Employers must do more to protect staff mental health

source: The Guardian / Camilla Nicholls
originally published: 12 November 2018

Nearly 20 years ago I had a breakdown. I was approaching 40. I was not in a serious relationship and had no children of my own, but I was devoted to my job; married to it, some said. I was a senior executive at this paper.

I fought and lost a battle with my GP, who wanted to sign me off work. I didn’t feel I’d have a recognisable identity without my job; she said I might struggle to live if I didn’t take a break. I had five months off work. Sleep evaded me, eating felt a battle not worth winning, a psychiatrist made house calls every week, I found it almost impossible to leave my home. If only I had acted, sought help at work, before the total slide began.

Earlier this month, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced that, for the first time, work-related stress anxiety or depression accounts for over half of all working days lost due to ill health in Great Britain.

In total, 15.4m working days were lost in 2017-18 as a result, up from 12.5m the previous year. These figures might be shocking but they’re not surprising. My breakdown had a complex cause, but one significant factor was my attitude to work.

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