Cushman & Wakefield’s Chris Dunn (pictured) says property companies should not be daunted by the issue of mental health
It was a housemate who discovered Chris Dunn lying in the garden below their flat one February night.
It didn’t take him long to figure out what had happened: a length of rope was hanging from the second-floor window of their flat. Dunn, who had survived the fall and the attempt to take his own life, entered a state of shock that would last for the next three weeks.
A bright 19-year-old geography student loved by friends and family, Dunn had been living with depression since he was diagnosed with the condition aged 14.
When he started his studies at the University of Hertfordshire, things took a turn for the worse. After a long-term relationship ended, he spent six months slowly retreating from the outside world, skipping lectures and falling behind in his studies.
Having hidden his feelings behind “fake smiles and hollow laughter” for so long, by that February night Dunn had had enough. “Once I had decided what I was going to do, I just went into autopilot,” says Dunn, who is today an associate director at Cushman & Wakefield. “I didn’t feel anything. I was completely numb.”
Dunn says he remembers little about that night. But he recalls clearly that, for the first time in his life, he simply wanted to give up.
“I felt desperate,” he says. “I knew when it got really bad because, instead of thinking ‘that would be an easy way out’, it became ‘this is the only way out’. I couldn’t see another path to take that would get me to feel better.”
After he had tried to take his own life, Dunn pulled out of his university course and moved back in with his parents. For the next two years, he began building himself back up, talking to his doctor, reflecting on his experience and taking a part-time job as a toy demonstrator at Hamleys.
I knew when it got really bad because, instead of thinking ‘that would be an easy way out’, it became ‘this is the only way out’
“It’s like a dark cloud”
Things got better – so much so that Dunn decided to return to university, this time studying law at Aberystwyth University.
But what he describes as “episodes” – periods of feeling extremely low and at times suicidal – returned in his third year of studies.
“Life was going really well, and I felt fine, but then out of nowhere I got sucker-punched,” he says. “I felt like I had hit the same level of rock bottom.”
Dunn says he is proud that he did not act on his suicidal impulses that time around. He graduated in 2013 and moved to London, entering the world of real estate and working at business rates specialist CVS.
After a year, Dunn moved to Cushman & Wakefield, shortly before the company merged with DTZ. Again, he began to feel the same negativity creep up on him.
“It’s like a dark cloud,” he says. “I became very aware of it coming back. You could be sitting around watching TV in the evening and then suddenly you’re like, right, OK, it’s that feeling again. Often it will go away in a couple of hours, maybe a day.”
However, in the summer of 2017, the dark cloud arrived and didn’t go away. It got to the point where Dunn knew he needed to have a frank and honest conversation with his line manager about his mental health.
She knew which questions to ask, and which questions not to ask, and spoke to Dunn about what help and support he wanted from Cushman & Wakefield. He was signed off work immediately.
“Again, I don’t really remember much, but it’s sort of like being on autopilot,” he says. “Everything feels raw.”
Finally, after two weeks, he felt the dark cloud start to lift. “Then, at once, I felt ready to go back to work.”
After consulting with a mental health specialist, Dunn was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. For the past two years, he has learned how to deal with his condition and how to manage his episodes. He also realised that talking openly with his line manager, colleagues and even clients has been instrumental in moving forwards.
He says that while dealing with employees with long-term illnesses can often be a “grey area” for businesses, working out a strategy that works well for both parties is a matter of trial and error.
Real estate finds it really difficult that they know about the problem but they can’t solve it”
“Just ask, just communicate”
Now, Dunn feels empowered to ask for greater flexibility in his working patterns, and his line manager is able to redistribute his workload among his team members during the rare occasions when he needs time out of the office – all of which has been “hugely helpful”, he says.
Although he admits he was worried that his absences would have a negative impact on his career progression, this has never been brought up during performance reviews.
Dunn says that businesses should not be daunted when the issue of mental health comes up. “Just because I’m ill at work doesn’t mean that it’s my company’s responsibility to fix the problem,” he says. “This is hard for real estate, which is a problem-solving industry. They find it really difficult that they know about the problem but they can’t solve it.”
Property, Dunn says, is a relationship-based industry, and people’s perceptions of you have an impact. This can make it particularly hard to be open about struggling to cope, for fear that people will see “a chink in your armour”, leaving you feeling vulnerable in a culture where weakness is frowned upon, he says.
So how can businesses best support their employees? It is simply by creating an environment where people feel they can come forward and ask for help, instead of struggling in silence, says Dunn.
“Just ask. Just communicate. Give them a safe space. Make sure they know that asking for support will not go against them. It’s about real estate having the bravery to say: ‘Are you OK?’”
Help and support
If you need help with any issues raised in this article, you can get support from:
- Mind, the mental health charity 0300 123 3393 – provides advice and support to anyone experiencing a mental health problem
- The Samaritans 116 123 – confidential 24-hour support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, or suicidal thoughts
- LionHeart 0800 009 2960 or 0121 289 3300 – charity for RICS professionals and real estate professionals
To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette
