Guest column: Build a mentally healthy workplace
| Saturday, Aug 29 2009 12:39 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Aug 29 2009 12:39 PM
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Robin Paggi
Work is driving me crazy! According to the article “Building a Mentally Healthy Workforce,” this might not be an exaggerated statement. Author Melissa Dittmann reported that “tedious job tasks, job insecurity or inflexible work schedules can demoralize some employees or lower their motivation.”
Indeed, Lynne Casper, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, feels that “workplace policies can have an effect on people’s health, how they live their life and their ability to manage their work and family obligations.”
Even if work isn’t the cause of mental illness, the workplace will increasingly be affected by it in lost productivity and employee absenteeism. From 2000 to 2002, employees’ mental health issues at Bank One — now J.P. Morgan Chase — were the second leading cause of short-term disabilities and absences.
Depression is responsible for most absences nationwide and, when depressed employees are at work, it hinders their cognitive skills and ability to work well with others. Psychologists and occupational health professionals say that organizations can help alleviate this problem by doing the following:
Provide educational programs geared toward helping working parents balance work and family life, such as the Triple P (Positive Parenting Program). “Parents who participated in Triple P group sessions at work were able to reduce work stress and child behavior problems and also improve their overall self-efficacy,” said psychologist Ron Prinz, Ph.D., Carolina Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina.
Survey employees to identify their concerns about work and then develop specific strategies to respond to those concerns.
Be flexible. “Employer flexibility is also key to minimizing mental health problems among employees,” Casper wrote.
IBM introduced flexible work schedules, such as working part-time or from home, after discovering (through an employee survey) that allowing flexible schedules improved worker satisfaction. “Indeed, IBM researchers have found that employees who work at home have the least difficulty with motivation and retention and are more willing to put in extra effort in their job,” reported Dittmann.
Get your employees connected with resources that can help. IBM also created a national referral and resource service to help its employees find care for their aging parents.
Employers who demonstrate their concern for the well-being of their staff have happier employees, and a mentally healthy workforce is good for business.
— Robin Paggi is a Certified Human Resources Professional with KDG Human Resource Solutions, a division of the Klein, DeNatale, Goldner law firm.
