Mental Health in the Workplace’
Heather Smith
MS Word Assignment: ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’
People experience a variety of painful issues in their lives. From the beginning, some issues are more challenging than others, in part because of struggles with either addiction or depression. People who manage their concerns are also managing them when they step into their daily jobs. The problems people carry with them can affect their job performance and their relationships. Their compromised attention can cause additional frustrations such as mistakes and missed work. This is a significant problem businesses must address and some solutions have been discussed that offer the potential for a plan of action.
Workplace Statistics
One in four adults suffers from mental health disorders every year (“Statistics,” 2010). If we consider the number of people who made up the American population in 2004, this constitutes approximately 57.7 million people. There is approximately a .9% population growth within the United States each year (“Population growth,” 2011), and fewer people are choosing to seek mental health support than ever before (“Survey says,” 2010). The survey referenced above states that people would rather, “eat (28%), smoke (14%), shop (15%) or watch TV (36%) than see a therapist as a stress management technique.”
According to Harvard Medical School (2010), a study examined the financial weight that pertained to twenty-five different physical and mental issues by polling almost thirty five thousand workers across ten companies. The study considered the cost of health care and medication that companies faced, and the self-reports of employees via the WHO questionnaire.
The most costly health conditions that impacted workers and companies include obesity, back and neck injury, and joint problems such as arthritis as some of the most costly health conditions. Other noteworthy mental conditions on the list also include depression as the
MS Word Assignment: ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’
People experience a variety of painful issues in their lives. From the beginning, some issues are more challenging than others, in part because of struggles with either addiction or depression. People who manage their concerns are also managing them when they step into their daily jobs. The problems people carry with them can affect their job performance and their relationships. Their compromised attention can cause additional frustrations such as mistakes and missed work. This is a significant problem businesses must address and some solutions have been discussed that offer the potential for a plan of action.
Workplace Statistics
One in four adults suffers from mental health disorders every year (“Statistics,” 2010). If we consider the number of people who made up the American population in 2004, this constitutes approximately 57.7 million people. There is approximately a .9% population growth within the United States each year (“Population growth,” 2011), and fewer people are choosing to seek mental health support than ever before (“Survey says,” 2010). The survey referenced above states that people would rather, “eat (28%), smoke (14%), shop (15%) or watch TV (36%) than see a therapist as a stress management technique.”
According to Harvard Medical School (2010), a study examined the financial weight that pertained to twenty-five different physical and mental issues by polling almost thirty five thousand workers across ten companies. The study considered the cost of health care and medication that companies faced, and the self-reports of employees via the WHO questionnaire.
The most costly health conditions that impacted workers and companies include obesity, back and neck injury, and joint problems such as arthritis as some of the most costly health conditions. Other noteworthy mental conditions on the list also include depression as the
References: Works referenced Get a quote. (n.d.) ESI Employee Assistance Group. Retrieved November 2010, from: http://www.theeap.com/ Founder, E.M. (Sept. 2007) Drug and alcohol rehab costs a fraction of the cost of addiction. BNet. Retrieved on November 2010 from: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-costs-a-fraction-of-the-cost-of-addiction-773206.htm Gelb, B. & Corrigan, P.W. (2008, July 15). How managers can lower mental illness costs by reducing stigma. Harvard Business Review. Abstract retrieved from: http://hbr.org/product/how-managers-can-lower-mental-illness-costs-by-red/an/BH282-PDF-ENG?Ntt=cost%2520of%2520mental%2520illness%2520in%2520busine Mental health problems in the workplace. (February, 2010). Harvard Mental Health Letter. Retrieved on November 2010 from: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2010/February/mental-health-problems-in-the-workplace The high costs of cutting mental health: Mental illness in the workplace. (January 2010). National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved on November 2010 from: http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/State_Advocacy/About_the_Issue/Workplace.pdf Statistics. (2010) National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved from: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml#Intro Survey says: Fewer Americans using mental health professionals to manage stress. (Nov. 9, 2010). PR News Wire. Retrieved on November 2010 from: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-says-fewer-americans-using-mental-health-professionals-to-manage-stress-69553742.html Population growth rate. (April 26, 2011) World Bank: World Development Indicators. Retrieved on November 2011 from: http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_grow&idim=country:USA&dl=en&hl=en&q=population+growth+in+the+united+states