Facing up to recession related stress

Mental health has always been a social taboo. While we’re comfortable sharing with the world our struggles against heart disease, sciatica and even cancer, we tend to draw the line when it comes to depression and stress. That’s because we’re afraid it will fundamentally affect how people see us. We’ll be the flaky one; the one who can’t cope.

Luckily, as a society we’re becoming more open about psychological matters. And the brutal honesty of the likes of Stephen Fry and political bruiser Alistair Campbell has shown that mental illness is just that, an illness. It should not be  an inhibitor of talent, ability or the potential to succeed.

On the face of it, this enlightened thinking couldn’t be more timely. Recent research from Mind, the mental health charity, reveals that stress caused by the pressures of the economic crisis is driving one in ten workers to seek support from their doctor. It also shows that insecurity in the workplace creates extra pressure between staff, depresses morale and causes physical illness. In fact one in 14 workers are now on anti-depressants to cope with recession related stress.

Sadly, the business world has failed to keep pace with changing social attitudes. Although mental health problems account for the second biggest cause of sickness absence at work, awareness and understanding of mental health problems are extremely poor and many senior managers do not believe mental health problems affect their workforce. This mixture of denial and bad management costs UK businesses an estimated £26 billion a year.

As the economic crisis continues to bite, these problems can only get worse.

By addressing them now, businesses can reap the benefits immediately and establish best practice for the future.

Small changes in management approach can make a big difference. Most important is to recognise that mental health problems can affect anybody. Once you do that, you’ll no longer regard stress and depression as a sign of weakness and can start seeking solutions. The key to breaking down taboos is to create a culture of openness where employees can discuss their fears and stresses without being pigeon-holed as ‘difficult’ or as someone who can’t ‘hack it’.

Of course, there’ll always be those who doubt the validity of mental illness; Grazia recently called depression the ‘new black’ and a Daily Mail column by Janet Street Porter denounced it as the ‘trendy illness.’ But its effects are undoubtedly real and costly. Likewise the fact that with around a third of our lives spent at work, our jobs have a huge impact on our psychological well being. The best employers take their health and safety responsibilities seriously, so isn’t it time they paid equal attention to the mental and emotional needs of their staff?
 

For further information please contact Paula Morris. T: 029 2047 4401 E: p.morris@capitallaw.co.uk

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