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By Forsythes Training’s Mental Health and Resilience Trainer Craig Semple
Work intensity and pressures could be leading to leading to depression and anxiety in your staff. That’s the conclusion from a large study by researchers at the Black Dog Institute. Black Dog says the research is a “wake-up call” for workplaces and reinforces the need for workplace initiatives to curb the rising costs of mental disorders.
The researchers say that feeling under pressure at work is common, but it is also serious and could lead to anxious and depressive feelings. They found 14% of mental health problems can be avoided if workers were less overwhelmed. people experiencing higher job demands, lower job control and more job strain were at greater odds of developing mental illness by age 50, regardless of sex or occupation.
An international team examined nearly 7,000 workers aged 45 then again at 50 years old, asking them about their abilities to make decisions at work, the intensity of their jobs and conflicting demands on their time. They took into account stress outside work such as divorce, financial problems and illness.
Working through breaks, taking work home and having limited control on how you do your job can be particularly damaging to your mental health, according to workplace mental health experts Heads Up.
Helping staff to identify early warning signs of work stress can help. Experts say these vary from person to person, and include tensing your jaw, grinding your teeth, getting headaches, or feeling irritable and short tempered. The Black Dog Institute has developed a free online program called My Compass to help people manage their mental health and manage signs of depression and anxiety.
This research and many other studies shows that organisations must include mental health in their Work Health and Safety planning and programs.
The costs of poor mental health are significant but investing in creating a mentally healthy workforce gives a 2.3 return on investment.
View Forysthes Training’s mental health and resilience workshops and courses.
Read our case study on how North Construction is investing in the mental health of its workforce.
