We need to talk about mental health

90, 70, 35, 26. Those are not winning lottery numbers but instead some of the shocking statistics revealed in EG’s comprehensive survey of mental health in the real estate sector. They are the percentages of the circa 700 people that took part in the survey who think that the industry needs to talk more about mental health, who believe that there is still a stigma around mental health issues, who think that working in this industry contributes to poor mental health, and perhaps most shocking of all, the percentage of people in this industry who have considered taking their own life. The figures are well above national averages, so EG gathered a collection of experts to try and understand why the figures are so high and what we as an industry should be doing about it. Failure or fear of talking about mental health, particularly in a sector characterised by a “work hard, play hard” ethos, was cited as one of the biggest reasons for the shocking results. The high percentage of people who thought that more dialogue around mental health in the sector was required, particularly struck Crown Estate HSE and wellbeing manager Henrietta Frater, especially as such a high proportion of the survey respondents were senior level directors. “That makes me think that potentially people don’t feel able to be honest and have an authentic, honest voice. I’ve actually considered taking my own life. I’m going to own it right there, because actually, if you do, it empowers other people to be honest,” says Frater. “This isn’t something we should shy away from talking about. It is something we should be talking about. Something we obviously need to talk about much, much more.” She adds: “You can’t shy away from the fact that we could lose people. We are losing people. Clearly, if there’s so many people that are considering taking on their life and that also know people working around them that are, you can’t ignore this.” So what can be done to help create a place where people can talk about their mental health issues and where managers and colleagues in general don’t feel the need to shy away from this very real problem? Thoughts about suicide, they grow in the darkness when people don’t feel that they can be themselves, when they don’t feel that they can come to work and bring who they are and what they’re feeling to work – Juliet Smithson, head of operations, LionHeart For Juliet Smithson, head of operations at RICS charity, LionHeart, the workplace and our relationship with our colleagues and leaders plays an important role. “Thoughts about suicide, they grow in the darkness when people don’t feel that they can be themselves, when they don’t feel that they can come to work and bring who they are and what they’re feeling to work,” she says. “Work is such a key part of all of our lives. We’re at work for so many hours and often our colleagues are the ones who will notice that you’re not yourself or you’re not you’re not who you normally are, so it’s really important that we have those conversations. But it’s got to be led from senior leadership. And we need brave people to come and say I’ve had my [tough] times in the past.” Melanie Olrik, head of HR at Hollis, adds: “I think anything that creates a culture of openness, talking about mental health and normalising it will help with the stigma. That, and also knowledge, because I think an awful lot of people are ignorant about mental health issues and tend to shy away from that because they don’t feel confident talking about it.” Knowledge, understanding what constitutes mental health, the impact it has on our lives and how we can and should talk about is one of the greatest tools that the industry can use in reducing the likelihood of mental health issues. “Educating senior managers and team managers is really important,” says Smithson. “I think there is still this view that someone with a mental health condition shouldn’t be working, that they can’t be functioning at a full-on level. And that’s absolutely not the case. And the LionHeart ambassadors are amazing examples of people who are sharing their experiences and also sharing their career success. Getting managers to understand that mental health doesn’t mean the end of your working life or a reduction in your effectiveness is really important.” Understanding the issues and knowing how to talk about them is helpful when dealing with mental health issues… but what is it that is creating such an above average prevalence of mental health issues in the real estate sector? “The property industry is a wonderful industry to work in but at the same time there is a culture where people feel that they have to deliver,” says Frater. “It’s male dominated, so that has an impact, because if you’re surrounded by people that aren’t talking about it and aren’t owning how they feel and their emotions, that’s going to potentially shut other people down, even potentially the women in the room that would have been talking about it. “Everybody needs support sometimes in some of the core things that we need to manage on a day-to-day basis. There’s also a lot of long working hours. So at the Crown Estate, we try hard to make sure that people know that they can work flexibly. They can choose where they want to work and how they want to work.” Frater adds: “Having organisations where they do listen to what their employees need and engage in the conversation will mean, hopefully, the culture changes so that people are more and more likely to look after themselves, do what they need, work in the way they need to and talk about it.” And with 90% of survey respondents saying that the industry must talk about mental health more, the time has never been so ripe for change. For more on mental health in real estate: EG’s Mental Health Hub >> If you need help with any issues raised in this article, you can get support from: Mind, the mental health charity 0300 123 3393 – provides advice and support to anyone experiencing a mental health problem The Samaritans 116 123 – confidential 24-hour support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress, despair or suicidal thoughts LionHeart  0800 009 2960 or 0121 289 3300 – charity for RICS professionals and real estate professionals To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette