Letting It Go - Opening up to Your Colleagues About Mental Health

Confidential
One consu mer . One conv ersation . One agency .
Confidential
Letting it Go
Opening up to your colleagues about mental health

Confidential
About Me.
Hi I’m Mike ☺ (I’m the one on the right)
o Worked online in various capacities for around 20 years
before which I had a pretty eclectic variety of jobs
ranging from paperboy, Burger King, the Army,
bartender and car valeter
o Currently work as a Technical SEO Strategist at Edit (If
you want to know what that actually means ask me
later)
o Have experienced mental health issues since my teens
http://mikesmind.org
https://twitter.com/mikesmindorg

ConfidentialConfidentialConfidential
D e p r e s s i o n
Diagnosed in my late teens
My Mental Health Credentials
A n x i e t y
Diagnosed with General
Anxiety Disorder a couple of
years ago
O C D
Diagnosed about 10 years
ago
A D H D
Currently going through
evaluation process
S A D
Suspected but not formally
diagnosed
W h o K n o w s W h a t E l s e …
……………

Confidential
Mental health problems can have a wide range of causes. It's
likely that for many people there is a complicated combination
of factors – although different people may be more deeply
affected by certain things than others.
Source: Mind.org
Causes of Mental Health Issues
o childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect
o social isolation or loneliness
o experiencing discrimination and stigma
o social disadvantage, poverty or debt
o bereavement (losing someone close to you)
o severe or long-term stress
o having a long-term physical health condition
o unemployment or losing your job
In My Case…
• 3 x Molestation attempts experienced as
a child
• Dad dying when I was 15
• 2 Cousins drowning together shortly
afterwards
• 3 x Serious head injuries
• 3 x serious assaults
• Workplace bullying
• 2 x Burglaries
• Losing Mum to Lung Cancer
• Redundancy
Important Side Note: I was the recipient not
the perpetrator in the above crimes!
Anyway, I’m still here ☺ (somehow!)

ConfidentialConfidential
How the company have
benefited and why
employers in general
should care about mental
health.
Perceptions of
talking about
mental health at
Work
My experience of
talking about my
mental health at Edit
and how they have
supported me.
How I have
benefited as a
result of speaking
up about my
mental health
What I’m Going to Talk About.

Perceptions of
Talking About
Mental Health at
Work.

Perceptions of Talking About Mental Health at Work.

38% of Brits fear revealing a mental health
problem at work would jeopardise their
career
• A further 17 % said they were worried they would face negative judgement from
colleagues.
• 45% said they would be likely to make up an excuse such as stomach ache or back
problems for absence if they needed to take time off work for mental health reasons.
• Worryingly, one in five workers (20%) said they have seen the label of mental health
misused against co-workers.
• 11% have been victims of abuse at work as a direct result of a mental health issue.
Source: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/news/38-brits-fear-revealing-mental-health-problem-work-would-jeopardise-their-career

• From September to November in 2017 there were 32.21 million people in work in the UK 1
• According to the Mental Health foundation 1 in 6.8 people (14.7%) experience mental
health problems in the workplace. 2
1: Office for National Statistics https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/january2018
2: Mental Health Foundation https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-mental-health-work
This suggests
4,734,870 People with mental health issues in the workplace
1,799,250 People worried about talking about their issues

“The department name "Human Resources"
alone should be enough to let anyone
know what the mindset towards the
workers is.”

Negative Past Experiences of HR
Departments.
• Had a rash on arms due to a nervous habit of scratching. Was nicknamed “Aids” which
was then used by all colleagues (by head of department) Told by HR not to take it seriously
and that it was just “banter”
• Was moved to a new desk in the middle of a busy call centre which was very noisy. My job
was quite technical and it was very difficult to concentrate. I wasn’t customer facing so
asked if I could wear headphones which was refused. Asked if I could work from home one
day as I had something particularly technically challenging to do. Was told I would need
to take it as holiday.
• Was signed off work with stress. When my initial sicknote expired the Doctor advised me to
return to work gradually by working only some days of the week and working half days.
Employer refused and I was forced to use all my holiday to cover the shortfall between
wage and SSP.

The Impacts of Not Getting the Proper
Support in the Work Place.
• Self Harming including 4 painkiller overdoses
• Leaving a Number of Jobs
• Anxiety about being in the workplace (worked almost
predominantly from home for 10 years)
• Having to Take Time off Sick
• Poor Work Performance leading to anxiety about job
security
• Feeling Isolated

My Experiences
With Talking About
Mental Health at
Edit.

My Experiences With Talking About Mental Health at Edit .
• Just over a month and a half into my probation my wife was admitted to hospital for
emergency surgery on a previously undiagnosed abscess. The day after the first of 3
surgeries she lost her long term temp job as a result of not being able to work. After 2 weeks
in hospital she came home and was unable to work properly for months afterwards.
• I had to request flexible working (from home) for large periods of time to look after my wife
before I had even finished my probation.
• I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to perform in my first role in a large agency working
with huge brands
• I was starting to slip into a pretty dark place…..

