Work Is Affecting My Mental Health – What Should I Do?

If work is affecting your mental health, you do not have to wait until you reach breaking point before doing something about it.

But deciding what to do isn’t always straightforward.

You might be worried about telling your manager because you don’t want to be seen differently.

You may be concerned that taking time off will affect your career.

Perhaps you have already been referred to Occupational Health and don’t understand what that means.

Or you may feel that the workplace itself — your manager, workload, treatment or an ongoing dispute — is actually causing the problem.

The most important thing is not to make assumptions about what will happen next.

Look after your health, seek appropriate medical support where needed, but also understand your employment position before making important decisions about work.

Because when mental health and workplace problems collide, what happens next can become more complicated than many employees expect.

When does work-related stress become something more serious?

Pressure at work isn’t unusual.

Most jobs have difficult periods, deadlines and times when people feel stretched.

But there is a difference between temporary pressure and reaching the point where work is having a persistent impact on your health and everyday life.

You may notice that you are:

• struggling to sleep because you’re thinking about work;

• becoming anxious before meetings;

• constantly exhausted;

• losing confidence in abilities you previously took for granted;

• finding it difficult to concentrate;

• worrying excessively about emails or conversations;

• feeling unable to switch off outside working hours; or

• dreading returning to work after weekends or holidays.

These experiences don’t automatically establish that your employer has done anything wrong.

But they shouldn’t simply be dismissed as “part of having a job” either.

If your health is being affected, consider seeking appropriate medical advice.

And if the cause appears to be connected with what is happening at work, it may also be time to look more carefully at your employment situation.

“I’m worried that if I tell them, they’ll think I can’t do my job”

This is one of the biggest concerns employees have.

You may have worked hard to build your reputation and career.

The idea of telling your manager or HR that you are struggling can therefore feel risky.

You may worry that people will question your resilience.

Or that opportunities will disappear.

Or, more seriously, that your employer will decide you are no longer capable of doing your job.

These fears often lead people to keep going long after they should have asked for support.

But there is another difficulty.

If your employer doesn’t know that you are struggling, there may be limits to what it can reasonably be expected to understand or address.

The question therefore isn’t simply:

“Should I tell my employer?”

It can also be:

“What should I tell them, how should I explain it and what support am I actually asking for?”

Those are very different questions.

And getting the approach right can matter.

What happens inside the company when you raise a mental health concern?

This is where understanding the employer side can be particularly useful.

If you tell your manager that your mental health is being affected, several things may happen depending on the circumstances and the organisation.

Your manager may involve HR.

You may be asked whether you need immediate support.

The organisation may discuss temporary changes to your work.

You might be referred to Occupational Health.

If you are absent, the company’s sickness absence procedures may become relevant.

Where the situation continues for a longer period, there may eventually be discussions about your ability to perform your role and what support or adjustments may be appropriate.

None of this automatically means your employer is trying to remove you from the business.

Good employers use these processes to understand what support an employee needs and how work can be managed appropriately.

But it is also important to recognise that the employer will usually be documenting what is happening.

HR may keep records of discussions.

Managers may be advised about next steps.

Occupational Health reports may inform decisions.

Absence records and previous adjustments may become relevant later.

That is one reason we encourage employees to understand the process they are entering rather than simply assuming that every meeting is an informal conversation.

What are my rights if my mental health is affected?

There isn’t one simple answer because UK employment law protections depend on the individual circumstances.

Employers have duties relating to health and safety at work.

Mental health conditions may also amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010 where the relevant legal definition is met. Broadly, this involves a physical or mental impairment having a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Where an employee is disabled for the purposes of the Act, an employer may have a duty to make reasonable adjustments in certain circumstances.

What is reasonable depends on the particular situation.

Possible adjustments might, depending on the circumstances, involve working arrangements, duties, hours, equipment or other changes. But there is no universal list of adjustments that every employee is automatically entitled to receive.

This is where generic advice can become misleading.

Your health, role, workplace, medical evidence and the practical impact of any proposed adjustment can all be relevant.

Rather than assuming what your employer “has to” provide, it can be more useful to understand what protections may apply in your circumstances and what support is realistic.

What does an Occupational Health referral actually mean?

Employees are sometimes alarmed when HR suggests Occupational Health.

They assume it means:

“They’re trying to prove I’m not fit for my job.”

That isn’t necessarily the case.

Occupational Health can help an employer understand how an employee’s health affects their work and may provide recommendations about support, adjustments or a return to work.

But the detail matters.

What has Occupational Health been asked?

What information has the employer provided?

What questions is the referral intended to answer?

And what does the resulting report actually say?

From an employer’s perspective, an Occupational Health report can become an important source of information when deciding how to manage absence, workplace adjustments, return-to-work arrangements or longer-term capability concerns.

