Responding to research released today by BBC Radio 5 Live on mental health in the workplace, Sue Baker OBE, Director of Time to Change said:

“The fact that almost two thirds of employees would not feel comfortable speaking to their colleagues about a mental health problem if they were struggling shows the urgent need to ramp up efforts in breaking down the taboo and improving mental health in the workplace.

“As we’ve built momentum around tackling stigma and raising awareness of mental health problems within workplaces, we’ve started to see more and more employers implement solid actions plans on mental health, but this is not routine practice. This survey provides further evidence of the need for employers to do more, with almost half of the employees surveyed saying they felt their employer needs more training on how to support employees with mental health issues.

“It costs more to ignore mental health in the workplace than it does to take positive action. Employers across the country are realising this and amongst those who have signed the Time to Change pledge,  we are seeing more disclosure. This opens up conversations and drives culture change, alongside policy and practice changes.  We also need more tailored support for small and medium sized employers so that  wherever people work, the right support is available and  line mangers are equipped to talk about mental health and wellbeing at work.”

To view the research, click here.