Supporting colleagues with complex personality disorders

Rachel Bottomley, Improvement Officer at See Me, leads and manages the See Me in Work programme and continues our blog series by tackling another question received during our recent annual conference session on wellbeing.

Question: What’s the best way to provide help and support to a colleague with a complex personality disorder?

It’s so important that people with long-term mental illness are supported in work. There is a lot that organisations can do to ensure colleagues feel confident to talk openly about their experiences, ask for help when needed, and are supported to stay at work.

Focus on the person, not a diagnosis

We’ve seen evidence in recent years that attitudes towards mental health are changing, with more people than ever before reaching out for help for the first time. However, at See Me, we’ve also seen evidence that the stigma and discrimination experienced by those with certain diagnoses is not improving, exacerbated by misunderstanding and misconceptions.

Myth busting: An illness's severity refers to its impact on the person’s ability to live well, work productively and contribute to their community.

Every person’s experience of mental health problems is unique to them, and what works for one person might not work for another. We must move away from focusing on the diagnosis and start by actively listening to what it’s like for that individual, what challenges they are facing and what they would find helpful, whilst respecting their right to confidentiality.

The role of line managers

While the situation in question is relevant to any colleague, line managers are often the first point of contact for employees in the workplace, and disclosure around mental health and support to manage an employee’s condition can depend on individual relationships. So line managers must; be confident about discussing mental health problems and exploring support options, lead by example, maintain mental health as a top priority, and manage team dynamics when a disclosure has been made.

Line managers should not be expected to be experts in mental health problems or their treatments. Still, they should be expected to be able to open safe and supportive conversations about mental health with their direct reports, discuss reasonable adjustments based on individual needs and role model behaviours that promote a mental health-inclusive culture.

Line managers proactively taking action to reduce the stigma around mental health problems in their teams will lead to more employees seeking help early, reducing long-term absence rates, increasing productivity and relieving workload pressures on other colleagues. And employees who see their organisation (via line managers) taking action to prioritise workplace well-being will be more engaged, giving their best each day and motivated to contribute to organisational success.

Understanding the impact of stigma and discrimination

Knowing how mental health stigma and discrimination impact the ability of employees to carry out their roles is critical. Any work to improve mental health support in workplaces must look at understanding and reducing stigma and discrimination as central to this.
The recently published Scottish Mental Illness Stigma Study heard the views of people with lived experience of severe, enduring and/or complex mental illness in Scotland and found that:
77% of respondents felt they had been treated unfairly at their workplace because of stigma about their illness.
This stigma has implications for people with lived experience of mental illness that we all need to be aware of and sensitive to.

The study found that as a direct result of anticipated stigma and discrimination:
71% of respondents stopped themselves from applying for a promotion
65% of respondents stopped themselves from taking leave entitlement

“I put extra pressure on myself and work much longer hours than anyone else to prove that I am worthy/able to be employed. I fully expect to go in most days to be fired or pulled up for issues with what I’m doing in my job.”

When stigma and discrimination are present, it can damage employees’ confidence, limit their potential and prolong an illness. All of this harms the employer as well as the individual. However, when workplaces get it right on mental health, it creates an atmosphere where people can flourish; it can help retain staff and improve the organisation’s reputation.

Creating mentally healthy workplaces free from stigma and discrimination requires a conscious effort across several key areas that can’t be squeezed into a single blog post. For individuals and employers that are ready to create change but may be unsure where to start, See Me in Work offers a range of free and evidence-based tools and resources to support action, either on a small scale or to make sustained changes at an organisational level.