October is Mental Health Month, with new research showing stigma is still prevalent in the workplace around the country. For example, almost 7 in 10 Australians are hiding mental illness from their employers.
The survey into mental health perceptions and realities was conducted by WayAhead Mental Health Association of NSW and gained insights from 2000 respondents nationwide, half with lived experience of mental health issues and half without.
Stigma and unfair treatment appears to be highest in the workplace when it comes to mental health, with 68 per cent of people saying they would hide their mental health status from their employer. Of those with lived experience, 38 per cent say they have experienced unfair treatment by their workplace, while 53 per cent say stigma is most prevalent in the workplace.
Stigma prevails
WayAhead CEO, Sharon Grocott, said the survey also found that 88 per cent of those with lived experience believe mental health stigma prevails.
‘While this is a slight improvement on our research from last year (94 per cent), the data on workplace stigma is concerning,’ she said.
‘Stigma and discrimination violate basic human rights and have toxic effects on people experiencing mental health issues, reducing education and employment opportunities, and social inclusion.’
The survey also showed that 64 per cent of people with lived experience of mental health hide it from others because of fear of discrimination – with the workplace (60 per cent) and family (53 per cent) factoring the highest.
Education needed
When it came to overcoming stigma, respondents said education about mental health was needed in an effort to overcome the stigma, with both sides of the survey showing that people believe public education is key.
‘We need to continue educating Australians in our school, workplace, family and community settings,’ said Ms Grocott. ‘At WayAhead, we are working hard to reduce the pervasive stigma that still exists around mental health through support programs, education, resources and advocacy.’
Mental Health Month ambassador, Northern Rivers local 2023 Masterchef winner Brent Draper, said we need to normalise talking about mental health to destigmatise it.
‘There’s still so much stigma around the words “mental health”, and it needs to change in order for people to be able to put their hand up and ask for help, and get well,’ he said.
Other key findings from the survey
People With Lived Experience:
- Regarding wait times for a mental health issue, 18 per cent said it took them three years to get help; 21 per cent two to six months; and 15 per cent were yet to seek any help.
- 32 per cent felt treated unfairly by managers or colleagues in the workplace because of their mental illness.
- 71 per cent say public community education would help reduce stigma while 56 per cent say increased government funding to the sector would also help.
- 29 per cent felt GPs treated them unfairly when seeking help for their issue.
People With Non-Lived Experience:
- 68 per cent believe more needs to be done to eliminate discrimination towards people affected by adverse mental health problems.
- 43 per cent believe people with a mental illness experience unfair treatment by their neighbourhood.
- Only 7 per cent felt workplaces always provided a safe environment for people experiencing mental health issues to feel open and safe about asking for help.
- 23 per cent said their own workplace always offered a supportive environment for people with mental health issues.
- 47 per cent believe we have come a long way but stigma is still prevalent, while 44 per cent said stigma still exists.
Workplaces lagging behind
Executive Director of the Australian Association of Psychologists, Tegan Carrison, said the research suggested workplaces are lagging behind.
‘The WayAhead research demonstrates that we still have a lot of work to do in reducing stigma and discrimination of mental health,’ she said.
‘Stigma and fear of discrimination lessen the likelihood that people will seek the help they need. We also need to improve availability and access to person-centred mental health care when people do reach out for help.”
During Mental Health Month, Wayahead is reminding us ‘we all have a role to play’ when it comes to mental health and urges everyone to visit wayahead.org.au to discover what’s on offer to support their mental health.
There are downloadable resources available, including a Workplace Mental Health Month Toolkit designed for workplaces, and classroom resources for schools.
