Employees Are Afraid to Share Health Concerns at Work
Employees Are Afraid to Share Health Concerns at Work
Imagine being asked to complete a health questionnaire at work. You are assured that the company cares about your wellbeing. But you have also seen how quickly a private conversation can become workplace gossip.
Would you answer honestly?
Employers may see a health programme as an offer of help. Employees may also see a possible risk to their reputation, relationships or career. That difference in perspective affects whether people participate and what they feel safe disclosing.
In a 2024 survey by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, only 48% of the 963 respondents said they felt they could trust their boss with sensitive personal information. The survey is not a national estimate, but its finding is a useful challenge to employers who assume a general statement about confidentiality will settle every concern.
The concern is visible internationally as well. In a 2025 US poll by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 42% of respondents worried that speaking about mental-health concerns at work could negatively affect their career. This reflects the US employees surveyed; it should not be presented as a South African rate.
Trust needs an explanation people can test
Employees deserve clear answers before they share sensitive information. Who receives their responses? Is participation voluntary? What happens if a screening identifies a concern? Will a manager receive an individual result? Can a small department be recognised in a report even if names are removed?
Those questions should be answered in ordinary language, in a format employees can revisit. Employers should also explain the boundary between individual care and management insight. A person seeking help needs an appropriate private route to care. Leaders planning a wellness programme need carefully aggregated information, not access to a colleague’s medical history.
Communication alone is insufficient if workplace behaviour undermines it. A manager who speculates about an employee’s diagnosis, pressures someone to explain an absence or treats a request for support as a lack of commitment will make the next confidentiality promise much harder to believe.
A more trustworthy approach invites questions, provides a clear referral path and acts consistently when employees raise concerns. It also recognises that a person may choose not to discuss a health matter with their manager.
How H360 WHIP can help
H360 WHIP is designed to combine digital health-risk screening with anonymised, aggregated workforce reporting. That can help management examine broad patterns while making individual medical information outside the focus of business reporting.
Before implementation, the organisation should explain exactly how its chosen configuration handles data, who can access each type of information, and what safeguards apply to small teams. Employees should understand that screening indicates potential risk, not a diagnosis, and know how to seek professional follow-up.
Used responsibly, aggregated insights can help an employer decide where support is needed without asking individuals to make their private concerns public. Trust grows when employees can see that the process and management’s behaviour match the promises made at launch.
Request a Free Workforce Health Assessment to explore how to identify workforce concerns while respecting employee confidentiality.
