Travel company bosses need to lead from the top when it comes to protecting the mental health of their employees.
This was the view shared by feature writer, columnist, and mental health advocate Bryony Gordon in a session at this week’s ABTA Travel Convention in Seville.
Gordon, who interviewed Prince Harry about his mental health as part of the launch of his Heads Together campaign, said there is still too much stigma attached to mental health problems and companies need to address this.
"We feel ashamed to ask for time off for an illness that is in our head, but when a company invests in having a happy, healthy workforce it is automatically increasing its productivity."
She encouraged companies to train up mental health first aiders in the workplace.
"There are really simple courses people can do to teach them how to talk with people who are in crisis," she said.
"Companies should also be encouraging people to look after their mental health on a daily basis. Physical health and mental health are completely entwined and the stigma will only be gone when we talk about ‘health’ and don’t separate the two."
A poll during the conference session asked delegates whether they would feel comfortable telling their boss about a mental health problem.
It found 56% of delegates would feel comfortable.
Gordon said she was surprised by the figure, expecting that fewer would feel comfortable.
"There is still a long way to go," she said. "The statistics say one in four people have experienced mental health issues in the last year, so there is someone in this room who has suffered. The way the illness thrives is by people who are suffering keeping it to themselves and not connecting with the other people. That’s why we need to talk more about mental health."
