Mental Health Affects Wealth: The High Cost Mental Health Issues in the Workplace
Question: I have been hearing more and more about companies abroad investing in EAPs and other programmes to improve employee mental health. Is it something that we should be doing?
Answer: In an ideal world, employees would begin each workday by putting aside their troubles and concerns about home, family and their personal lives, and focusing solely on the job. However, life is rarely so compartmentalized, and research shows that millions of working hours are lost annually because people bring to work the stresses, worries and anxieties that arise from busy lives. In many cases, our jobs themselves contribute to the stress and anxiety that leads to losses in productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. As a result, employers are looking hard at stress in the workplace (and its effects on their bottom line) and are taking steps to increase the mental health of their employees.
The term ‘mental health problem’ is used to describe a whole range of difficulties, from everyday stresses and bereavement, phobias and anxiety disorders, to the more acute forms of depression, and illnesses such as schizophrenia. Notice that this definition includes daily stresses as a central component of mental health. Nearly everybody experiences stress, and in many cases it is a positive, energizing force that motivates us- called “eustress.” However, when this stress becomes too much, or we live with it for too long, it becomes “distress” and has negative impacts on well-being and functioning. At this point it becomes a concern for the individual and their employer. In 1992, a United Nations report called stress the “20th century epidemic.” A 1996 survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) considered stress a “worldwide epidemic.”
You may wonder why companies are concerned about how their employees feel. Isn’t one’s mental health a private issue? The statistics that have been emerging over the last decade are providing millions (if not billions) of reasons for employers to take a hard look at the mental health of their employees and the workplace itself.
A World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2001 estimated that one person in four will suffer from a mental health problem at some point in their life. More than 91 million working days a year are lost to mental health problems in the UK. Half of these are due to anxiety and stress. According to the National Mental Health Association (USA),
- Family crisis, stress and depression rank as the top three workplace problems (Employee Assistance Professionals Association survey, 1996).
- The cost of mental illnesses, including costs of lost productivity, lost earnings, and societal costs (in the US), are estimated to total $148 billion (National Institute of Mental Health, 1999).
- Clinical depression alone costs the U.S. $23.8 billion annually in workplace costs for absenteeism and lost productivity (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993).
- Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. $46.8 billion in 1990 in direct and indirect costs, (NIMH, 1998).
The 2000 annual “Attitudes In The American Workplace VI” Gallup Poll (USA) found that 80% of workers feel stress on the job, and nearly half report needing help in learning how to manage stress. 42% say their coworkers need such help.
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work reported that over half of the 550 million working days lost annually in the U.S. from absenteeism are stress related. Unanticipated absenteeism is estimated to cost American companies $602.00/worker/year and the price tag for large employers could approach $3.5 million annually. A 1997 three year study conducted by one large corporation found that 60% of employee absences could be traced to psychological problems that were due to job stress. 40% of job turnover is due to stress, and replacing an average employee today costs between $3,000 and $13,000.
These figures are staggering, and it is undeniable that good mental health is important to the productivity and profitability of a company and a country. Yet, many companies haven’t yet developed strategies to combat stress in the workplace. These include effective training in individual skills as well as addressing sources of stress in business practices and processes, organizational structures and company cultures. However, this appears to be changing in some parts of the world where leaders are realizing that their companies will benefit immensely by taking more care of their employees.
In Canada, the annual cost of lost productivity from health and emotional problems is estimated to be as high as 14 billion dollars. There, many companies offer their employees access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). An EAP is a work-based program designed to assist organizations in addressing productivity issues. EAPs also work with employees and their families in resolving personal, health and financial concerns; alcohol and drug abuse; emotional problems; stress; or any other issue that could potentially affect that employee’s job performance. Usually, EAPs are handled by independent professionals contracted by a company to manage the health and well-being of their employees. An EAP provider will help employees access the medical benefits to which they are entitled, including visits to counselors, therapists or psychologists to ensure mental health. Almost all large and most mid-size organizations offer some form of EAP to their employees. Employees in any occupational sector can benefit from an EAP.
While some companies provide EAPs for their employees, others are taking smaller, but equally important, steps to ensure the well being of their most valuable assets, their staff. Providing access to a limited number of visits to a counsellor or therapist for employees and their families allows employees to seek help if they need it. It helps to reduce the apprehension one might feel about visiting a mental health professional if the company speaks openly about it and encourages people to go. Even if employees do not make use of the services offered, they will feel more valued and appreciated as a result of the commitment and concern for their well being displayed by the employer.
In addition to providing services to employees outside of the workplace, it is important that employers address issues within the workplace that might be contributing to stress or anxiety. Many organisations take time to interview their employees and particular jobs to determine what the causes of stress are and how they can be alleviated. In addition, workshops and seminars where employees are taught stress management techniques are extremely beneficial. In many cases, this may include time-management, prioritization, planning and even personal financial management.
One source mentions the following as steps that an organisation can take to increase mental well being in the workplace:
- Prepare Job Descriptions for employees. Employees are less stressed out when they know what is expected of them in their day to day jobs.
- Conduct Quarterly performance reviews. Employees worry about their job performance. They want to know where they stand with their boss. This will reduce a significant amount of stress for your employees.
- Provide Seminars on Organization of Time and Priorities. Employees must be trained on how to work smarter.
- Provide your employees with a clean and pleasant place to eat lunch. Some companies provide ponds and benches outside, allowing employees to eat outdoors during the summer.
- Exercise rooms are becoming the norm instead of the exception in many companies today.
- Employee Assistance Programs help the employee overcome stress encountered at home due to alcohol, drugs or marriage problems. Counseling is provided to the employee at no charge and is totally confidential. (Thomas E. Kennedy CPC. President of Human Resource Consultants Inc.)
Employers may be wondering if these things (counselling, EAPs, seminars, etc.) really lead to any improvement or change in an organisation. Consider that research indicates 90% of employees benefit from using EAP services. Investment benefit analysis shows that employers save $4 to $17 dollars per dollar investment. On an individual level, changes in an employee’s mood and emotional state may also play a significant role in changing the feelings and behaviours of coworkers. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that we can ‘catch’, through a process known as emotional contagion, the feelings of other people. An employee experiencing negative affect may negatively influence the mood of others, and hence, improving an employee’s feelings may also improve the feelings of their coworkers. The same principle may also apply to work attitudes and job satisfaction. In studies, it has been shown that counselling was more effective than
organisational and group level interventions such as changing the way work was scheduled.
A second benefit of mental health interventions by an organisation is the positive effects they may have on line managers. This could occur in a number of ways. Clearly it is easier for managers to deal with distressed staff if they know they can refer them to someone else. Also, such programs may reduce the amount of time managers have to spend dealing with employee issues. A third possible benefit of investing in employee mental health is through enhanced organizational reputation. This may not only influence current employees, but job applicants, and the organization’s consumers and clients. Naturally, the most significant result from action on the part of businesses may be reduced absenteeism, decreases in turnover and training costs, greater efficiency from employees, fewer work-related accidents and lost time incidents, and improved motivation and morale within the organisation.
Clearly, mental health in the workplace is a significant issue with potentially high stakes for businesses. Those forward thinking organisations that begin to tackle this issue may actually be able to gain a competitive advantage over the competition. Greater productivity, creativity and employee loyalty; better public image; and improved ability to recruit the best talent may be some of the benefits to organisations who invest in their employees. So, mental health in the workplace is not only about making employees feel happy and valued, it is about directly improving organisations and ensuring they are able to remain profitable into the decades to come.
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