Employee mental health problems cost the EU economy €170 billion a year

Mental illness has a significant impact not only on people's lives but also on national economies, costing the EU economy €170 billion a year. Workplace stress is an important factor, contributing to about half of all missed days at work. Research shows that companies are not addressing mental health sufficiently and it is therefore important to focus on prevention and support. Mental health in the workplace is the theme of this year's World Mental Health Day, which falls on 10 October.

"According to the data available from the responsible European institutions, 60 % of the world's population are working and up to 15 % of working-age adults have a mental illness. Work stress is one of the key risk factors for mental health. In 2022, 27 % workers in the European Union suffered from stress, depression and anxiety. This also has an impact on the economy - anxiety disorders and depression alone cost the EU economy around €170 billion a year," describes Tomas Jelinek, clinical psychologist and methodologist in the Public Mental Health Research Program of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The consequence of poor mental health is lower productivity and absenteeism.

A certain amount of stress at work is inevitable, but the ability to manage it is important. Employer support is essential in this respect. If the level of stress is too high and the ability to manage it is insufficient in the long term, this can lead to reduced job satisfaction, conflict, burnout, absenteeism and turnover in the workplace. In addition, stress contributes to about half of all missed days at work. 

Systematic solutions are often missing

"There are examples of good practice and policy in this area, as well as reasonably robust evidence on the effectiveness and cost benefits of occupational mental health programmes. However, employers in the Czech Republic and Europe generally do not have such programmes and when they become aware of problems, e.g. due to suicide in the workplace, low productivity or high levels of burnout in top management, they start to resort to shortcut solutions that do not help. This often happens under the influence of the 'well-being industry', which offers, even imposes, simple but expensive and dysfunctional solutions. National or international certification of employers promoting mental health would help, clearly distinguishing quality programs," Says Petr Winkler, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

Mental health is addressed, for example, on the website cherish.serun by the National Institute of Mental Health. On this website, visitors who suspect a mental health problem can try several screening tests. They can also find a number of useful tips on how to eliminate work stress. These tools are already being recommended and used by some large employers in the country. "The important thing is to do work that is meaningful and fulfilling for people. Such work is more enjoyable and motivates people to achieve better results. The working atmosphere is also crucial: colleagues you fit in with, so to speak, inspiring leadership and alignment of your values with those promoted by the company you work for." describes Dr Jelinek.

Education and the use of AI

The National Institute of Mental Health is also conducting several research projects in this area. "The HARMONY project will be launched this year (Healthy And Resilient Mindset with Organized, Nurturing digital tools for Your mental health), involving a consortium of institutions from eight European countries. The project aims to improve knowledge and skills in workplace mental health prevention and promotion. This is to be facilitated by collaboration between universities, training and qualifications providers, research institutions, occupational health and safety professionals, service providers and other labour market actors," explains Dr Jelinek. The project focuses on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and will also include the development of an artificial intelligence tool to help prevent mental health problems from starting or worsening. 

Since last year, the NUDZ has also been running the Project Prevention and promotion of mental health of the adult population in the Czech Republic. "The aim of the project is to provide organisations with guidance on how to map the mental health, well-being and satisfaction situation of their employees and to offer possible solutions for preventing stress, burnout and providing first aid for the most common mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and alcohol abuse. Training managers to improve their attitudes towards open communication and destigmatise the topic of mental health in the workplace is an integral part of such programmes," Concludes Slavomíra Pukanová, coordinator of professional activities from the National Institute of Mental Health.

NUDZ/ gnews - RoZ

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