health affects everybody, including you.

Mental health treatment for executives in Washington State

At The Center • A Place of HOPE, we provide holistic mental health treatment in Washington State. Our clinical team can teach you new skills to cope with workplace stress and make sure every aspect of your health and well-being is taken care of with our proven Whole Person Care approach.

We also offer a specialized, highly confidential, and exclusive treatment program for high achievers and executives needing more privacy and security. We can help you learn how to cope with mental health issues that may be getting in the way of being the leader you know you can be.

Are you ready to get started on the road to complete well-being? Get in touch with us for more information about admissions.

1 – https://www.nami.org/press-releases/nami-releases-poll-showing-post-pandemic-workforce-demands-more-mental-health-support/
2 – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2787280