That doesn’t mean you should be frightened of Occupational Health.

It means you should understand the purpose of the referral and how it fits into the wider situation.

What if work itself is causing the problem?

This can make things more complicated.

Perhaps your mental health started deteriorating after a change of manager.

Maybe you believe you are being bullied.

Perhaps your workload has become unmanageable.

You may have raised concerns and feel they have been ignored.

Or you could already be involved in a grievance, performance, capability, disciplinary or redundancy process.

In those circumstances, simply treating the situation as “sickness absence” may not address the underlying problem.

The history matters.

For example, if an employee with years of good performance suddenly develops anxiety after a significant workplace dispute and then finds themselves facing capability concerns, it may be important to understand the sequence of events properly.

That doesn’t automatically mean the employer has acted unlawfully.

But it does mean the situation deserves more careful consideration.

At TrustForce, we look at the wider picture rather than considering each HR process in isolation.

Be careful about important decisions when you are overwhelmed

When people reach the point where work is seriously affecting them, they often want the situation to stop immediately.

That is understandable.

You might want to resign.

Send an email telling your manager exactly what you think.

Submit a grievance.

Refuse to attend a meeting.

Or sign a settlement agreement simply because it gives you a way out.

Sometimes one of those decisions may ultimately be appropriate.

But making an irreversible employment decision when you are exhausted, frightened or angry can create additional problems.

This is where having someone independent can help.

Not somebody emotionally involved in the situation.

Not somebody whose responsibility is to protect the organisation.

Someone who can help you look at what is happening, understand how the employer is likely to approach it and work out what needs attention before you decide what to do next.

Don’t assume HR is your personal adviser

HR can play an important and valuable role in supporting employees experiencing mental health difficulties.

But there is an important distinction that employees sometimes overlook.

HR works for the employer.

Its role includes supporting employees, but it also includes helping the organisation manage risk, follow appropriate procedures and make employment decisions.

That doesn’t make HR the enemy.

It simply means HR isn’t independent.

If you are facing a difficult situation involving your health, manager or employment, having somebody outside the organisation who is considering matters from your perspective can give you a very different type of support.

That is particularly valuable when you don’t know whether what is happening is normal HR procedure or something you should be questioning.

Why getting support early matters

We would much rather speak to someone when they first realise something isn’t right than after the situation has escalated.

By the time employees seek help, they may already have been absent for months.

They may have attended several Occupational Health appointments.

A grievance may have been raised.

Capability proceedings may have started.

Or they may have reached the point where they simply want to leave.

There can still be options at that stage.

But earlier support can create more room to think.

At TrustForce, we don’t believe employees need to become experts in employment law or HR procedure.

You shouldn’t have to spend evenings researching legislation, Occupational Health processes and grievance procedures while also trying to manage your health.

What you need is somebody who understands those processes and can help you make sense of what is happening.

You don’t have to wait until you’re in crisis

If work is affecting your mental health, you don’t need to prove that things are “bad enough” before asking for help.

Equally, you don’t need to immediately start a formal workplace process.

The right response depends on what is happening.

Sometimes support and adjustments may help.

Sometimes the underlying workplace issue needs to be addressed.

Sometimes the employment relationship may already have deteriorated significantly.

The important thing is to understand which situation you are dealing with.

Because protecting your health and protecting your employment position don’t have to be competing objectives.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to tell my employer about my mental health?

There isn’t a simple rule requiring employees to disclose every health condition to their employer. However, what an employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, can be relevant to some of its obligations. If you are unsure what to disclose, getting advice on your particular circumstances can help.

Can my employer dismiss me because of mental health problems?

Mental health difficulties do not give an employer an automatic right to dismiss someone. However, health and capability situations can become complex, particularly where absence is prolonged or an employee cannot perform their role. Employers need to consider the circumstances and applicable legal obligations before making decisions.

Can I ask for reasonable adjustments for my mental health?

If your condition meets the legal definition of disability, the Equality Act 2010 may require your employer to make reasonable adjustments in certain circumstances. What is reasonable depends on the individual situation.

Should I resign if my job is making me ill?

Don’t assume resignation is your only option. Resigning can have significant financial and legal consequences. If possible, understand your employment position and seek appropriate health and employment support before making an irreversible decision.

How TrustForce can help

TrustForce provides confidential, independent support to employees dealing with difficult workplace situations.

With more than 20 years’ experience working on the employer side, we understand what happens behind HR processes, how Occupational Health information can be used, what evidence employers consider and how workplace concerns may develop into more formal processes.

If work is affecting your mental health and you don’t know what to do next, you can speak to TrustForce before making an important employment decision.

Visit www.trustforce.co.uk or contact support@trustforce.co.uk.

Sometimes the most useful first step is simply having someone independent help you understand what is really happening.