Fears Over Mental Health Discrimination

Almost half of people in work in Scotland think their colleagues would hide a mental illness through fear of discrimination.

That is according to a national mental health campaign, seeking to change attitudes in the workplace. Around one in three of employees say they have experienced mental ill health.

Judith Robertson, See Me programme director, said: "You don’t have to be an expert to speak about mental health, just asking someone if they are okay can be a powerful thing.

"In the workplace, there needs to be enough trust and openness for people with mental health problems to feel confident enough to talk, without the fear that they will be stigmatised and discriminated against. It is crucial that leadership in promoting better mental health comes from the top and staff are supported by policies and in practice.

"It is against the law to discriminate against someone because of a mental health condition, but if people don’t feel they will be supported by management, as the figures show, then people won’t be able to speak about important issues.

See Me are encouraging organisations in Fife to join their 'See Me in Work' programme as well as launching a campaign called 'The Power of Okay', which includes a poem that will appear on cinema screens, about the isolation people feel when they can’t speak out at work.

Fife Council are including a seminar on workplace stress as part of Fife Business Week. Deputy council leader Lesley Laird said: "Stress and mental health issues are increasingly, and quite rightly being talked about, not just in the work place but more generally in society.  
 
"This event is set in the context of giving space and time to recognise and talk about these issues as they occur in the workplace.  It is also a chance to share experiences and best practice for how employers and their HR practitioners  should most appropriately deal with these concerns. 
 
"I am sure that attendees will gain a great deal of insight from the event, and also some practical guidance and tips on how they can develop appropriate policies and practices in the workplace to better support their employees."

You can see the 'Power Of OK' video here.