Factors affecting the willingness of employees to disclose mental health issues at the workplace : the case of lebanese NGOs

Abstract

Nowadays, mental health of employees has become an area of interest for employers since the impact of poor employee mental health can be as harmful for the business as it is for the employees. Nonetheless, efforts made to raise awareness regarding mental health are still challenged, mainly because of stigmatization. In fact, the literature suggests that employers should create a healthy workplace and improve work conditions to adequately support employees suffering from mental health issues. Similarly, there should always be a trustworthy intervention between employees and employers. Employees should always feel that they have the needed managerial and coworker support to overcome their mental health issues. All this sheds lights on the factors that may affect employees willingness to disclose mental health issues at work. Hence, this research aimed at understanding some of these factors impacting employees disclosure of mental health issues. A questionnaire was designed to investigate these factors in Lebanese NGOs and was distributed via emails. The results suggested that managerial support and coworker support positively affect employees willingness to disclose mental health issues. However, we were unable to draw any type of relationship between anticipated stigmatization and the willingness to disclose mental health issues. Overall, the results of this study underline the importance of creating a supportive workplace culture for the benefit of both the business and employees suffering from mental health issues.