A fascinating paradox has emerged in workplace mental health support: as organisations invest more in mental health initiatives, employees remain deeply hesitant to engage with them. Our recent survey of workplace mental health attitudes reveals that even in companies rated as having ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ mental health support, 73% of respondents would only share mental health challenges with select trusted colleagues – or not at all.
This mirrors findings from the 2023 Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey by CIPD, which found that while 84% of UK employers have increased mental health support, only 49% of employees feel comfortable discussing mental health at work. The disconnect is stark.
Our data suggests the core issue isn’t the availability of support, but trust and control. Every senior leader in our survey cited ‘control over who sees the information’ as a crucial factor in their willingness to engage with workplace mental health initiatives. This aligns with discussions in BMC Public Health, highlighting that trust and perceived effectiveness are significant factors in employee engagement with mental health programs.
Perhaps most telling is the consistent concern about career impact. Across all seniority levels, from individual contributors to executives, respondents emphasised the need for mental health support to be ‘separate from performance reviews.’ One senior manager noted poignantly: ‘I know for a fact that all mental health issues discussed will be in the back of their mind when deciding on promotions.’
This creates a challenging dynamic: organisations aim to support mental health but may inadvertently foster environments where employees feel hesitant to utilize that support due to concerns about their professional standing.
The implications are significant. According to the 2024 NAMI Workplace Mental Health Poll, while 74% of full-time employees in the U.S. believe it’s appropriate to discuss mental health concerns at work, only 58% feel comfortable doing so.
This disconnect underscores the importance of not only providing mental health resources but also cultivating a workplace culture that encourages open dialogue and psychological safety.
Our data suggests a potential way forward. While respondents were hesitant about broad workplace disclosure, there was strong interest in systems that enable sharing within small, trusted groups. 68% of respondents indicated they would engage with mental health support if they had granular control over information sharing.
This points to an evolution in workplace mental health support: moving from broad, organisation-wide programmes to frameworks that enable intimate, trusted connections while maintaining professional boundaries.
As we continue analysing this data, one thing is clear: the future of workplace mental health support isn’t just about providing more resources – it’s about creating environments where people feel safe enough to use them.
What has been your experience with mental health support in the workplace? Have you observed similar patterns in your organisation?
The next article in this series will be published tomorrow: The Privacy-Support Balance: What Employees Really Want
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