Marta, 37 years old, is an administrator. Since she was little she had obvious symptoms, but until she was 28 she was not diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). For years, she hid her illness from the companies she has worked for, even at the cost of having to leave her job. Marta is no exception: 90% of workers with mental health problems have not been able to talk about them in the work environment, according to a report.
“The stigma, the fear of communicating my diagnosis made me leave my job, I was ashamed to explain the truth. The fact of lying when justifying an absence caused me a lot of anxiety, I felt like an imposter, and this fueled my disorder. There comes a time when, after lying so much, you no longer even know who you are,” Marta explained.
The organization Obertament has today presented the first report on mental health and stigma in Catalan companies, which shows that the vast majority of workers who live with a mental health problem prefer to remain in the closet rather than communicate the issue. 37% of them are afraid to ask the company for help due to the impact this may have on their future work.
Marta explains that, five years ago, she met an understanding boss, with empathy, acquired by her son’s mental health problems. “The world opened up to me!” she recalls. “I decided to reveal my disorder at work and, since then, my relationship has been much better. The moment of jumping into the pool, of stopping lying, was liberating. Talking to the boss when she began to feel unwell, she often avoided reaching an extreme situation. There were days, for example, that I allowed myself to telework.”
Unfortunately, this is not the reality for the majority. The work, based on 103 surveys of companies (management personnel or those responsible for human resources) and 623 workers who live with mental health problems, indicates that 52% of employees who have been absent from work due to this problem have hidden the reason. real of absence.
Many make an effort to hide the situation, although 40% say their current mental health status is bad or average. 60% of those who have suffered a mental health episode have not stopped going to work and 45% consider that a worker who revealed this problem would be treated unfairly and discriminated against at work.
Companies claim to be aware of the problem. 76% express concern about the mental health of their employees. But when workers are asked about this company commitment, the percentage falls to 47% and continues to decline, to 38%, according to the opinion of people with mental health problems.
Although 68% of staff with mental health problems point to work as one of the causes of this situation, only 31% of managers consider that they have the necessary tools to adequately manage mental health and stigma problems. .
According to Francisco Rubio, president of Obertament, the Covid-19 pandemic represented a turning point when it came to including mental health in public conversations. For this reason, some companies have addressed this situation, while others “have preferred to continue considering mental health as a matter of the private life of each employee, over which they have no control due to the stigma that activates fears and concerns.”
Based on the conclusions of the report, Obertament will make a catalog of recommendations and good practices for companies, and on October 9, the eve of World Mental Health Day, it will develop a campaign against stigma and discrimination in organizations. Among the recommendations, companies are urged to introduce policies to support workers, against stigma, and to not judge and respect each person’s personal beliefs and attitudes. Organizations are also encouraged to promote and explain that discrimination based on mental health is as unacceptable as any other type of discrimination.
