When I joined the workforce some 30 years ago, mental health issues were not something workers casually brought up in the office. While most managers were generally supportive, you never knew when you would run into someone who still saw depression and anxiety as moral failings and would hold them against you.
How times have changed. These days, mindfulness apps and mental health workshops are par for the course in many workplaces. Top law firms Hogan Lovells and Linklaters, and investment banks JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs even offer free therapy sessions — either online or on-site. Not only is this convenient, but the benefit is designed to signal to staff that the companies see psychological care as part and parcel of getting the most from their workers.
Other employers are also trying to get practical assistance to their employees — by designating workers as “mental health first responders” and encouraging people to attend workshops on “mental fitness”. The aim is to reframe the skills involved in managing such issues as positive attributes, thereby removing stigma.