Prince William encourages mental health support in the workplace

With over a quarter of UK workers diagnosed with a mental health condition admitting to not discussing it at work out of embarrassment, officials including the Duke of Cambridge are urging for increased support in the workplace.

His Royal Highness Prince William wrote in the foreword of a recent mental health report that the responsibility is in the hands of employers, who must take a proactive approach, and “support the mental as well as physical wellbeing of the 31m people at work in Britain.”

This coincides with research by AXA PPP healthcare that revealed 27% of employees with diagnosed mental health related conditions admitted to feeling like they were treated differently by their managers, with 22% feeling their colleagues acted differently towards them to those with physical or visible illnesses. Research has also showed that 45% of employees felt more comfortable about discussing physical health than mental health, something which specialists believe is a problem that bosses urgently need to address.

“Employers have a responsibility to create a work environment where employees feel able to be open and honest with their manager,” said Dr Mark Winwood, director of Psychological Services at AXA PPP healthcare. “A manager asking simply ‘How are you feeling today?’ shows they care. It is also essential that managers can reassure employees that it’s okay not to feel okay and they should feel able to let the employee know about support available to them in the workplace and how to access it.”

The conversation needs to be able to go both ways, according to Dr Winwood, as bosses need to feel confident and comfortable that they can discuss concerns with an employee without distress.

“Managers need to feel confident to have a conversation with their employees about how they are and whether they need any support,” continued Dr Winwood. “This confidence can be helped through training and support from their employer.”