Seven in ten bosses believe stress, anxiety or depression are not valid excuses for time off - despite a 25% of employees suffering from mental illness at some point each year
- About 69% of bosses believe mental illness does not warrant time off work
- Half of workers believed their bosses did not take such issues seriously
- Mental health charity Mind calls the findings 'worrying' but 'not surprising'
Nearly seven in ten bosses believe stress, anxiety or depression are not valid excuses for taking time off, a survey has found.
Most bosses think mental illness does not warrant time off work – even though a quarter of employees suffer from such problems at some point each year.
A thousand managers, executives and company owners as well as a thousand employees were asked to take part in the survey, carried out by AXA PPP healthcare.
Nearly seven in ten bosses believe stress, anxiety or depression are not valid excuses for taking time off, a survey has found (file picture)
The findings revealed that most workers are so worried about the stigma surrounding mental health that they would not tell their bosses the truth about why they were calling in sick
But 69 per cent of bosses do not think it is a valid excuse, according to the research – but about one in four conceded that they had experience some form of mental illness in the past.
Nearly 50 per cent of the workers questioned believed their bosses did not take such issues seriously and seven per cent were worried about what their manager's reaction would be if they revealed their problems.
Only about 40 per cent of employees said they would be honest about their problems when calling in sick if they were suffering anxiety, stress or depression.
The Daily Telegraph quotes Emma Mamo, from the mental health charity Mind as calling the findings 'worrying' but 'not surprising'.
NICK CLEGG: MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS SHOULD NOT BE A JOBS BARRIER
People should not be barred from jobs simply because they have mental health problems, Nick Clegg said as investigators focused on the medical history of Germanwings crash pilot Andreas Lubitz.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who has championed mental health issues while in government, said there should be no 'blanket rules' preventing people from doing certain jobs.
German prosecutors have said that Lubitz, 27, who deliberately caused the Airbus to crash in the French Alps, had therapy for suicidal tendencies some time before getting his pilot's licence.
People should not be barred from jobs simply because they have mental health problems, according to Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg (pictured)
Mr Clegg, speaking to reporters on the Liberal Democrat campaign battle bus, said: 'I think it's very important that we don't, however understandable in this context, allow what is said about one individual to shape or colour the way in which we regard people who go through episodes of mental health problems.
'It's very important that employers in all walks of life are as accepting of people who are recovering from mental health problems just as much as they would be people who recover from physical health problems.
'That's been one of the great problems, the stigma around mental health, which is because people are either frightened or embarrassed about mental health problems they tend to keep their distance from people who have had mental health problems, when it happens to so many individuals.
'We certainly don't want to see people with mental health problems deliberately or otherwise shut out of work. That would be consigning a lot of people to a cycle of despair, which would be wholly unfair and wholly unjust.'
Andreas Lubitz, pictured, had therapy for suicidal tendencies some time before getting his pilot's licence, German prosecutors have said
Asked whether pilots should be banned from flying as a result of mental health problems, he said there was such a wide range of issues covered by the term that a blanket rule would not be appropriate.
He said: 'It's for employers in different walks of life to decide what requirements they ask of people who they employ and different jobs have different levels of physical and mental qualification attached to them.
'But I dont think, as a blanket rule, the fact that someone has had mental health problems should automatically disqualify them from certain jobs. That would be not treating people as individuals, instead treating people in an indiscriminately broad-brush way.'
He added: 'You would never say to each other is there any job where any physical health problem at all, ranging from a broken toe to lung cancer, disqualifies you from the job. It's such a huge category.'
The head of workplace wellbeing at the charity added: 'We know that there is still a taboo around talking about issues like stress, anxiety and depression at work.
'Yet we all have mental health, just as we all have physical health, and mental health problems are prevalent across all types of roles.'
The newspaper quotes Dr Mark Winwood, director of clinical psychology at AXA PPP healthcare, as saying: 'Lack of understanding breeds fear so improving employees' awareness and understanding of mental illness is one of the most important things a company's senior management team can do and a critical first step is to challenge the stigma surrounding mental ill health in the workplace.'
Most watched News videos
- Shocking moment school volunteer upskirts a woman at Target
- Mel Stride: Sick note culture 'not good for economy'
- Chaos in Dubai morning after over year and half's worth of rain fell
- Moment Met Police arrests cyber criminal in elaborate operation
- Shocking scenes at Dubai airport after flood strands passengers
- Prince William resumes official duties after Kate's cancer diagnosis
- Murder suspects dragged into cop van after 'burnt body' discovered
- Appalling moment student slaps woman teacher twice across the face
- 'Inhumane' woman wheels CORPSE into bank to get loan 'signed off'
- Sweet moment Wills handed get well soon cards for Kate and Charles
- Jewish campaigner gets told to leave Pro-Palestinian march in London
- Shocking scenes in Dubai as British resident shows torrential rain
