We’d rather talk to colleagues about sex than our mental health – survey

A Time to Change survey of 2,000 British workers asked participants to select topics they would be comfortable talking about with colleagues, from a list provided. Results revealed that only 13% felt comfortable talking about their mental health at work – the lowest score of the 10 topics – with responses showing we’re more comfortable talking about sex (18%) and money problems (26%).

Despite this, over half of all participants from the same study said that they would support a colleague if they noticed they were struggling with mental health.

Sue Baker OBE, director of Time to Change, urges us to break the barrier, saying: “Let’s add talking about mental health into the usual mix of workplace conversations about relationships, money and even sex – it could make all the difference to those of us who could be struggling.”