In today’s Telegraph , there was a worrying story about an employee who had allegedly been made redundant for disclosing to his employer that he was experiencing feelings of depression. In a world where technology and social media is the norm, it’s hardly surprising that the employee took to twitter to share his experience, along with his dismissal letter! Within hours he had received thousands of tweets supporting him and offering advice. This is obviously an unacceptable way to treat someone suffering from depression, but I’m not at all surprised that this scenario has come to light and the power of social media may very well surface similar stories in the coming weeks and months.
Given that around 1 in 6 people now suffer, or will in the future suffer, from a common mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety and stress) it is astonishing that the stigma of mental ill health is still with us. As well as all the high profile cases we hear about, there are so many TV programmes, films and other media highlighting the problem and, indeed, its treatment, that it’s hard to imagine this episode could have occurred in our times. But unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Even though many more people experience mental health issues and access to support is much better than it was a decade ago, there is still a concern about taking people on who have had mental health problems – or dealing with them appropriately if they are already in employment. Sure, we still need more support for people with mental health conditions, but it is out there and there’s no excuse for this particular employer’s response.
And yet when it comes to physical health issues there seems to be much more sympathy. As Henry David Thoreau wrote in 1853: “how prompt we are to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our bodies; how slow to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our souls!” Given the troubled times we are all going through in this severe and long lasting economic crisis, we are going to see more people who are unable to cope and who succumb to mental health problems, albeit treatable conditions. It would be unacceptable, and unsustainable, to dismiss everyone who said they had a mental health issue – for example, what would have happened if the Lloyds Chief Executive had been treated this way when he admitted struggling with similar issues?! In order to reduce the stigma of mental health issues, employers need to be made aware of the help available to employees who may be suffering this way, as well as the importance of supporting their psychological well-being as part of the way they do business.
We need to invest more in this growing societal issue, in terms of identifying and treating it, or better still working to prevent it in the first place. Otherwise, as Mark Twain put it, “if you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got”. That is not good enough for the many thousands who are suffering or the society in which we all live.
Posted by Cary Cooper 
