After returning from the Asia Pacific Employee Assistance Round Table 2008 talks in Singapore last month, AHS Founder/CEO & psychologist Noreen Jaden has some new ideas about the cost of not supporting employees and the benefits of doing so. She provides this edition’s “Advancing Business”.

 

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It’s paramount to realize that mental health encompasses  more than just ‘Flying over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. It may include such things as gambling addiction, smoking, obesity,  or relational issues. It’s about work-life balance and regular people dealing with regular problems and is a very real part of the lives of the people we work with ( and ourselves if we’re honest).

 

How does this relate to corporate employers? Consider the following stats presented at the APEAR conference.  Unmanaged stress and depression increased healthcare costs by 147%!¹ Employees with mental health conditions are absent five times more often.¹ Depression increases absenteeism by 8.7 days/year and treated depression reduces it by 11 days/year.¹ Caterpillar reported that by treating mental health-related issues, they reduced the average lost work time by 44% (from 58 to 32.6 days per case) and a projected 18 month cost savings of over 3.5 million US$¹! Dow Chemical asserts that the 10 leading chronic conditions represented nearly 11% of their total labor cost.²

 

Despite a mental health condition global prevalence rate of 24%, world governments currently are not providing the necessary coverage when 13% of all disorders relate to mental health but only a median of 2% of global government health budgets is dedicated to mental health treatment.¹

 

The impact of health factors on the company bottom line is significant, although often underestimated.  For every single health factor present or absent (including allergies, smoking, obesity, etc.) an increase or decrease in productivity of 1.9% occurs.² Clearly corporations benefit from supporting employees to be healthier.

 

For international employees based in Korea the situation is the same, only intensified. Living in a foreign culture generates an ongoing undercurrent of stress, even for those people who enjoy the adventure of life abroad. This chronic stress, if not managed, can lead to health problems as well as inter-relational problems at home or in the workplace.

 

Although stress can be viewed as just one of the health factors, gone unchecked, stress alone is able to intensify and even increase many of  the other health factors. Stress impacts all aspects of our being - physical, mental, emotional and behavioral. We’ve all seen the video clips of burned-out office employees beating the tar out of their computer monitor (or worse!).

 

Stress comes from an inborn reaction geared to keep us alive. The Fight or Flight response prepares us for battle or to get out of the situation to fight again another day. Blood pumps to our major organs, our brains become more alert and our muscles tense ready to strike or streak. This is great when facing an enemy or a bear on the hiking path; however a body can only last so long on a constant diet of adrenaline and muscles tension. Constant stress leads to a general breakdown of the body and its immune system rendering us more vulnerable to larger physical and mental concerns. Untreated stress represents an increase in general healthcare spending of  46%.¹

 

Management that supports its employees to speak about their experience of stress and to deal with it effectively is guaranteed to see a decrease in health-related issues (and the down-time associated) as well as an increase in productivity and profit.   The good news is that stressors (actual and perceived) can be modified in a variety of ways, some with outside resources and others on an individual basis.  Consider the  following  Stress Reduction Strategies (from The Little Book of Stress Relief):

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                     

 

                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

                                                   

                                                        

                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                        

The above strategies are proven effective and at the very least, the fact that you are paying attention to your stress level and thinking about how you can manage it will put you in a better place (and ahead of your competition!).

 

 

 

All sources presented at 2008 APEAR conference

1. Caterpillar- presenter:  Dr. John C. Pompe

2. IHPM- presenter Dr. Sean Sullivan

 

 

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Mental Health & the Cost Burden to Employers

Spring Edition 2008