Your employer is aware that there is such a thing as mental health. What they are really aware of, is the impact it can have on their profit margin.

It’s a contentious issue and not one to be taken lightly. Nevertheless, let’s have a go.

Workplace mental health is that which will be eroded slowly over time, never to return. Have fun!

It is probably safe to say, that what has the biggest negative impact upon mental health in the workplace is of course, the workplace. Low pay, overwork, unrealistic projections and expectations, mismanagement, subpar equipment, strained logistics, inadequate training, problem colleagues, and the client gnawing on your back are just a handful of the varied issues that will plague your daily working life.

It’s not all the workplace however.

Your home life plays a factor. Rising bills, debt, relationships, bereavement, physical health ailments and the dog leaving a crap on the living room carpet that you’ve just stepped in are all elements of the flip side of the coin. Unless you are exceptionally good at compartmentalising your home and working lives, they will always bleed into one another.

This is where your employer comes in. Believe it or not, they want you to be happy. A happy worker, is a productive worker. An unhappy worker, is a liability.

Whatever your issue, make no mistake, your employer wants you gone. Indirect discrimination and constructive dismissal are the tools at their disposal, and by golly if they don’t know how to use them.

You’ve never been in more danger.

For the UK, the BITC and Mercer Mental Health at Work Report 2019 indicates that 62% of managers have put the needs of the company before staff wellbeing either sometimes, or every day.

How many bodies on your management team? Ten?

Six of them are a threat to your wellbeing. How’s your mental health now?

The same report states that 9% of people who disclosed a mental health issue to their employer suffered dismissal.

Even the CIPD’s own People Management Magazine, has articles that indicate that the corporate body’s approach to mental health in the workplace might be less than salutary. If you’re not grinning from ear to ear, whistling a happy tune then your days may well be numbered.

There is also another problem. Assumption.

Unless you work in a psychiatric hospital, not a single one of your colleagues or superiors are qualified to make judgements about your mental wellbeing. But that doesn’t stop them.

Want to try?

Your colleague seems confused, they’re irritable and anxious, sweaty. A moody, gloomy Gus.

What’s their problem? Depression? Anxiety? Bipolar disorder? Are they about to go postal with a vengeance? Can’t take the risk. Quick, declare them Lord Crazy-Cakes of Gaga Town, wrap them up in canvas pyjamas and cart them off to the rubber wallpaper suite of the nearest loony hotel.

Phew! Crisis averted.

It’s unfortunate that your colleague is in fact a diabetic and was suffering from hypoglycaemia. The visible signs are similar to an anxiety attack. A glucose tablet might have served better than the immediate diagnosis of mental illness. Hopefully they’ll wake from the coma you just put them in soon.

Ladies and Gentlemen! We present to you Mental Health Awareness!

Careful now.