Employees 'not talking to boss' about mental health problems

Many British adults are avoiding talking to their boss about their mental health problems because they are scared they will lose their job or be considered "mad", a new survey shows.

Some 59 per cent of workers said they would be uncomfortable speaking to their manager if they had metal health conditions such as anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder, the research by mental health charity Rethink shows.

Nearly one in five (18 per cent) of those interviewed said they would worry that their line manager would think they were "mad", while 19 per cent would be concerned that their colleagues would find out.

Antonia Borneo, Rethink's policy manager, said: "These statistics confirm what our members tell us. Even when employers have mental health policies in place, line managers often feel ill-equipped to deal with mental health issues among staff."

According to the Mental Health Foundation, one in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year.