The Mercedes-Benz Business Barometer – our ongoing study of more than 2,000 British van drivers, owners and operators – highlights the stigma still attached to mental health...

1. Male dominated industry/has a macho image
40%
31%
21%
Fears over job security/career progression
Managers don’t know what to say or do
No right time to talk about it
No right place to talk about it
50%
46%
5 reasonscited for why it’s
believed a stigma still
exists in the industry
57%say a colleague
or employee
has spoken
to them about
a mental
health issue
30%felt responsible
for helping them
find treatment.
32%felt ‘proud’
that they work
in an environment
where these issues
can be discussed
38%of all workers say
a colleague has
talked about
mental health
15.8m
sick daysin UK
56%
28%of managers say an
employee has spoken
to them about
mental health
Female managers are more likely to
be spoken to about mental health concerns
attributed to mental health conditions
think there is still a stigma about discussing
mental health in their industry
26%Male
managers
32%Female
managers
rising to
63%in the
manufacturing
sector
Press release
Driving mental
health awareness.
Release date: 14 May 2018
Contact: Caroline Burnell, 07876 217056
About Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd: Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd is the sales and marketing
organisation responsible for all Daimler Van products and services in Britain. In 2017, Mercedes-Benz
Vans celebrated its best ever year in the UK, with 41,404 vehicles registered – an eighth consecutive
year of growth. The team at Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd have a combined 1,151 years of service, each
averaging more than 10 years direct experience with the brand. The nationwide Dealer network of 116
sites employs more than 4,000 colleagues.
Just over a quarter (28%) of managers surveyed said an employee had
spoken to them about their mental health concerns. And over a third
(38%) of all workers said a colleague had opened up to them.
Chris O’Sullivan, Head of Workplace at the Mental Health
Foundation, commented: “There are added pressures that many van
drivers face, namely insecure and unpredictable working conditions”.
Female managers are more likely to have experienced an employee talking
about mental health concerns than male managers (32% vs 26%) – and this
is mirrored across all levels of the workforce.
Over half (57%) of those who said a colleague or employee had spoken
to them about a mental health issue felt ‘glad they could confide in me’;
a further 32% felt ‘proud’ they work in an environment where these issues
can be discussed; and 30% felt responsible for helping them find treatment.
However, almost a quarter (24%) admitted they felt uninformed, 21% said they
felt embarrassed and a further 17% did not feel equipped to know what to
do or say. Strikingly, 56% of all respondents think there is still a stigma about
discussing mental health in their industry – peaking at 6 out of 10 people aged
25-34, and rising to 63% in the manufacturing sector.
When respondents were quizzed on why this stigma still exists,
the chief reason was because the industry is ‘male dominated’.
O’Sullivan concluded: “It’s very important that male dominated
workplaces do more to challenge the stigma surrounding mental
health issues and encourage open and honest conversations
about mental wellbeing”.
The Mercedes-Benz Business Barometer – our ongoing
study of more than 2,000 British van drivers, owners and
operators – highlights the stigma still attached to mental health…
For more information about mental health and how you can
be supported, visit The Mental Health Foundation website:
www.mentalhealth.org.uk/your-mental-health