How to harness the positive power of language to support mental health
The impact of language
The proverb that ‘sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me’ is a great retort to name calling, but it’s a concept that’s flawed. We all know that words can wound. Negative language can halt the progress for good mental wellbeing and, conversely, positive language has the power to move it on.
We’ve seen just how powerful words can be when looking at how positive language has helped in the progress for equality in disability, race and gender. Some words that were commonplace even 10 years ago are now seen as, at best dated, and at worst, bigoted.
Language is just as powerful when it comes to mental health. It can be detrimental to improving mental wellbeing and it can also be instrumental to make progress. Talking about mental health is an important step in tackling it, and using negative words can stop people wanting to talk about it altogether. Here we look at key ways that language can negatively and positively affect mental wellbeing, and what employers can do to harness the power of positive communication.
The issues
When looking at how to solve an issue, it’s always important to understand the specifics of the problem first. The narrative around mental health and wellbeing has traditionally been very negative. The good news is that we have seen some progress that has made the topic more accessible. Even so, all those who contributed expertise and insight at our Not A Red Card forum, unanimously agreed that there is much more to do if we are to proactively support mental wellbeing at work.
Lack of consistent language
It was agreed that there’s a lack of a common, consistent language to talk about mental health. Mental ill-health is a hugely wide-ranging term, encompassing anxiety and depression through to eating disorders and psychosis. And, just as all require a different approach for treatment and support, they also all require different terminology.
When people aren’t sure what terms to use, they feel uncomfortable talking about it and may often avoid talking about it all together. This is true for the person experiencing the mental ill-health and their colleagues, as well as their managers.
Silence is the enemy of mental wellbeing, so it’s important to encourage a conversation, for both the person with mental ill-health as well as the people around them. When someone is open about their mental health, they can put their colleagues at ease talking about it too. The more open they are, the more chance they have of being supported. If nothing is said, and people suffer in silence, people don’t know that support is needed.
Lack of understanding
Although many experience mental ill-health – one in four, according to Mind – there’s a lack of understanding due to the lack of discussion. This worsens the stigma.
Lack of understanding causes confusion and fear: for both the person experiencing mental ill-health as well as their colleagues. When people can identify their own problems, it can help them understand the issues and this can mean they’re better equipped to seek help early. Likewise, when colleagues can identify that others have issues, they are in a better position to signpost them to support.
Lack of a positive narrative
Those who struggle with their mental health may feel that talking about it will hinder their career prospects or that they won’t be seen as capable of doing their job.
Yet, having a mental health problem does not need to hinder a career. Indeed, at our forum, we heard from a number of high achievers in business and sport who have accomplished great things, who have all experienced mental ill-health. This included a former chairman of HBOS, the CEO of Redwood, the former Head of Business Development for Bupa UK, and Olympic athletes.
They are all testament to the fact that mental ill-health doesn’t mean that someone is unable to make a positive contribution to the workplace, far from it. It’s actually the opposite that’s true: the lack of a positive narrative about the contribution from those with mental ill-health is a great inhibitor to progress. It’s important that we hear the positive stories from those that have succeeded even though they have had mental health issues. This can be a great inspiration to others. It can also improve everyone’s understanding: that those with mental health issues still achieve great things, so it helps to normalise the issue.
Lack of communication
Research we carried out in 2017 showed a huge disconnect between how managers and employees feel about discussing mental health at work. The majority (78 per cent) of employers believed their employees would be comfortable discussing mental health problems with them. Yet in practice, only four per cent of employees who have experienced depression and five per cent who have experienced anxiety actually said they felt able to talk to their manager or superior about it. So managers’ perceptions are quite different from the reality.
This might be because of the lack of proactive communication from companies on the topic. We found that less than one quarter of employees (24 per cent) said their company engages regularly with them on issues of mental health.
Perhaps more worryingly, Business in the Community Mental Health at Work (2017) showed that 15 per cent of employees who did disclose a mental health issue to a line manager became subject to a disciplinary procedure, demotion or dismissal.
So by not communicating about issues of mental health, the topic becomes the elephant in the room. Having a situation where companies aren’t regularly talking about mental health can create an environment where people don’t feel they can discuss it, and that can allow a stigma about mental health to thrive.
The solutions
A better understanding of the problems means we’re better able to look at the solutions. Attendees at our forum had lots of ideas on how to use the power of language to create a positive environment where good mental wellbeing can be promoted.
Promote good mental wellbeing
In the same way that companies promote good physical health, it’s important to promote good mental health. When mental health is discussed regularly it can help to normalise the topic, so it becomes just as commonplace to talk about mental wellbeing as it does physical wellbeing.
High-profile business leaders, royals and sportspeople have all shared stories of their own mental health challenges. This has helped towards destigmatising the issue. Mental ill-health doesn’t discriminate by age, gender, seniority or industry, so it’s in the interest of all industries to normalise the conversation about mental health.
It’s a good idea to have business role models who can talk about what they do to support their own mental wellbeing, whether they’ve experienced mental ill-health or not. Key performance indicators (KPIs) can be set to encourage people to look after their mental wellbeing, and this can encourage a conversation about mental wellbeing in a positive way.
In practice
The language we use and how we communicate is critical to support good mental wellbeing. We need to change the narrative from negative to positive. This means not seeing mental ill-health as a weakness or something of which to be ashamed. We wouldn’t expect someone to feel ashamed for having a broken leg.
One idea put forward at our forum was for employers to develop a mental health toolkit specifically looking at language. This could include a glossary of mental health terms to increase understanding, and guidance on how to talk in a positive way about mental health. It could include examples of people with mental health issues that have achieved a lot in their career.
The important thing is to change the narrative from positive to negative. It isn’t helpful to think people aren’t strong just because they’ve had mental health issues, or to ask people to ‘buck up’ or ‘pull themselves together’. Negative language can stop people from opening up, but positive language can encourage a dialogue. And the more communication there is, the better.
To read more about our mental health forum, and the challenges and solutions in dealing with mental health in the workplace, download our Red Report: Mental Health in the Workplace: Challenges and Solutions.
This article was provided by Legal & General.
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