(Note: This column was written by Mike Veny, CEO for Mike Veny, Inc. and one of America’s leading mental health speakers. Veny will speak at the KHC Annual Conference on March 13-14 in Louisville. This column was originally published on Veny’s “Transforming Stigma” website.)
Jobs and careers are supposed to be a good thing, right? Your job should provide a place where you can use your gifts, talents, and education to make a difference in this world, big or small. It should be a place where you can build confidence and excel. However, that isn’t what it is for many people. Reports show that when it comes to workplace mental health, most people find their job mentally unhealthy. That means that for many people, work is just another place that is pulling them down and adding to the weight they are already carrying.
Why is Mental Health Important in the Workplace?
- Around half of workers in America are exposed to a hostile or threatening social situation in their workplace.
- Two-thirds of American workers claim that they are working at an extremely fast pace and with tight deadlines. 25 percent of workers don’t believe they have the time that they need to complete their tasks.
- In the UK they have found 12.7 percent of sick days are used for mental health.
- There are 300 million people are the world that suffers from depression. WHO (World Health Organization) found that $1 trillion in lost productivity each year can be credited to depression and anxiety disorders.
I could list pages and pages of statistics like this for you, but I think you get the point. Mental health is a big deal in the workplace. There are hundreds of millions of people that are already dealing with mental health challenges on a regular basis, and they don’t need to add to these challenges while at work. Creating an environment for good workplace mental health benefits the economy as a whole and each individual employee.
To read the rest of this article, with information about what depression in the workplace looks like, creating the optimal environment to tackle the issue, and creating a plan to improve workplace mental health, click here.
