How much does mental illness cost your organisation?
Not a week goes by without a report or editorial comment about the high levels of stress, depression, mental illness, or psychological problems in the workplace.
There is a common thread that; too many people in the workplace are at best unhappy, at worst mentally ill. But; amongst all the rhetoric it is hard to find any helpful advice on how to measure or recognise where people are - is this employee mentally healthy or not?
This point of the relative health or possible ill-health of an individual in terms of their mental functioning is still virtually a taboo subject. Probably only HIV/AIDS carries more stigma amongst the general population than any form of or even suggestion that someone is mentally ill. This is highly incongruous when the facts of mental ill-health are considered. Something like 1 in 6 workers are suffering from depression at any one time, the cost to UK plc due to m ental ill-health is more than £9 billion in lost time, alone, each year . Yes, large numbers of people are coming to work day after day when suffering from some form of mental illness - and it is not just stress. Great strides have been made over recent years in helping managers, in particular, recognise and take steps to avoid workplace stress. But, stress is only one of many possible problems. Statistically depression accounts for the largest burden on organisations. Ranging from relatively minor or transient depression due to a life event through longer term clinical depression to suicidal thoughts and actions.
Just as physical ailments, ranging from a dose of flu to a chronic long term problem, have a cost to a business, mental health problems and psychological issues have similar costs. Days off sick, long term illness, costs to recruitment, staff cover and the intangibles of low quality work and even damaging decisions taken whilst someone is unwell are the burden carried by organisations due to the unrecognised mental illness of employees.
What is needed is an ability to recognise that there may be something wrong and an understanding of what to do next. Although many organisations will have occupational health specialists who can recognise problems in employees, these professionals will only come into contact with a small percentage of the workforce. Basic knowledge is needed by line management so that they can flag up potential problems and bring in colleagues as needed. A more detailed understanding by some staff, on questioning and support for example, can be extremely beneficial in avoiding problems and minimising the cost to the business.
How often with hindsight has it become clear that
someone has been having problems for some time?
How much better to turn hindsight into foresight?
*** NEWS ***
According to The Times on February 5th 2008 ‘Working makes you depressed ...’
In the Times article journalist Sathnam Sanghera drew together four excellent pieces; a Doctor’s view, a City view and the experience of someone who had a serious mental health problem at work (to read the articles follow this link)
The solutions being discussed are congruent with our training, notably non-medical training for managers focusing on what to do.