© Copyright Acquisition International 2024 - All Rights Reserved.

Article Image - New Approach Needed to Tackle Mental Ill-Health at Work, Says OECD
Posted 5th March 2015

New Approach Needed to Tackle Mental Ill-Health at Work, Says OECD

Health and employment services should intervene earlier, involve key stakeholders and ensure they work together in order to help people with mental-health issues find work and stay in a job.

Mouse Scroll AnimationScroll to keep reading

Let us help promote your business to a wider following.

New Approach Needed to Tackle Mental Ill-Health at Work, Says OECD
Image

Health and employment services should intervene earlier, involve key stakeholders and ensure they work together in order to help people with mental-health issues find work and stay in a job, according to a new OECD report.

Fit Mind, Fit Job: From Evidence to Practice in Mental Health and Work says that around 30% to 40% of all sickness and disability caseloads in OECD countries are related to mental-health problems. The total cost of mental illness is estimated at around 3.5% of GDP in Europe.

The personal costs of mental ill-health are high. People with mild to moderate disorders, such as anxiety or depression, are twice as likely to become unemployed. They also run a much higher risk of living in poverty and social marginalisation.

“Mental health issues exact a high price on individuals, their families, employers and the economy,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría during a launch event in The Hague. “Policymakers have been too slow to act. Strong political leadership is needed to drive reform and tackle this issue.” (Read full speech here)

Despite growing recognition of the issue in society, considerable social stigma around mental ill health remains. Intervening early is critical, yet in practice it can often take more than ten years between the onset of illness and the first treatment in most countries.

This is worrying, says the OECD, as under‑treatment rates are highest among young people and waiting times for counselling are longest. Any action taken in school or the workplace will have a better, more lasting impact than waiting until people have dropped out of education or the labour market. While a heavy workload and work related stress may add to mental health problems, the evidence shows that staying in school or at work is also part of the solution if appropriate support is provided.

At school, investing in mental health programmes and having professionals with psychological training is found to be effective. Waiting times in the health service for children and adolescents should be as short as possible.

The mismatch between the needs of people suffering from mental ill-health and the services provided to them is one of the biggest problems, according to the report. Current policies are often delivered in silos by health, employment and education services. Creating an integrated system would deliver much better, faster outcomes.

Countries have taken small steps towards an integrated delivery of health and employment services, but they have lacked direction. Better measurement and monitoring of policies and outcomes would enable policy makers to assess their impact more effectively.

Teachers, employers, general practitioners, social workers and employment service caseworkers are often best placed to identify people with mental health issues at an early stage. They need training and a clear pathway to access support from mental health professionals.

Stronger leadership at political and managerial level is needed: in most countries, guidelines and regulations exist but have little impact. Their use should be systematically monitored and non-compliance sanctioned.

Categories: Strategy


You Might Also Like
Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
3 Business Benefits of Transitioning to the Hybrid Cloud
Innovation
26/07/20223 Business Benefits of Transitioning to the Hybrid Cloud

Cloud computing is becoming more popular as it assists companies in processing large volumes of data, allowing them to adapt quickly and cater to the business’s and its employees’ ever-changing needs. It also facilitates global deployment, paving the way f

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
8 Critical Components of a Good Human Resources Strategy
News
16/02/20238 Critical Components of a Good Human Resources Strategy

Businesses often invest a lot of time and resources into the sales and marketing teams, while ignoring the value of the human resources department. Without them, the rest of the company would be ineffective in their roles. Human resources teams are more import

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Tech Trends for Charities in 2023
News
10/05/2023Tech Trends for Charities in 2023

The charity sector is bouncing back from three years of disruption – and technology is at the heart of the recovery.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Need to Address Multiple Professionals in an Email? Here’s How You Do It
News
20/11/2023Need to Address Multiple Professionals in an Email? Here’s How You Do It

If you ever find yourself in the position of needing to email multiple business associates, it’s essential to know how to address them professionally and respectfully. After all, these are busy professionals. The way you address them in your email can ma

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Enhancing Security Measures to Safeguard Your Cryptocurrency Holdings
News
10/07/2023Enhancing Security Measures to Safeguard Your Cryptocurrency Holdings

Enhancing Security Measures to Safeguard Your Cryptocurrency Holdings The substantial increase in cryptocurrency value has not only drawn interest from legitimate investors but also from malicious actors actively seeking vulnerabilities to exploit. Blockchain

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
American Express Survey Reveals UK Businesses Are Maintaining a Prudent Approach to Business Growth
Finance
02/03/2015American Express Survey Reveals UK Businesses Are Maintaining a Prudent Approach to Business Growth

Caution typified by the recession era still prevails, says American Express

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Ones to Watch for 2016: The Best Boutique Law Firms
Legal
01/07/2016Ones to Watch for 2016: The Best Boutique Law Firms

Enyo Law LLP is a law firm that acts exclusively in complex and high-value disputes whether litigation or arbitration.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Cyber Criminals Target M&A  Negotiations
Innovation
22/06/2015Cyber Criminals Target M&A Negotiations

We hear from Stuart Poole-Robb, Chief Executive of the security, business intelligence and cyber security adviser, the KCS Group Europe.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
The Surprising Secret to Improving Employee Engagement
Leadership
20/03/2019The Surprising Secret to Improving Employee Engagement

Eighteen years ago, the Gallup corporation did some research on a hot “new” topic - employee engagement - and reported some distressing numbers.



Our Trusted Brands

Acquisition International is a flagship brand of AI Global Media. AI Global Media is a B2B enterprise and are committed to creating engaging content allowing businesses to market their services to a larger global audience. We have 14 unique brands, each of which serves a specific industry or region. Each brand covers the latest news in its sector and publishes a digital magazine and newsletter which is read by a global audience.

Arrow