Managers, don’t undermine an individual’s proactive approach to tackling stress, says Ben Moss
Over the years, fans of English cricket have become accustomed to a fair degree of farce. Usually though, it takes place out on the pitch. However, the latest fallout from Jonathon Trott’s withdrawal from the Ashes squad in November threatens to set a new and unwelcome high water mark for the way professional sport deals with issues of mental health. As past players have rushed to comment and cast aspersions on the seriousness of Trott’s experiences, the only thing that has become clearer is that traditional ‘macho’ sporting cultures still linger and that we need to reframe our old attitudes to pressure, stress and mental health.
Based on Trott’s own description, his condition had clear behavioural symptoms, induced by the pressure he was under to perform. In my view, the former England captain Michael Vaughan’s assertion that both he and the public have been “conned” by Trott is both irresponsible and inappropriate. How many top players will now feel they can be honest about their experiences of excessive mental strain after a former captain has expressed this view? It’s as if a complete breakdown has to happen before a player can be believed.
Trott and the England management made a bold decision at the time, but it was ultimately the right decision. Being able to handle the intense pressure of international sport is something that cannot be taken for granted, and being open in admitting the need for respite should be a part of the culture of all top performing teams. It does not make Trott weak. He recognised that he was buckling under pressure and was big enough to address the negative impact he was having on the team, and himself. In a moving interview with Sky Sports, he describes the regular migraines and loneliness he experienced on tour, to the point where he felt unable to speak to other team-mates at breakfast.
Vaughan is entitled to his view but I think he has missed a major opportunity to build his credibility beyond the sporting bubble here. If he’d spoken to people with more experience of these problems he could have played a major role in supporting the de-stigmatisation of mental health in sport.
And the stigma of mental ill-health infiltrates all walks of life, not just professional sport. Many people in the UK work in highly pressurised business environments and, like Trott, they would be well advised to take a preventative approach to manage the onset of stress - even if that means making difficult decisions in the short-term (e.g. Antonio Horta- Osorio, group chief executive at Lloyds Banking Group, who took time out to deal with stress-related issues). It’s a positive step when an employee acknowledges that it is, in part, their own personal responsibility to recognise when health and well-being begins to suffer due to excessive pressure. And the work culture/environment needs to support this kind of personal responsibility and action. Why wait until you need formal psychiatric or medical intervention in the long-term when you could act early to get help and make changes to your routine? The personal and organisational costs of the former are huge.
For more on the employee’s personal responsibility for well-being and whether we’re reaching the tipping point for mental health in UK society download the company’s free Good Day at Work annual well-being report 2014