Destigmatising Conversations around Mental Health

Opening up the conversation about mental health provides a good opportunity to break down the stigma often associated with it. Across the world, we find varying degrees of willingness to discuss and be open about the topic. Whether we refer to ‘mental health’, ‘stress’, ‘burn-out’ or ‘wellbeing’, the heart of the matter is that everyone has a fundamental desire to be healthy and happy, and to be able to fulfil their responsibilities at work and at home.  

At Wavemaker, we strive to create an equitable working environment for everyone, irrespective of their psychological differences. To achieve our goal, we’ve taken steps towards fostering an environment that normalises and encourages open dialogue about mental health globally. Our wellbeing and mental health allies programme is designed to ensure our people are healthy, supported and safe. Wavemaker’s mental health allies are trained to listen, provide support and point people to the correct services and resources. Having conversations about mental health, with a friendly ear, can be an effective approach to healing. With this programme, we aim to encourage openness and authenticity in all of us. We also have a mental health education hub which is accessible to all 7,000+ Wavemakers.

In a recent global event, Wavemaker partnered with WPP and our sister agencies, under the ‘Making Space for Mental Health’ banner, to raise awareness and advocacy against mental health stigma in the workplace. With over 5,000 participants attending more than 60 virtual sessions in 23 markets across the network, including, MENA, South Africa and Thailand the programme broke new ground. We encouraged open conversations, reminded people of the support available and shared practical tips and tools to help protect the mental health of our people. 

Key tools shared included ‘mapping your resilience range’, to understand which areas of life are going well in and which areas need support; ‘managing your efforts’ - which involves writing down all of our daily tasks and then using a rating system to prioritise them and decide where to focus our energy. Finally, all WPP employees have been given free access to Headspace for the whole of 2024, we actively encouraged all Wavemakers to download the app and use it to help manage their personal wellbeing.   

The breadth and depth of stories from our people illustrated how our mental health can be affected at any time regardless of geography, gender or seniority. However, with the right resources, tools and support network we can all get back on track. 

Among the stories, we heard from Wavemaker MENA’s regional managing director, Marc Ghosn. He talked about how he was able to manage the stress of a serious illness in his family, by adopting positive tactics to build his resilience. He found that being open and transparent allowed him to both better understand his own resilience range, and to receive a great deal of support from his colleagues. Marc said, “Building resilience doesn’t make us immune to reaching our breaking point. We all have a resilience range. Resilience should be a part of our culture, a top awareness that allows us to identify the signals that our resilience is slipping, so we know who is not doing well and provide the necessary support.”

Cultural values can impact mental health challenges. Some cultures perceive them as a sign of weakness, while others may not consider them as healthcare issues or believe that individuals have full control over their mental well-being. In South Africa, we heard from Seabolo Pilane, Group HR Director, who debunked common mental health misconceptions which can exacerbate problems especially amongst men. “Depression, anxiety, psychosis etc. are not caused by some supernatural forces or witchcraft these are real mental health issues. This is the stereotype I’ve had to overcome from my culture.” He explained that recognising and addressing the cultural stigmas towards individuals with mental illnesses can help to break down the barriers and encourage individuals to open up about their experiences.

We know that there is still more work to be done with destigmatising the conversation around poor mental health. It’s important to not only continue to educate and normalise the topic, but also lead by example to create a community that provides valuable support.

Camilla Bruggen is Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Wavemaker.