Speaking to my Manager / HR
• Worried about perception of performance
• Wanted to be proactive in saying I didn't think I was
performing at my best and was taking action
• To explain time out of the office for medical appointments
without having to make up excuses

Speaking to my Manager / HR
• My Manager was incredibly supportive and talked about his
own experiences.
• Asked there were any problems with my workload that
needed addressing
• Asked if there was anything in the office environment that
was bothering me
• Allowed me to work from home whilst getting used to
medication and regularly work from home one day a week.

“Fun fact about antidepressant / anti -
anxiety medication.
Common side effects include...
Increased anxiety and depression

• Missing deadlines etc
• Spending a lot of time out of the office
• Worried that others didn't have managerial insight and it
could alienate me from them
• Didn't want people to think that I wasn't bothered about my
job.

Would I be embarrassed about saying I had a
broken leg?

Confidential
Hi All,
I feel at the moment like I should buy a red and white striped jumper
and matching woolly hat.
In case anyone doesn’t get the reference, I am referring to the fact that
it has been difficult to spot me in the Leeds office over the past few
months.
I’ve had a few struggles with mental health over the years and a few
years ago I was diagnosed with a condition called Generalised Anxiety
Disorder and went for a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which
helped massively at the time.
I wanted to send this email in part to say thank you to everyone who
has been so patient with me, to apologise to anyone who has had to
shift delivery dates due to me not getting things finished in time and
also to try and help remove some of the stigma associated to mental
health issues.
I’ll catch up with everyone who is waiting on things from me individually
after this. But thanks again everyone and I look forward to hopefully
being back up to full speed very soon!
(hits send -EEP!)
Mike

Hi Mike,
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for being brave
enough to send this email, I’m so proud that we have a work environment
where you feel comfortable and supported enough to share your struggles
and that you’ve found the Vitality cover useful.
There should be no stigma attached to discussing something that has likely
affected us all from one time to another, and I would want everyone to feel
comfortable enough to approach myself or their line manager if they
needed support in this area.
Hope you’re on the mend very soon, and if you need anything from me or
the business please let me know.

What an awesome email to send Mike 😊
you’re awesome, and we’re here for you
Sounds corny, but B3 is genuinely the most
supportive place I’ve worked too
Hope your meds work themselves out and
you find what’s right for you!!

Brave man, credit to you for sending that email Mike and good
on you for talking about it! We need more of this to get rid of
that stigma as you say.

Just read your email, thank you for sharing such a personal
story and thank you for helping kick down the stigma
associated with mental health!

People also Opened up About Their Own
Challenges

I struggled with depression in my previous job and
found it so hard to talk about, I’m glad you are
happy to share with everyone at B3, and it goes
without saying we are all here to support you!

I was diagnosed with manic depression when I was
12 and I still never get my meds/counselling session
properly balanced. I’d just like to give you a massive
shout out, I imagine writing that email was not easy
but I also know you’ll be flooded with tones of
support from your B3 family as result.

I’m currently having CBT at the moment (next session
tomorrow) so I can relate to how you feel, at times
it’s horrendous and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst
enemy but it’s often difficult to find people who
actually understand it.

How I’ve Benefited
From Talking
About My Mental
Health.

How I’ve Benefited From Talking About My Mental Health .
• Relief of Stress and Anxiety
• Not having to take time off sick
• Better Workplace Relationships
• Not feeling so alone and understanding that others
have similar feelings
• Opportunities such as speaking here today

How Employers
Benefits From Staff
Talking About
Mental Health.

How Employers Benefit From Staff Talking About Mental
Health.
• More productive and better quality of work
• Easier to manage expectations
• Less time out of the office
• Better communication with other staff
• Increased sense of loyalty to the company
• Feel more comfortable talking to my manager

Health.
£8.4 billion a year in sickness absence. The average employee takes seven days off
sick each year of which 40% are for mental health problems. This adds up to 70 million lost working
days a year, including one in seven directly caused by a person’s work or working conditions.
£15.1 billion a year in reduced productivity at work. ‘Presenteeism’ accounts for 1.5
times as much working time lost as absenteeism and costs more to employers because it is more
common among higher-paid staff.
£2.4 billion a year in replacing staff who leave their jobs because of mental ill health.
Source: Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health http://www.ohrn.nhs.uk/resource/policy/TheFactsaboutMentalHealth.pdf

Health.
• More productive, happier staff
• Better internal staff relationships
• Reduction in absentee / presenteeism
• A more positive public profile

Confidential
Closing Thoughts.

• Don't assume that people are ok unless they say something. Be
approachable
• If you see performance slipping don't default to discipline. Ask if
anything is wrong.
• Make sure employees understand that they are protected by law to be
able to talk
• Small things matter (being called a name, being able to wear
headphones or work from home for a day.)
Closing Thoughts

Confidential
Thank You.
http://mikesmind.org
https://twitter.com/mikesmindorg

Letting It Go - Opening up to Your Colleagues About Mental Health

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