Cross-cultural perspectives on mental health shame among male workers

Abstract

Globally, awareness of workplace mental health problems has increased rapidly. Employees need to be able to reflect on their wellbeing and ask for help if needed. Previous research has indicated mental health shame (or shame associated with mental health problems) is a barrier toward self-reflection and help-seeking. Our previous research identified that levels and types of mental health shame vary greatly across cultures, highlighting a need for a cross-cultural understanding of mental health shame. Accordingly, this perspective paper will focus on shame associated with mental health problems among male workers across cultures, and discuss differences among them in relation to cultures. Consistently, mental health shame in male workers is reported high in many cultures. Mental health literacy and wellness activities such as self-compassion training, organisational approaches to encourage connectedness and safety are recommended. Insights from our perspective can help the human resources staff and managers identify helpful approaches for mental health shame in a diverse workplace.