Top 9 Barriers In Overcoming The Stigma Associated With Mental Illness

No matter what you do for work, if you’re like most people, you hope and do your best to make a difference with your work and your co-workers. You want to contribute to something bigger than yourself, and you want to help people, either through the products or the services you deliver. And you want to feel that your work is meaningful and important.

In order to be our best, productive selves, we need to feel safe-psychologically. 

Did you know that 70% of working Canadians are concerned about psychological health and safety in the workplace?

Creating a psychologically safe and healthy workplace means that we care about mental health at work and we believe that mental health and safety is just as important as physical health and safety at work.

There is a process and plenty of great resources available for employers to create a roadmap for a mentally healthier workplace. More on this a little further down at the end of this article.

But first, please take a couple of minutes here to read each of these 9 statements that I have written below. Feel free to jot down a few “notes to self” for a much deeper reflection and to share these reflections with your co-workers.

Please Note: The use of “I” is used in a very general sense to reference any person in the world of work. The use of “I”  does not reference the person or persons reading this article.

Here are Robert’s Top 9 Barriers From The World of Work That Get in The Way of Ending The Stigma Associated With Mental Illness

• I don’t know where to begin and what resources exist to assist to get started.
• I don’t have time. Heavy workloads, busy schedules, limited resources make it very difficult to think about putting yet another important item on my plate, especially a framework for workplace psychological health and safety.
• I don’t need to address someone’s very personal mental health problems in the workplace. It’s personal. Not professional.
• I don’t want to start anything here in the office unless the leadership of the company is committed to mental health in the workplace. After all, I don’t want to be seen as someone who is doing more for my staff than the company expects me to do.
• I don’t want to be known as a leader who helps just some of the staff but not all of the staff. This would add more problems to the situation.
• I don’t get any help from the company for MY mental health! Never have. Don’t need it.
• I don’t think it’s my job to help someone who is experiencing some sort of mental health problem. After all, people are hired to do a job. My job is not to take care of someone’s mental health problems.
• I don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Each person is unique and you never really know when singling someone out for their mental health problems.
• I don’t have any money in the budget for managing workplace mental health issues.

Everyday, millions of Canadians go to work. But every week, about a half a million Canadians cannot go to work because of a mental health problem or illness. 

Think about it…every week about a half a million Canadians cannot go to work because of a mental health problem or illness! Wow!

So, what can we conclude from this statistic?

Never ever doubt the impact that stigma has on a half a million Canadians.

• Ask yourself, what percentage of these half a million Canadians is so impacted by the stigma associated with mental illness that it actually stops them from disclosing their illness?  Or even worse, reaching out for much needed help and assistance?
• More so, what percentage of these half a million Canadians is so impacted by The Top 9 Barriers From the World of Work That Get in The Way of Ending The Stigma Associated With Mental Illness that it ALSO stops them from disclosing their illness?  Or even worse, reaching out for much needed help and assistance?

Where do we go from here?

• End the stigma associated with mental illness! When we’re not well, it affects everything we do – at home and at work.
• Remove Robert’s Top 9 Barriers From the World of Work That Get in The Way of Ending The Stigma Associated With Mental Illness!
• As noted at the front end of this article, there is a process and plenty of great resources available for employers to create a road map for a mentally healthier workplace.

And it all begins right here. Click on this link https://mentalhealthcommission.ca/national-standard/. Learn all about The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace – the first of it’s kind in the world. It’s the road map for employers to create a mentally healthier workplace.

• Then, chat with me here https://calendly.com/powerfulplayexperiences/discoverycall. Ask me about a workshop presentation that I call “POSITIVE WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH AT WORK. Give It A Try! BEST RESOURCES TO GET STARTED TODAY!”
• In my role as a Canadian Mental Health Association Psychological Health and Safety Advisor, my intention is to ensure that everyone walks away with first rate information. And that everyone becomes aware of the best resources available that will make a difference. I’ll also bring everyone up to speed on The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace – the first of its kind in the world.

We hope that you enjoyed reading “Robert’s Top 9 Barriers From the World of Work That Get in The Way of Ending The Stigma Associated With Mental Illness”. And we hope that you are a little more knowledgeable and a little more confident with starting or continuing conversations about mental health and mental illness.

Read about the benefits of positive mental health in the workplace.