Mental health stigma haunts public service

Talking openly about depression still seen as weakness

- YAMKELA MAJIKIJELA WILLIE CHINYAMURINDI AND MTHUTHUZELI SWARTZ

IN COMMEMORATING Mental Health Month, ours should be a dual-focus reflection on the silent workplace crisis and the challenge of mental health.

The old foe remains: stigma. Globally, one in every eight people lives with a mental health condition. In South Africa, about a quarter of employees will experience a mental health disorder during their working lives. Yet only a small fraction,15% to 25% will seek help.

When employees in South Africas public service experience a mental breakdown, the journey back to work is often far harder than the illness itself. New research from the University of Fort Hare reveals that while mental health awareness has grown, many workers still face stigma, self-doubt, and a lack of workplace support when they return.

In the public service, where stress levels are high and resources limited, untreated mental health problems have significant human and economic costs. The Employee Assistance Professionals Association of South Africa estimates that mental health related absenteeism costs the economy about R19 billion annually.

Despite national campaigns such as World Mental Health Day and the introduction of workplace wellness programmes, the hardest part for many employees is not seeking help - it’s returning to work afterward.

Mental health awareness campaigns, such as World Mental Health Day, have made strides in breaking the silence. But as our research found, one of the most neglected issues in this conversation is what happens after someone takes time off to heal, the reintegration process that follows therapy or rehabilitation.

We have just recently published a study in the Journal of Public Mental Health that drew focus on the personal narratives of 15 employees from government departments in the Eastern Cape who had taken leave for mental health support. Their experiences reveal three intertwined challenges.