Many employers view staff disclosure of mental health concerns as a personal decision that falls outside the organization’s influence. A new study from Simon Fraser University (SFU), published in Human Resource Management, challenges that belief, finding that organizational culture—not written policies—is the strongest driver of disclosure.

According to the World Health Organization, 15 percent of adults live with a mental health concern. Separate surveys show that 65 percent of employees believe those concerns interfere with their work. Despite this, many organizations continue to treat disclosure as a personal decision, even when programs and supports are in place.

“That’s just not what we saw in the data,” said Zhanna Lyubykh, assistant professor at SFU’s Beedie School of Business and lead author of the study. “Organizations can do a lot to help employees disclose. Much of it comes down to employee perceptions of how disclosure is going to be handled, which is absolutely within an organization’s control.”

Workplace culture shapes mental health disclosure

Employees in supportive workplaces were 55 percent more likely to disclose a mental health concern than those in less supportive environments. Lyubykh explained that support is not only about reducing stigma or avoiding discrimination but also about ensuring employees believe they will benefit from organizational programs.

Her research identified the presence of social supports—the subtle environmental cues people notice and remember—as the most significant factor influencing disclosure. These signals may be positive or negative:

• Did a colleague who disclosed lose out on a promotion?
• Are open conversations about mental health encouraged among co-workers?
• Was access to counseling or assistance straightforward, or did it require months of paperwork?
• Were the supports actually beneficial once accessed?

“People notice things and log them, sometimes consciously and sometimes not,” Lyubykh said.

Supportive environments reduce stigma and increase openness

A supportive workplace means more than just the absence of discrimination. Employees need to feel that organizational supports are accessible and beneficial, and that disclosure will not harm their careers. When the lived experience of employees matches written policies, trust grows, and disclosure becomes more likely.

Study links disclosure rates to absenteeism and performance

The research involved two survey-based projects. The first distinguished between willingness to disclose and actual disclosure rates, identifying what influenced employees’ decisions. The second examined how organizational support for mental health and well-being correlated with absenteeism.

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Results linked low disclosure rates and poor employee perceptions to higher absenteeism, greater anxiety, and reduced productivity and performance. Conversely, employees who viewed their workplaces as supportive reported stronger engagement and outcomes.

“Competent people don’t want to stay in an unsupportive or toxic environment,” Lyubykh added. “Now you have the attrition of high performers on top of other costly problems.”

How lab managers can build a supportive workplace culture

Although the study was not specifically focused on laboratories, its findings have direct implications for high-pressure scientific environments. Lab managers can help foster a culture where mental health concerns can be safely raised by:

• Adapting workplace surveys: Lyubykh recommends adding questions that measure how comfortable employees feel discussing mental health at work; this provides benchmarks and helps track changes over time
• Modeling supportive behavior: Leaders who normalize challenges and openly engage with resources set a powerful example
• Streamlining access to resources: Ensuring that employee assistance programs and counseling are easy to use builds trust
• Paying attention to signals: Small cues—whether supportive or stigmatizing—shape overall perceptions of workplace culture

“Organizations have the responsibility and power to change things,” Lyubykh said. “And change starts at the leadership level.”