Why mental health needs to be discussed in the Boardroom

The stigma around mental health is slowly shrinking as discussions about depression, anxiety and other silent illnesses become more commonplace.

In recent years, celebrities and business leaders have come forward to share personal stories of their struggle with mental health problems. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, have also advocated mental health awareness through the Heads Together campaign. And slowly but surely, the taboo around this complex and sensitive subject is also shifting in the workplace, according to Liam Butler, Vice President of Corporate Sales at SumTotal, EMEA.

He explains: “For example, take Olark, a US-based tech company: one of its employees, Madalyn Parker, recently made a bold move to explain her absence from work by highlighting her own focus on mental health. Rather than the typical OOO email, Parker simply wrote, “I’m taking today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health.  Hopefully I’ll be back next week refreshed and back to 100%.”

“The company’s CEO, Ben Congleton, didn’t only praise Parker for setting such a noteworthy example, he thanked her for reminding him of the importance of using sick days for mental health and by her actions helping to remove the stigma associated with mental health. “Considering that in the UK alone mental health issues were the reason for 15.8 million sick days last year, it was a pivotal moment that this story gained so much traction,” Butler continues.