New Canadian research finds workplace culture fuels mental health disclosure

Organizational culture plays a bigger role than policies in encouraging the disclosure of mental health concerns, according to a recent report from Simon Fraser University. 

Often, disclosure decisions are framed as personal choices left solely to employees. But researchers challenge this perception, showing that organizations play a meaningful role in shaping these decisions. 

“People often make decisions around disclosing things like mental health concerns based on how they see other people being treated in an organization,” says Rebecca Gewurtz associate professor of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. 

According to the study, employees were 55 per cent more likely to disclose mental health concerns with their employer if they perceived a supportive organizational environment. This was linked to lower anxiety and depression, and higher levels of worker engagement and job satisfaction. 

In contrast, if employees perceived the opposite, they felt discouraged from speaking up—leading to worse mental health and productivity outcomes. 

Psychological safety is key 

For Gewurtz,  the results reflect patterns seen in ongoing research. 

“We know that organizational culture is really critical for people's experiences at work,” she says.  

This type of research, she adds, highlights how organizations need to continue to think of ways to create psychological safety in the workplace. 

The findings from the report came from two surveys: one conducted with 475 undergraduate students with employment experience, and another with 716 full-time employees. 

Spotting mental health stigma   

Some of the main barriers to disclosure include fear of stigma, anticipated discrimination, unsupportive attitudes, and limited internal resources, according to the report. 

Although Gewurtz says teams and researchers have done a lot to create psychologically safe workplaces, stigma is still prevalent today. "Stigma and culture change can be very slow, and it takes time to really shift attitudes and minds around... what’s appropriate and what’s not appropriate,” she says. 

A lot of the time,, stigma in the workplace can be identified through the way colleagues make assumptions or jokes about one another, Gewurtz says. 

“They might be talking about a colleague in a negative way, and then sort of say, ‘Also [they have] those mental health issues or those addiction issues.’” 

Other times, she says, the issue manifests as internalized stigma—causing individuals to feel unworthy of support or afraid to disclose concerns. 

Microaggressions undermine disclosure 

Jennifer Dimoff, associate professor in Workplace Mental Health and Wellness Leadership at the University of Ottawa, notes that stigma can also emerge through “subtle or covert types of microaggression.”  

For example, someone may disclose anxiety to a co-worker or manager, only to find that it impacts how others view their potential.  

“’Do we really think that Jennifer can handle that promotion because she’s just told us that she has an anxiety disorder, and maybe..., this wouldn’t be the best thing for her?’ So sometimes it’s well intentioned, but still stigmatized,” she says. 

Dimoff points to research she is working on that finds co-workers’ attitudes around mental health can significantly impact whether others feel comfortable speaking up. 

 “Even when they have a really supportive leader—non-stigmatizing—if the employees, co-workers, tend to be ostracizing or rude or belittling when it comes to mental health or mental illnesses, then employees don’t want to talk about it,” she adds. 

Policies are a starting point 

So, what can employers do to support mental health disclosure? Dimoff says it starts with policies.

These policies help guide employees, HR, and managers by providing a framework and process to promote and support mental health, she says. 

Workplace culture shifts will happen when the policies are followed by everyone. However, Dimoff says there should be flexibility within them to bring a more humanized experience to the workplace. 

“That can be through managers talking about their own lives outside of work. It doesn't necessarily mean that managers need to be talking about their mental health or mental illnesses, but just again, humanizing the work experience and humanizing themselves,” she says 

Supports for everyone  

Gewurtz says creating an inclusive workplace that provides support for everybody—not just those who disclose mental illness or concerns—is key. 

Many people won't disclose concerns until they are desperate, and the consequences begin showing in their work.  “It becomes a problem when someone's just not able to meet... or complete their work or meet the demands of their position,” she says. 

Therefore, flexible accommodation that is provided without formal disclosure can help create a culture of support. This can include giving employees time off—where appropriate to the organization—or allowing them to decide when, where, and how they complete their work. 

“Every organization's different... But if you can build in flexibility of some kind, that will allow people to do what they need to do to stay healthy,” Gewurtz adds. 

Fix the work design 

One aspect that Dimoff notes is often ignored is work design. Specifically: “How are we designing work so that it isn't hurting people?” 

She says organizations need to look at it from a psychological and physical safety perspective. That means adjusting workloads, so they are manageable for employees to complete within the week and giving managers manageable team sizes. 

Additionally, offering training—not just for employees but also for leaders to recognize the signs of mental distress and respond appropriately—is critical. 

“Our research shows that with training, managers are able to have those conversations with employees and then direct employees towards other sources of support,” she says. 

According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, workload management in the workplace plays an important role in addressing mental health. The Commission cites it as one of the 13 factors impacting psychological health and safety in the workplace. 

In fact, a 2023 Statistics Canada report surveying over 4.1 million people found that the main causes of work-related stress are often heavy workloads and poor work-life balance. 

HR’s bigger role with mental health  

HR’s role is about more than just administering policies in the workplace—it can also shape culture by advocating for the right leaders. 

“One of HR’s biggest roles can be in influencing the selection and promotion of managers who are going to be effective leaders because they can lead people—not just because they were the most skilled at the job,” Dimoff says. 

The focus should be on picking leaders based on their ability to show empathy, provide support to employees, and “think about employees beyond just productivity”, she  says. “What research shows is that when managers do that, productivity follows.” 

Another simple but often overlooked step? Making sure employees know what mental health supports are available. 

“You ask employees about what their benefits packages are, and they don’t know,” she says, so that’s where HR can step in. 

A report published this year by Dialogue Health Technology found that while 80 per cent of employers in Canada offer an employee assistance program (EAP), only 16 per cent of employees know about the benefits available.  Employees will often turn to informal support networks and rarely consider using workplace benefits, the report finds. 

Training from the top  

While HR can lead many initiatives, Dimoff emphasizes that a supportive mental health culture is most effective when driven by leadership. 

“There really needs to be that link from executive-level leadership supporting mental health—not as a pet project,” she says. That can come from HR or managers receiving workplace-focused mental health training. 

“If they're not trained, then there's going to be a breakdown somewhere between policy and practice,” she adds.