SAMH and Samaritans Scotland are working with companies across Scotland to improve mental health at work
Major employers across Scotland are standing up to break down mental health stigma in the workplace.
More than 20 of Scotland’s largest businesses, representing tens of thousands of staff, have pledged to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in the workplace through a groundbreaking initiative which has been welcomed by the Scottish Government.
This Is Me Scotland is a joint initiative between PwC, Barclays, Business in the Community Scotland, SAMH and Samaritans Scotland. It aims to change perceptions of mental health by encouraging businesses to follow a set of guidelines which encourage discussion and support.
Since its launch, organisations including Standard Life Aberdeen, Edrington and Prudential have committed to This Is Me Scotland, a campaign to support businesses, and their people, to talk about mental health.
Scottish Mental Health Minister, Clare Haughey, said: “I welcome this action being taken by This is Me Scotland to reduce the stigma and discrimination which can be associated with mental health in the workplace.
“This complements our ongoing work with initiatives like See Me and NHS Health Scotland’s Healthy Working Lives programme.
“Across Scotland we are determined to ensure people can get the right help at the right time.”
Business in the Community’s Mental Health at Work Report 2018 found that in Scotland, employees are more likely than the overall UK workforce to have been formally diagnosed with a mental health condition, at 36% compared with 32% for UK workforce.
Further research has found that many people feel scared and confused about confronting their mental health issue at work. Fewer than half (45%) of Scottish employees would feel confident telling their line manager about a mental health problem.
This is Me Scotland aims to change that by encouraging people with experience of a mental health problem, whether their own or of a loved one, to share their stories.
James Jopling, executive director of Samaritans Scotland, said: “Employers have a crucial role to play in promoting positive mental health at work. Over the last five years, two thirds of people who died by suicide were in employment at the time of their death. That means hundreds of workplaces and co-workers were touched by the tragedy of suicide. It also means there is an opportunity to make work a more supportive factor in people’s lives by promoting wellbeing and encouraging people to ask for help, if they’re struggling.
“So it’s encouraging to see leading employers from Scotland’s financial industry making a meaningful and public commitment to promoting wellbeing at work through the This is Me campaign and encouraging businesses across Scotland to join them.”
Jo Anderson, director of external affairs at SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), said: “At SAMH we know that talking is one of the first steps to better mental health. So we strongly support the work of This is Me Scotland in encouraging people to share their stories of mental health problems with their colleagues.
“Hearing firsthand about how others have dealt with mental health issues can be really effective in letting staff know that in their workplace, it is safe to speak up and ask for help. We welcome the organisations who have already signed up to This is Me, and we are looking forward to helping them to take action and start a potentially life-saving conversation today.”
