{"id":1571,"date":"2019-09-19T00:44:20","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T00:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpgl.ca\/?p=1571"},"modified":"2019-09-19T00:44:20","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T00:44:20","slug":"28-per-cent-of-men-believe-they-could-lose-their-job-if-they-discuss-mental-health-at-work-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpgl.ca\/en\/28-per-cent-of-men-believe-they-could-lose-their-job-if-they-discuss-mental-health-at-work-study\/","title":{"rendered":"28 per cent of men believe they could lose their job if they discuss mental health at work: study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Suicide<\/a>\u00a0remains the biggest\u00a0cause of death<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0Canadian<\/a>\u00a0men<\/a>\u00a0under the age of 44, but\u00a0new\u00a0research<\/a>\u00a0by the\u00a0Movember Foundation<\/a>\u00a0found that men still struggle to talk about\u00a0mental health<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 especially in the\u00a0workplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Researchers at\u00a0Ipsos MORI<\/a>\u00a0surveyed 1,000 Canadian men between the ages of 18 and 75, and the results are astounding.<\/p>\n

Twenty-eight per cent of Canadian men said they believed their job could be at risk if they discuss mental health issues at work, and more than 33 per cent of men worry they could be overlooked for a promotion if they mention a problem.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0\u2018Depression meals\u2019: How diets connect to mental health<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As well, 42 per cent of men surveyed said they are also worried about colleagues making negative comments behind their backs.<\/p>\n

For men like Peter, these results are completely unsurprising. (Global News has agreed to use a pseudonym to protect his identity.)<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old marketing manager struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. \u201cI\u2019ve dealt with anxiety and panic my entire life, but I only began to acknowledge and treat it when I was 26,\u201d he told Global News.<\/p>\n

WATCH (Sept. 5, 2019): Prioritizing mental health as students head back to school<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Earlier this year, Peter started a new job \u2014 a change that made his anxiety difficult to control.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting a new job is one of the most stressful things you can do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was supposed to be a career-shifting move turned into a never-ending episode of panic, stress, worry and fear.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Peter lived with this intense anxiety about his career and his job for three months, and the whole time, he felt like he was \u201cwalking on eggshells.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0Becoming a father can negatively impact men\u2019s mental health: survey<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The workplace culture didn\u2019t help. According to Peter, it was \u201cfear-based with top-down leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary motivator was fear of losing your job. Because this leadership style came from the top down, it wasn\u2019t a collaborative environment. It was every person for themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Peter felt like he was stuck in a vicious cycle with no one to talk to about his mental health.<\/p>\n

WATCH (Sept. 9, 2019): Suicide kills one person every 40 seconds, says World Health Organization<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201c(I felt that) if I said the wrong thing, I would lose my job and never be able to find a new one, and not be able to pay rent, and never be able to afford a down-payment on a house and I would spend the rest of my life on my parents\u2019 couch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a very healthy individual. I run marathons, eat vegan and meditate daily\u2026 but when employers are the cause of stress, anxiety, fear and uncertainty, short of leaving your job, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s much you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, a particularly bad week forced Peter to confront his illness and see a doctor. At that point, he thought it would be appropriate to make his employer aware of his mental health \u2014 and ask for some leniency as he underwent treatment.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0Doctor-prescribed addiction: How these Canadians got hooked on opioids<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll I needed was their support, understanding and patience,\u201d Peter said, but that\u2019s not what he was given.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings went on as normal. In fact, it was reiterated to me that I was in a performance-driven position and no accommodations could be made,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I had broken my foot, accommodations would\u2019ve been made. If I had pneumonia, accommodations would\u2019ve been made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four weeks later, Peter was terminated. His employer cited \u201cperformance issues,\u201d and during his exit interview, he was made to feel ashamed about his illness. \u201cThey alluded to me lying about the illness to (explain my) poor performance,\u201d Peter said.<\/p>\n

The misconception that men aren\u2019t affected by mental illness<\/h3>\n

Peter firmly believes that there is a lasting stigma around men who have a mental illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way with the stigma around mental health, but we clearly have so much further to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Movember spokesperson Alexandra Wise lost her father to suicide just three weeks after her mother died from ovarian cancer. In her opinion, stigma played a huge role in his battle with mental illness.<\/p>\n

WATCH (Aug. 28, 2019): Back to school\u2060 \u2014 UBC president\u2019s personal mental health struggle<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cHe struggled with his mental health for most of my childhood, and as I got older, his mental health seemed to decline and things got worse,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something that my family and I really didn\u2019t understand. We didn\u2019t understand the extent of what he was dealing with, and we weren\u2019t really sure how to help him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wise said her father lost his job when she was just a baby, and that the loss really affected him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t have any social connections and spent a lot of time inside the house, alone. He isolated himself more and more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0\u2018I couldn\u2019t believe it\u2019 \u2014 why disability claims for mental health are often a struggle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

At first, Wise struggled to understand why he would do such a thing. \u201cIt was really difficult to understand why he would do that,\u201d she said. \u201cMy mom had no choice. My dad seemingly had the choice to live, or that\u2019s what I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, Wise has made an effort to learn more about mental health. Now she knows that her father didn\u2019t feel like he had a choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, really, in his mind, he felt like that was the only solution to end his pain and his suffering,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Employers need to do more<\/h3>\n

The workplace is commonly regarded as a space crucial to forming one\u2019s identity. \u201cIt creates purpose,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Ashley Bender, occupational psychiatrist and professor at the University of Toronto<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that is a potential threat to the loss of work or\u2026 their work status is something that could contribute to (someone) not coming forward with mental health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Bender, silence is seen as \u201cthe safe route\u201d even though it puts people at risk by leaving their illness untreated.<\/p>\n

WATCH (July 25, 2019): Doctor who termed \u201cselfie dysmorphia\u201d explains condition<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This pressure could be compounded by the stereotype that men should always be working and that they shouldn\u2019t talk about their feelings.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditionally, a man\u2019s role has been centered around employment and being productive and having work as a core source of their life and purpose,\u201d said Bender.<\/p>\n

To better support men with mental illness, Bender has three recommendations for workplaces.<\/p>\n

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Do you feel comfortable telling your employer about your mental illness?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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