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Mental Health in the Workplace

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Mental Health in the Workplace

on 11 Aug 2014 4:11 PM
Blog Category: Health Blog

Did you know that the average worker can spend anywhere between 30-60 hours per week at work? This significant amount of time spent at work is one of the many factors contributing to the importance of addressing mental health in the workplace and the promotion of a positive working environment.

A mentally healthy workplace makes sure all people in the workplace, including those who experience mental health difficulties, their families and those who help them, are supported. This includes:

 

The role of Mental Health in OHS/WHS

When it comes to OHS/WHS, many employers have been conditioned to think that this only applies to accidents or injuries that can bring about physical harm to workers. The role that mental health plays in the incidence and presentation of injury is more complex. A person’s mental state can also affect their physical capacity to act in a safe way (e.g. inattentiveness, impaired cognitive ability etc.).

Regulations and legislation concerning occupational health and safety state that employers are mandated to make sure that they provide mentally healthy workplaces to their employees. Meaning an ideal workplace should consist of an environment that is conducive to coming up with good outcomes and one which respects people.  

 

The Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance

In recent times more and more cases of mental health conditions, compensation claims, absenteeism and presenteeism have come to light.Findings from The Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance state that:

This has resulted in an estimated cost of $20 billion annually in lost productivity and labour participation to the Australian economy.

In small businesses, it is now common that one in five adults will experience a mental health difficulty in any year and nearly half of the Australian adult population will experience a health difficulty at some stage in their life. If we look at this more closely, one in five people in your social network could be or may have already experienced some form of mental health issue in the past year.

Employment is a key social determinant of health and the World Health Organisation recognises the workplace as a key avenue for health promotion. With all of these facts and statistics we can clearly see the significant importance, and value, of creating and sustaining a healthy workplace and workforce.

Read about Investing in mental health pays off, study shows - The Age May 2014

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