3 Ways You Can Empower Black Mental Wellbeing At Work

by Aurora Wellness (& the Race, Ethnicity, Religion & Belief Committee strand of the EDI Committee)

The theme for this year’s Black History Month is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected Black people, we feel that this is such an important and fitting opportunity to put the spotlight on Black mental health, discuss some of the obstacles to wellbeing and what you can do to promote Black mental wellbeing in the workplace.

Here in the UK, we were already on the brink of a mental health crisis before the pandemic, but mental health has been exacerbated by not just the pandemic itself, but also its aftermath including rising inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and the overburdened NHS mental health services, where there is a year long average waiting list for treatment.

When you also add to that the additional stressors that Black people face including systemic racism, exposure to racial trauma, institutional inequity, income inequality and unfair treatment in school, healthcare and workplace environments, it is hardly surprising that Black people were more likely to screen positive for depression during the worst of the pandemic.

Why talking about Black mental health matters

The reality is, understanding the unique challenges that Black people face when it comes to talking about their wellbeing still hasn’t got much attention.

The reasons behind mental health stigma in Black communities are nuanced and complex but need to be understood if workplaces are going to create psychologically safe environments for all employees.

Here are some statistics to think about. According to the MHFA England Race Equity Impact report last year:

• Half of Black Britons say they are as likely to have experienced racism at work as in the street.
• 29% of Black people say their mental health has been negatively impacted by racism experienced at work.
• Over 70% ethnic minority workers said they have experienced racial harassment at work in the past five years.
• 33% of Black employees feel that their ethnicity will be a barrier to their next career move compared to only 1% of white employees.

Mental health initiatives usually take a one-size-fits-all approach. Yet, as you can see, many Black people don’t experience the world the same way white people do, so it’s important to tailor mental health to individuals if you really want to achieve mental wellbeing for all – which coincidentally also happens to be the theme for World Mental Health Day today.

“Black people often feel that they are noticed for all the wrong reasons, both societally and in the workplace. Because of that we feel that we can’t afford to attach another label like ‘troubled’ or ‘difficult’ by addressing or drawing attention to any mental health concerns. There is a real risk that despite reassurances to the contrary, such stigma would jeopardise our career progression.”

– Ngozi Weller, co-founder and Director of Aurora

What are some of the biggest barriers to Black mental health?

To really understand how to help Black people and their mental health, it’s necessary to be aware of some of the obstacles there are to Black mental wellness. While the obstacles are numerous – with racism, of course, being one of these barriers – to narrow it down, we suggest that these are two of the biggest barriers to Black mental health.

Cultural stigma
Ngozi Weller, Aurora co-founder and Director, said this in an interview:

“Many Black people don’t want to admit to mental health problems because they don’t want the stigma of yet another negative label. It is already difficult navigating majority white workspaces as a Black person.

That’s the reality you’re dealing with, so you think how can I afford to add more labels to my negative labels? Because of that we feel that we can’t afford to attach another label like ‘troubled’ or ‘difficult’ by addressing or drawing attention to any mental health concerns. There is a real risk that despite reassurances to the contrary, such stigma would jeopardise our career progression.”

2. Lack of diversity

Ethnically diverse people only make up 9.6% of qualified clinical psychologists in England and Wales, in contrast to 14% of the population. This means that Black people, as well as others from diverse backgrounds, don’t always feel as though help is accessible to them.

This is because not all clinicians are trained to be aware about how culture, race, and ethnicity impact a person’s mental and emotional wellbeing. It can feel alienating to keep explaining a lot of nuanced things tied to race to a white therapist who may not understand.

“The worst thing is when you go to talk to somebody and because they don’t understand you, it’s like you’re just talking to yourself.” – Anonymous, Sky News

How you can empower Black mental wellbeing at work

Seek and share specialist support

Firstly, bringing in a skilled expert in racial trauma can be indispensable when it comes to helping them process what they might be experiencing or feeling. If you have an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), confirm if their service offers this and appropriate support which may be particular to Black people.

If they do, make sure to advertise this to your Black employees because they might not think that support is there for them. If they don’t, clearly signpost them to external mental health resources which have been designed specifically for Black people.

Create psychologically safe spaces

All employees need to feel psychologically safe in order to be transparent about the challenges that they face in the workplace, and this is especially true for your Black employees. Some ideas for creating psychologically safe workplaces to support your Black employees also include:

• Recruit Mental Health First Aiders (or equivalent) who are trained on discrimination issues, such as how racism impacts mental health.
• Encourage and facilitate peer support networks to enable Black people or people from ethnically diverse backgrounds to speak and build a community of people who have similar lived experience in a safe space.
• Upskilling managers by offering training, guidance on language and increasing their confidence in talking about race and mental health.
• Establish clear pathways for people to raise concerns

Black people can find it difficult to report racism to HR. This can be a consequence of not having a psychologically safe work environment, where people feel that they can challenge racist behaviour without the risk of repercussions, particularly those from an ethnic minority background.

To create a psychologically safe work environment, it is essential to create both formal and informal pathways to raise concerns. Black people should know who to go to if they have concerns and the confidence that it will be dealt with appropriately.

Informal pathways could include Employee Networks to discuss concerns and issues with colleagues in a safe environment. Ideally, this wouldn’t just be an “extra-curricular activity” as this can discourage people from taking part.

If you would like to find out more about how we can help you to meet the needs of your black employees, create psychologically safe working environments or address any other employee wellbeing concerns, book a consult call here and the Aurora team can help support your company’s employee wellbeing plans.

Aurora Wellness is a mental health and wellbeing consultancy that helps organisations significantly reduce employee burnout, absenteeism & talent attrition; strengthens employee mental resilience and productivity, through mental wellbeing strategy, training & coaching. Previous clients include London School of Economics (LSE), Imperial College London, Matillion, Energus, Devoteam, Cochlear and North East London NHS Foundation Trust.