Sometimes words can speak as loudly as actions. So it goes with mental health. Many companies are mercifully taking employee stress and other psychological ailments more seriously. At the same time, few chief executives have been willing to open up about their personal struggles. Even before the pandemic rocked emotional stability globally, the issue had been moving up the corporate agenda. An American Heart Association panel of CEOs in 2019 published a 159-page report entitled “Mental Health: A Workforce Crisis”. It noted the “compelling interest” for employers to promote positive mental health on the job. Putting things in the steely terms of costs and benefits, including productivity, is a good way to spur boardrooms to act. When it comes to mental health, though, the human side is equally important. There is still unwarranted shame and discrimination that causes people to avoid or delay seeking treatment. About a quarter of American adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, the National Institutes of Health estimates. Although C-suites may be populated by an especially resilient bunch, it stands to reason that they face similar proportions of anxiety, depression and other conditions. Their supersized paychecks are no antidote.And yet it’s hard to find captains of industry discussing how their therapists or SSRI medications help them cope. Facebook (FB.O) Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg shared how grief consumed her when her husband died in 2015. António Horta-Osório, recently named chairman of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), has been candid about how the financial crisis mentally taxed him to the point of needing a two-month leave from running Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L). Matthew Cooper, the co-founder of financial technology startup EarnUp, publicly wrote about resigning last year to prioritise his mental health. These examples resonate because they’re so rare. They also contrast starkly with the hard-charging image projected on Wall Street and beyond that implies fragility isn’t tolerated. Lloyd Blankfein worked through chemotherapy to lead Goldman Sachs (GS.N) while JPMorgan’s (JPM.N) Jamie Dimon, who recovered from heart surgery last year, appears unsympathetic to staff daunted by returning to their commutes. Given how many bosses quibble over whether to disclose physical maladies to shareholders, it may be a stretch to think they’ll be frank about their mental health. It would, however, help destigmatise the subject. Follow @jgfarb on TwitterCONTEXT NEWS - Thomson Reuters, the parent company of Breakingviews, is giving employees a mental health day off on May 7 in addition to recognising World Mental Health Day as a holiday on Oct. 10.