Aussies critical of their workplace’s mental health and wellbeing initiatives

This $17b issue has more visibility in workplaces, but Millennials and others believe employers aren’t taking it seriously. WARNING: Distressing

Bianca Jones* works in the music world and while it seems like rock’n’roll glamour and a job filled with parties on the outside, its actually an “industry that has been bankrolled by trauma” – full of people who are tired, stressed out and suffering mental health issues, she said.

Yet she feels her employer, who she has been with for five years, doesn’t care about people’s mental health.

In the last two years they have brought in a third party organisation to roll out online workshops on topics such as dealing with stress levels, anxiety, trauma and various mental health issues as well as how to manage your workload or deal with conflict.

“I think it makes the company as a whole look good on paper that they are providing us with that kind of information and support, but on an individual level that support doesn’t exist. It’s more to make the company as a whole look good rather than to support employees,” she told news.com.au.

“It’s to tick a box in the current times as it’s obviously such a massive discussion point for big organisations that mental health is a factor and that is harming a lot of people in workplaces, but there is no real support at a deeper level for staff.”

Ms Jones is not alone either. One-in-two Aussies – the equivalent of 5.8 million people – feel like their workplace has introduced mental health and wellbeing initiatives to ‘tick boxes’, according to new research.

This includes a large part of the younger generation with 55 per cent of Millennials and 53 per cent of Gen Xers disappointed by the lip service paid to mental health, found the research conducted by YouGov for the Australian College of Applied Professions (ACAP).

The music industry isn’t as glamorous as it seems as mental health concerns permeate most Aussie workplaces. Picture: iStock

The survey also found that Millennials and Gen Xers in particular feel day-to-day their manager shows little if any genuine concern or empathy for their wellbeing.

Ms Jones, who was diagnosed with clinical depression at age 20, said this was her experience, despite being very open with her workplace about her mental health.

While her disclosures were initially met with empathy and understanding, she said that doesn’t extend to managing workloads or following up with her later.

The 34-year-old, who works on events in the music industry, said the constant uncertainty and postponements caused by Covid-19 has also exacerbated her depression.

“I work with quite high profile musicians and high earning musicians, so the stress and pressure to get things done is very high and that’s amplified by the deadlines that are set by direct line managers or department heads,” she said.

“In the past six months I am unable to work to strict deadlines as I’m barely able to get out of bed, let alone do such a high level of work, that is expected to be perfect on the first time it’s delivered.

“I’ve told them this and it’s listened to in the moment and has been heard but not actually ingested and a week later I have a two hour deadline to turn something around that would take a whole day.”

More than half of Australian workers would hide a mental or physical health condition to avoid being judged or discriminated against. Picture: iStock.

A report published by The Australian Institute and the Centre for Future Work has indicated that 15 per cent to 45 per cent of mental health issues in employed people are attributable to conditions within their workplace.

But while the Millennial said she has been forthcoming about her mental health battle at work – there is only so far she is willing to go.

“I have been through a pretty major depressive episode for the last six months and I’ve been very open with my workplace but I’m not completely open. I was suicidal at some points but didn’t disclose that as I didn’t feel comfortable to do so out of fear of being treated differently in terms of dealing with me and my illness negatively,” she said.

Sadly, Ms Jones isn’t the only Aussie with these fears. More than half of Australian workers would hide a mental or physical health condition to avoid being judged or discriminated against, ACAP’s research found.

A lack of people skills among managers and leaders was a key driver behind worker concerns, the research found, with 65 per cent saying their manager or boss struggles with everything from empathy to listening to flexibility.

Management needs to work on their soft skills, according to the research. Picture:

Ms Jones certainly feels this is a big issue in her workplace and said her direct manager often deflects discussions about her mental health or “downplays” it, telling her to take a day off.

”It’s not a day situation that is going to fix this and there is lack of understanding about depression in general and mental illness in general and how to have those conversations effectively as a leader,” she said.

“There is not enough support or education for upper management and people at the directorial level to effectively manage a person who is going through a mental illness, which is a big thing that is missing from our organisation.”

Ms Jones said she has friends in law, retail and nursing, who also feel the same – with resources given to “fix themselves up” or even worse they are told to “push down” their feelings until the pandemic is over.

“I don’t get it. It would serve a company to deal with things in the moment as you are going to make people more productive in the end if you actually support employees through these times and give them the space to deal with it,” she said.

“It’s not a way of working that has ever existed before I think but hopefully it will happen over time. I don’t know how long it will take unfortunately.”

George Garrop, CEO of Australian College of Applied Professions.

Another difficulty is her organisation is lead by Baby Boomers and there isn’t the openness with mental health like with Millennials and Gen Z, she added.

Aside from better training of bosses and managers, she would also love to see people who are dealing with mental health battles to share their experiences with staff face-to-face to help people understand.

George Garrop, CEO of ACAP, said people were repeatedly told ‘it’s OK to not be OK’, yet Aussies still feel very guarded in the workplace.

“While over the past two years, many organisations have boosted their mental health, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion initiatives, our research indicates that these initiatives are not always leading to meaningful outcomes or positive sentiment for workers,” he said.

“The data also tells us that many Australian workplaces could be doing more to acknowledge the unique values, needs, personalities and circumstances of their people – and that managers and leaders could deliver a wealth of collective benefits through operating with key soft skills like empathy, emotional intelligence and active listening.”

A 2020 Federal Productivity Commission report estimated that mental illness-related staff absenteeism and presenteeism costs Australian workplaces up to $17 billion per year.

* Name has been changed