The most common mental illnesses are anxiety and depression.
Last year in the UK, 13.4
million days were lost due to stress anxiety or depression. In the current fi nancial climate, it is no
From page 16
The Results The survey showed that happiness at work is most defi nitely feeling the pinch, with over 70% of those polled saying they are either not entirely happy or not happy at all in the workplace. Attitudes of employers to stress were also
revealed with over 54% reporting their job comes with a level of stress that affects their work, while only 11% said their company provides good support to help them with mental health and wellbeing. Stress and unhappiness can take many
different forms, with concerns about workload, work/life balance, relationships and job security all being cited. With such worries often fi lling people's
working days, it is clear that the good manager must alleviate at least some of those worries. So, what can be done? Around 25% of respondents said there
is regular monitoring of well-being in the workplace and nearly 37% said their business provides counselling and mental health help. However, only 13.5% said they were
given literature, including magazines and other reading material to help them help themselves. 41% thought that regular monitoring of well-being in the work place would be helpful, with counselling, advice and support also polling high.
issue. Nearly 70% agreed that they would work better and feel more motivated if there were more support for wellbeing in the workplace, with nearly 35% of respondents saying that seminars, magazines and other support would "benefi t them a lot". For the employer, it's really vital to ask:
do you have a happy workforce? If not, then teaching them skills to get over emotional problems, skills to encourage better group dynamics and an environment in which they feel secure will certainly help everyone to stay focussed on the prize. And remember, the prize is more than
survival. In the current environment, it's about growing, going for goals and expanding. That in the end will complete the virtuous circle and make everyone happy! b
surprise that 265,000 new cases of stress were reported in the workplace.
In the US, 51% of employees stated that stress at work affected their productivity, with stress costing the US economy an estimated US $300 billion a year.
Stress related presenteeism and absenteeism has been claimed to directly cost Australian employers $10.11 billion a year with 3.2 days per worker lost each year through workplace stress.