October 10th marks World Mental Health Day. Everywhere around the world, mental health will be brought into the public eye, bringing with it all of the difficulties people with mental health issues experience.

The Mental Health Foundation estimates that 1 in 6 people are likely to have experienced a mental health issue in the past week.

Now, World Mental Health Day is honoured with a single theme to draw attention to a specific factor in our societies, in the hopes of rectifying it. 2017 focuses on ‘Mental Health in the Workplace.’

The workplace can take a help or hinder approach. From the hindering perspective, you end up feeling overwhelmed with schedules; you want to put in your best effort, but overtime and stress creeps up on you and you find it hard to keep in check. Before you know it, that self-control you so desperately crave is non-existent. You’d have better luck swimming against a tidal wave.

The first and most important thing to get across to people is..

If you feel like the walls of life are closing in……YOU NEED TO TELL SOMEONE!

Whether this is a fellow co-worker or your boss, someone needs to be kept aware of the difficulties you’re going through. Unfortunately, there is a colossal stigma surrounding mental illness, with some people having the impression that openly disclosing anxiety or depression will make them appear weak in the eyes of others. This is especially prominent among men. Some of them may find themselves trapped in a masculine culture where disclosing mental health is seen as a detriment to masculinity, leading to far too many people taking the infamous ‘suffer in silence’ approach.

Perhaps the most damaging evidence about why people fail to disclose comes from a piece of research conducted by the Mental Health Foundation, which revealed that 56% of UK adults said that they would not hire someone with depression, even if they were the best candidate for the job.

No one is saying the workplace has to be converted into this wondrous safe haven with comfort blankets and all anxieties promptly expelled – though that wouldn’t hurt.

That having been said, the workplace should be a location where people can go about their work feeling supported, so that even if they do have that mental stumble, they’ll at least have a safety net to soften their fall.

But, there are a few things the boss and co-workers can do to make to combat whatever mental tribulations an employee may be facing:-

· Provide them with a quiet space –If an employee feels overwhelmed by the world around them, then a crowded office environment may not be the best place to work. It might help if an anxious employee has an empty office space to work in, free from all sounds and distractions. Taking out the overwhelming background is the equivalent of clearing out the mind.

· Schedule Structuring – Employers should work with their staff to manage their schedules, making sure they don’t overwhelm themselves and burn out. When struggling with poor mental health, employees work better when tasks are coming their way like a conveyor belt, one at a time, with enough time to process what needs done and the best way to go about it.

· Keep an open mind –If someone decides to take the brave step and disclose to you that they have been struggling with poor mental health. You may not understand why these issues drive them to such despair, but the worst thing you could possibly say to them is ‘Get over it.’ The three worst words in the English language for anyone who has suffered from depression. You may not fully understand what drives your employees to despair, but you can understand that these things are impacting them negatively.

The workplace is a pivotal time to be supporting employees. We spend eight hours a day at work, our colleagues being the people we most frequently see. There should be a primed support network that people can rely on in times of emotional crisis.

If employees feel safe and valued, feeling as though they belong, they will reach a state of motivated esteem and a realisation of full potential. Open communication is the foundation on which a loyal workforce stands.