‘Depression and burn-out’ at work afflict 1/3 of employees

[TrueBlueTerrier]

‘Depression and burn-out’ at work afflict one-third of employees

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Depression at work devastates lives and wipes billions from the European economy, a report finds.


Businesses will launch an initiative today to tackle the problem, setting out guidelines for spotting and helping employees with mental health issues. Behind the report are executives from organisations including Barclays, BT and Royal Mail.

Employers should be adept at spotting symptoms such as indecisiveness, forgetfulness and lapses in concentration among their staff which might point to depression, according to the report.

It also endorses health interventions already used by top companies, including in-house counselling, fitness programmes and “stress audits” to identify high-risk employees.

The report comes from a new coalition of leading European organisations which last year launched an initiative called Target depression in the workplace.

EU estimates suggest that nearly nine in every 10 cases of depression occur in someone of working age, with economic costs. A study by the London School of Economics and King’s College London estimated that the annual cost to European businesses was £77bn.

A survey by the Depression Alliance charity, published alongside the report, found that one in three people across the UK struggles to cope at work because of “depression, stress or burn-out”. The charity’s chief executive, Emer O’Neill, said depression was the “biggest mental health challenge among working-age people” and could lead to loneliness and isolation at work. Many companies aren’t properly equipped to manage employees who suffer from depression so providing support to these individuals in the workplace is essential,” she said.

Bill Wilkerson, who chairs the Target Depression in the Workplace forum, said depression was “the principal source of workplace disability”.

In the report’s foreword he writes: “Today’s brain-based economy puts a premium on cerebral skills, in which cognition is the ignition of productivity and innovation. Depression attacks that vital asset. Research has proven that many organisations fail to have a concrete mental health and wellbeing policy in place. Human resources executives therefore must play an informed … role to advance mental health in the workplace and that quest begins with depression.”

Companies with good mental health practices cited by the report include BT, which provides employees with a mental health toolkit.

Ogilvy, the international advertising and PR firm which employs 18,000 people, runs lunchtime sessions on nutrition, sleep and time management, and also gives employees access to a clinical psychologist.

Tim Munden, vice-president of human resources at Unilever UK, said the consumer goods giant “firmly believed” in addressing depression to bring about benefits for the business and its employees.

“We aim for a 10 per cent reduction by 2015 in work-related mental ill-health cases and working days lost to mental ill-health,” he said.

Mark McLane, the global head of diversity and inclusion at Barclays, said: “We became a founding member of the Target Depression working group to share and benchmark leading practices across industries.

“Together we hope to change perceptions around mental health in the workplace in a positive way.”

[bustedflush]

Good article, all the more poignant as we had a suicide in our office last year of a postman which nobody saw coming.

[pants123]

Depression and burn-out’ at work

i think royal mail are trying their damn hardest to depress and burn out it's work force out of the job,,,, so they don't have to pay out....

[General Mannerheim]

“We aim for a 10 per cent reduction by 2015 in work-related mental ill-health cases and working days lost to mental ill-health,” he said.

That is the main sentence here,not that they really give a s**t.

[borders]

its the cost to the business that they are only interested in.

[Brain Fury]

its the cost to the business that they are only interested in.

Even if that's true does it make the help that such initiatives might provide to the individual any less helpful?

[General Mannerheim]

its the cost to the business that they are only interested in.

Even if that's true does it make the help that such initiatives might provide to the individual any less helpful?

Let's gets some perspective on this MOST MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE CAUSED BY s**t MANAGEMENT AND BULLYING TWATS.
Why do you think management drag out so many grievances and B & H cases?
Having a special telephone line and perhaps having some person come in and tell you that you should be getting more sleep is not really that helpful to somebody suffering from clinical depression or affected by stress.
And what the feck is a mental health kit?
Does it contain some flock rubber wallpaper and a straight jacket?
Does it involve eating lots of Yoghurt?
Next they will be telling you that work is good for you

[Brain Fury]

its the cost to the business that they are only interested in.

Even if that's true does it make the help that such initiatives might provide to the individual any less helpful?

Let's gets some perspective on this MOST MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE CAUSED BY s**t MANAGEMENT AND BULLYING TWATS.
Why do you think management drag out so many grievances and B & H cases?
Having a special telephone line and perhaps having some person come in and tell you that you should be getting more sleep is not really that helpful to somebody suffering from clinical depression or affected by stress.
And what the feck is a mental health kit?
Does it contain some flock rubber wallpaper and a straight jacket?
Does it involve eating lots of Yoghurt?
Next they will be telling you that work is good for you

The perspective you should be getting is that there are lots of businesses involved in this initiative not just Royal Mail. Also that not everything has to be about B&H there are many causes of depression and anxiety and it affects all sorts of people. Your comments about the nature of the help that might be provided merely underlines that you aren't qualified to comment on it.

[DB1100]

its the cost to the business that they are only interested in.

Even if that's true does it make the help that such initiatives might provide to the individual any less helpful?

Let's gets some perspective on this MOST MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE CAUSED BY s**t MANAGEMENT AND BULLYING TWATS.
Why do you think management drag out so many grievances and B & H cases?
Having a special telephone line and perhaps having some person come in and tell you that you should be getting more sleep is not really that helpful to somebody suffering from clinical depression or affected by stress.
And what the feck is a mental health kit?
Does it contain some flock rubber wallpaper and a straight jacket?
Does it involve eating lots of Yoghurt?
Next they will be telling you that work is good for you

The perspective you should be getting is that there are lots of businesses involved in this initiative not just Royal Mail. Also that not everything has to be about B&H there are many causes of depression and anxiety and it affects all sorts of people. Your comments about the nature of the help that might be provided merely underlines that you aren't qualified to comment on it.

Maybe not,but it's funny and stops my depression