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Challenging the stigma around mental health must start in the workplace

Two emails from staff members gave Tony Stacey an insight into the importance of having a supportive environment for mental health

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Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty
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Two emails from staff members gave Tony Stacey an insight into the importance of having a supportive environment for mental health #ukhousing

Challenging the stigma around mental health must start in the workplace #ukhousing

Members of staff don’t often write directly to me, so I was blown away when I received a lengthy email from one of our managers, detailing the support she had received from her manager and South Yorkshire Housing Association (SYHA) colleagues.

She wanted me to know about “some very special people who have played a big part in my recovery over the past year”.

Her email continued: “A year today, completely out of the blue, I experienced a horrendous anxiety attack at work. I didn’t know on that day that it was the beginning of a mental health breakdown, something that had been building for years and I had no control over. I was able to take time to recover properly and learn techniques for managing my mental health.”


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She went on to say: “A year on I am stronger than I’ve been for a long time and healthier. I love my job and colleagues and am so enthusiastic about life now. I no longer have that feeling deep in the pit of my stomach that I swallowed and buried for so long. It’s no exaggeration to say you all played a part in saving my life and I will always be thankful to you all.”

“I felt this personal testimony really brought to life the way we live our values”

I was so thrilled to receive this, I sent a copy to all my board members. I felt this personal testimony really brought to life the way we live our values.

And then it happened again. Here’s an extract from the second email: “Depression is a very self-shaming illness, I had no belief in my own worth. I didn’t believe that I had a genuine illness. I thought I would be ‘found out’ for not trying hard enough, and that I would lose my job if I didn’t pull myself together and get back to work immediately. I felt that I had failed at everything.”

“The fact that SYHA have such brilliant policies about supporting people with mental health problems really helped. I certainly now feel proud of and committed to SYHA and my job here in a way that I didn’t expect. I am totally looking forward to being back at work, which is a lovely feeling – I never thought I would be able to feel like that again.”

A new poster has appeared in our gents’ toilets. It features three tough-looking guys; they are carrying a stool and two towels, and the caption reads: “Be in your mate’s corner.”

It’s a poster produced by Time to Change, the social movement that is trying to break down the taboo that is mental ill health and change attitudes in the workplace.

I am proud that South Yorkshire Housing Association has signed up to Time to Change. We have just heard our pledge has been approved.

Half our staff have now been on mental health training, we are about to appoint 15 mental health ‘first aiders’ and all our managers will be trained this year in best practice in managing mental illness.

“Above all else our people really care for each other. It’s contagious”

We have organised life-bite sessions, bringing in speakers such as ‘the sleep geek’, and running sessions on debt (no, it’s not just our customers) and healthy eating.

There is lots going on around cycling, running and exercise generally.

We talk a lot about the research around “five ways to well-being.” But above all else our people really care for each other. It’s contagious.

I don’t know if the poster is up in the ladies’ (I haven’t been in to check,) but talking about mental health issues seems to be far more difficult for men, who are:

  • Less knowledgeable about mental health, with more negative attitudes
  • Far less likely to report their own experiences of mental health problems and less likely to discuss mental health problems with a professional
  • More likely to say that mental health problems are the result of a ‘lack of self-discipline and willpower’
  • Three times more likely to take their own lives than women, with suicide being the leading cause of death in men under 45

It’s not just the ‘one in four’ we hear so much about; this affects all of us, and we should talk about it lots, lots more.

We wouldn’t feel ashamed if we contracted a physical illness, so why do so many of us feel we have to cover up a mental illness?

Very often reaching out is the first step to recovery. Let’s end the stigma.

Tony Stacey, chief executive, South Yorkshire Housing Association

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